Today was a very good day. We were invited to eat lunch with a Haitian couple in little Haiti, DR. Christina cooked us chicken, beet salad, rice, peas and tostones. We had wine and apple cider.

Ice cream is very popular for Christmas here. When I went to get some today the stores were packed.

Later with V, we stumbled on some live music with traditional Dominican dance. We drank Brugal and coke.

It's late... I'm so tired...

So today we played tourist. We gave ourselves a walking tour in the colonial zone with the purpose of just seeing the sights and taking pictures.

Thus far we have been living as locals, going to La Sirena, the supermarket, cooking and riding guaguas. We have a hostel in the heart of the colonial zone [Duarte & El Conde!] that we are staying at for the week. This is because our second couch host, Tico, bailed on us.

The hostel is unique. It is inspiring me because I always wanted to 'settle down' as a hostel owner. That way, since I'm not traveling as much, the travels come to me. This hostel in particular however, has a very different set up. Once you come in from the street there is a hallway that leads to a courtyard. From there, there are several doors to the rooms.

My room has a fridge, mini kitchen, a table, a tv and fan attached to the walls, and what I want to call a water closet. It is separated by a plastic curtain from the rest of the room and has a shower, sink, and toilet all in one place. It is weird. It is a small room, but the amenities include internet and coffee in the morning. The owner lives upstairs. This is the part that inspired me. I could live upstairs! Maybe have a little place in NY.

Guests here have the option of paying less for a room without a bathroom. They use the bathroom with shower in the courtyard. There are two cats roaming around.

It's pretty cool here but I'm running out of money. (I was expecting to have a host this week) We'll see how things go though. The owner's wife washed our clothes for $150 pesos, so we'll have clean clothes, hopefully some food soon, and I really hope to check out Secretos Musical Bar tonight. I like stumbling on things myself but it is recommended by many sites online. Should be fun.

So I haven't written in a while... it's been rough.

In Puerto Plata I lost my camera. It was raining the whole time we were there, and we were in a bad part of the neighborhood. Internet was really hard to get. When we did get it, we payed a lot so I couldn't blog, just check the essentials.

We were lucky to meet some travelers on their way down to Santo Domingo. They helped us get a bus and stayed with us in the same hotel the first night. It was expensive!

We will be in Santo Domingo until Sunday and it will be very very expensive. We were expecting to have a second couch host but he bailed on us. So we need to find places to stay till then. Hopefully we can afford to do some things, but I will have to withdraw some money.

I am hoping for a miracle regarding a place to stay, but at least for now we've met some cool couch surfers and travelers.

We can salvage this trip, right?

Today was insane!

3 guaguas to Sabana de la Mar. We went through the country side and saw kids on horses.

When we got off the last guagua, a guy from Holland who was on the bus with us gave us some tips in English.

In Sabana de lar Mar we rolled suitcases over bumby streets for an hour. Walking around we got to see a bit of the town.

A boat ride took us over choppy waters to Samana, which is where I am now. This city is awesome, the people are kinda pushy.

We went to a Chinese restaurant and got hit with a lot of hidden taxes. Then we went to explore the hotel attached to the restaurant and a guard dog caught us and started barking loudly. We left before getting in trouble.

So I had some internet issues yesterday and couldnt make a post, but it was a great day. I went to the Cueva de la Maravillas. For dinner we went to a local pizzeria.

Today is our last full day in Juan Dolio. We spent time walking down the beach and swimming. Then I took a shower outside. We had lunch in a famous place in San Pedro by a park.

Tonight I am going to try to make sure my professor gets the hw I sent. Then I will pack. Tomorrow morning I will catch a Guagua hopefully up to Hato Mayor, then Sabana de la Mar.

My first day in the Dominican Republic:

I am very excited to post that I am here, the weather is beautiful, and my hostess is awesome! She took us to a house in Boca Chica and we went to the beach.

I am at an internet hub now posting this. I will try to get internet everyday to post something. I still have to turn in my final hw assignment anyway!

Tomorrow I will be driving down to Ft. Lauderdale to catch my flight to the Dominican Republic!

Special thanks to my two couch-hosts, Josephina and Tico, who will provide a place for me to sleep and awesome travel companions to explore with.

Right now I am rushing to turn in all final projects for school and half-planning for the 2-week trip, so this blog entry is a little rushed. But photos and travel stories be posted soon!