Caño Hondo y El Parque Nacional de los Haitises

I spent this past weekend in Caño Hondo/El Parque Nacional de los Haitises in the east of the DR with my study abroad group. Our hotel was an incredible ecotourism hotel ~ the pools were real rivers with waterfalls in them! We went on hikes through caves and saw old Dominican cave paintings and got to eat bananas straight off the tree and also cacao – the stuff that chocolate is made of! On Saturday we went whale watching in Sabana de la Mar and saw so many whales flopping their fins against the water. Some actually jumped all the way out of the water and made the LOUDEST noise and a huge splash when they landed. Then we went to a beach in Samana, a town that is internationally famous for its beautiful beaches. My roommates’ parents are from Sabana de la Mar and came to visit me for a couple of hours on Saturday afternoon, which was fun. They knew the co-owners of the hotel so I got to meet them and we all sat around talking/they laughed at my English accent. Our group spent some of Sunday planting mangrove trees in the mud which was…interesting, before taking the 3 hour bus ride back to Santo Domingo. There has been a cold front the past couple of days, which means the highs are about 75 degrees – definitely cold. J It’s been a nice break from the blistering WINTER heat in this city! I don’t know how I’m going to survive in April or May… stay tuned.