We headed to the bus stop right after school. The bus didn’t leave for another couple hours, but we wanted to make sure we got our tickets. I sat next to Cecilia on the bus, and we had some good conversations, in Spanish. :] There was a man and his daughter sitting across the row from us and we were talking to him for a bit. When we got to Sanchez, a town about 30 minutes outside of Las Terrenas, he told us that when we got to the hill that we would be able to see the national park and the bay. He was sitting on the side of the bus with the view, so he switched seats with us so we could take pictures. He was so kind. :] When we got to the top, this is what we saw. It was beautiful.
As we entered into Las Terrenas, there was a lot to see. The town was definitely geared more for tourists than Santiago. There were shops lining the streets, and they all led to one place…the beach! We didn’t know where in Las Terrenas our hostel was, but fortunately for us, the driver did! He took us down a dirt road, until it forked and we got out. It had been raining, so the road was very muddy. Good thing I was wearing my tennies :]
Our hostel, Fata Morgana, was great! Each of the rooms has a bathroom, a hammock on the patio, and a clothesline for wet towels. There is a community kitchen, which definitely came in handy, and tons of animal friends. Paco and Flor, the donkeys, were my favorite, but the cats, chickens, and dogs were fun too. Edit, the owner of the hostel, is wonderful. She provided us with drinking water, and was always willing to help us if we had any questions or concerns. By the time we got settled, it was pretty late. Edit told us about a restaurant not too far from the hostel, so we headed over. The pouring rain set the mood of relaxation and tranquility while eating dinner, and it made the walk, or run, back to the hostel a little more exhilarating.
The next morning we headed to Playa Bonita. It wasn’t too far form our hostel so we walked. Little did we know, the road was made up of thick mud and huge puddles. Some people literally sank to their ankles as they walked. Fortunately, about half way there, we got a bola! The beach was beautiful, and we had it all to ourselves, minus a couple and a few dogs. It was lined with palm trees, and had some patches of flowers. Like almost all of the beaches here, the water was perfect, the sand was soft, and the sun was bright. :]
The next day we went into town for lunch. While searching for a good place to eat, we stumbled across a cute colonial plaza that reminded us of Santo Domingo, and we stopped to take pictures :]
Because Las Terrenas is for tourists, everything is more expensive, so we decided to eat at a Dominican restaurant instead of an American or French one [About 10% of the people that live in Las Terrenas are French. A lot of them moved here because they weren’t successful in France]. I ordered a tuna sandwich, and it was so yummy. Dominican food, besides the fruit, is typically not healthy, entonces, I was grateful for the tuna sandwich. As we were finishing up our lunch, our server, who had been talking to us throughout our meal, offered us a round of shots! It didn’t matter that it was only 11am, they were free. ;) The Dominicans like to put their rum in a bottle, full of a type of bark called Mamajuana, and it is supposed to enhance the flavor. I hadn’t tried it before, so I was quite intrigued. Our server gave us the choice of having a shot of just rum, or a shot of chinola juice and rum. If you know me at all, you knew which one I chose, and it was good!
After lunch, we walked less than five minutes to where the edge of town and the coast met. It was the first time we strolled along the beautiful beach of Las Terrenas, but it definitely would not be our last. After the beach, we made a pit stop at the grocery store so we could make dinner at the hostel. We had pasta, chicken, salad, green beans, and bread. It was so good, and cheap too. :]
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