It’s our first full day in the DR and what better way to start than a cultural tour?! These types of tours might make for a long day, but boy are they worth it. You get to see so much in a relatively short amount of time. It was another early morning with breakfast at 6:30am and pickup at 7.
Driving to our first stop, we were able to see some local neighborhoods and streets. Since it was early there were a lot of people waiting outside for work. People with construction vests, helmets, painting, concrete, and leveling supplies were lined up in different areas throughout our drive. There are also a ton of moped type vehicles usually with more than one person riding. It’s interesting that almost no one wears helmets even though the traffic seems pretty hectic at times.
Our first stop was a local ranch. Here we got to go on a brief horseback ride, get some sweet photo ops, and see some animals.
Next stop was the Basilica which is a Catholic Cathedral in the city Higüey (pronounced similarly to highway). This basilica was built in honor of Pope Paul VI and visited 22 years later by Pope John Paul II. Pope John was the first Pope to ever visit the DR. Typically made completely out of wood, they decided to bronze the entrance doors in his honor. Fun Fact: the Dominican Republic is the only country that has a bible on its flag!
Shopping at the market in the DR is wildly different than in the US, but not so different from other countries, particularly Spanish ones. Narrow walk ways, various booths of fruits and veggies, bagged spices, and meat sellers that prepare your meat right in front of you. Yes, that includes picking out a specific *live* chicken and taking it home *unalived*. It was pretty neat to be able to see and walk through a local’s market. Our tour guide even picked up an avocado that we’d be able to enjoy later for lunch! Our favorite fun fact from this spot was learning that they have NEON PINK salt. Now we’re questioning whether the pink himalayan salt we know has been bleached…
Driving past some plantations and banana farms, we finally reached our next destination : LUNCH! We’d be eating some authentic Dominican food prepared at a restaurant and enjoyed buffet style. Our lunch included rice, beans, chicken, spaghetti, papitas (sweet – potatoes, not to be confused with sweet potatoes), an assortment of fruit, and some bread. It was pretty delicious and it sure did hit the spot!
They even had a river next to the restaurant so after filling up on yummy food we were able to walk down to the river, enjoy some nice views, and of course, take pictures!
Have you ever wondered how chocolate was made? If so, our next stop helped us to find out. Would you believe that a cocoa seed is found inside of a larger seed from a cacao tree, the outer layer is removed (we sucked ours off and it was surprisingly very mango-tasting), then they are dried out in the sun before being roasted, to then be de-shelled like a peanut, to then be ground up, packed into a ball, and then shaved? But that’s not where it ends. Those shavings, while technically chocolate, is not yet sweet until sugar cane is added. The power of this one ingredient is actually crazy. Once added, you have dark chocolate! It was SO GOOD. Since no part of the process gets wasted, they even sell the shells of the cocoa beans that can be used in teas!
We got to walk around the property and view trees with coffee beans, avocados, star fruit, and even saw a house! They explained that typically their kitchen is separate from the house because when you cook the kitchen gets super hot. Even after you’re done cooking the heat lingers, and since there’s no AC, it keeps the house hot. Having them separate prevents this issue!
Nearing the end of our tour, we stopped at a cigar shop where we saw how cigars were made and rolled, and then got to do our own! They can make anywhere from 100 – 300 cigars a day depending on the size.
Last but not least of our tour was a visit to Macao Beach. This was your typical beach except currently the seaweed in the DR is rampant and all over the place. Madison being the mermaid she is found some shells in the sand, and we watched the little creatures inside moved about her hand!
About 8 hours after being picked up that morning, we were on our way back to the hotel. Since this was the only excursion we had for today, we decided to drop our bags off and hit the pool!
After some pool lounging fun, we got ready for our dinner reservations where we’d be eating Mexican food. Can’t ever go wrong with that! I had the Rancheros Enchilada followed by some Tres Leches cake for dessert. *chefs kiss*
By the end of dinner it was already around 8:30, and the sleepiness was starting to kick in. Instead of hanging out by the beach or pool for a little longer, we opted to head back to our room, decompress, and settle into bed so we could get some much needed sleep.
It’s just about midnight as I’m writing this, and while everyone else has already been asleep for a little bit, I’m coming up behind them shortly. Our excursion tomorrow is later in the morning so we won’t have to get up as early (thank goodness).
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post because I have a feeling it’s going to be a fun one! 😉
Thanks for reading ❤
TRAUDTSTWOCENTS 
that’s awesome! Pretty damn cool!
LikeLiked by 1 person