PHOTO GALLERY: The Dominican Republic

What a trip!

We made our way to Puerto Plata on Saturday, January 18, 2025. The plane ride wasn’t too bad – Just over three hours from Charlotte International Airport, and only a little bit of turbulence. From the airport in Puerto Plata, it was a short trip to Cabarete, where we stayed at the Carambola Surf House. Each of our rooms were different, but they were all beautiful and spacious. There was a rooftop pool on one of the houses, and on top of the other, it was open but had a roof, and that’s where we would have our meals.

After we were settled in our rooms, we headed down the street to a little store that sold beverages, some snacks, and a nice variety of liquors and beer. We all picked up our “supplies,” and made our way back to the surf house. We spent the rest of the afternoon winding down from our travels, chatting by the rooftop pool, and having a few adult sodas.

We had a quick bite, then made our way down to the beach as it started getting dark. We took “the road less traveled,” which allowed us to see some abandoned hotels and buildings. It was beautiful, but a little unsettling.

The next morning, we started our day with a delicious breakfast of eggs, bacon, cheese, and toast, and went to the grocery store to pick up the rest of the supplies we would need – More beer, water, snacks, coffee, and anything else that looked interesting. Luke and I picked up a chocolate bar, and the biggest mistake was we didn’t buy more! After shopping it was another pool day, as our whole crew: Valerie and David (who you may remember from Episode 71: Our Best Friends’ Wedding…), Shannon and her husband Jon, and Luke and myself, we chatted, shared stories, had some mixed drinks and beer, and made some general plans for the week.

Monday (January 20th), Luke and I learned how to light the stove and use the percolator to make coffee that we had bought at the supermarket. Before breakfast, Marcos, our chef, brought up the “fruit” from a cacao tree. He explained to us that people would eat the juicy parts around the bean inside. The bean is what chocolate is made out of. We each took one of the pieces of the cacao pod. He also told us about a hot chocolate that was made from the cacao. It was similar to regular hot chocolate, except a little bittersweet. He told us that people would serve this drink to visitors, guests, and new people because it was meant to open up your heart. After that, he brought up our breakfast of burritos, guacamole, a pepper mix, and coleslaw.

After breakfast, we all got ready and headed into town to go snorkeling. It was the first time Luke and I had ever gone, and we had a blast. There were so many colorful fish to see, the water was so clear, and our guides were very funny and entertaining. At one point, they let Luke steer the boat, and the younger kid was jumping off the boat into the water. FAMILIA!

When we arrived back at the surf house, we all went our separate ways for a bit. Luke and I headed to a tiki bar near the house, and had a couple of drinks while talking to the worker and owner of the establishment. Both had come from other countries before deciding to set up shop in the Dominican Republic.

Once our drinks were finished, we went back to the surf house for dinner, which was a tasty stew with different meats, tubers, and cilantro. It was eaten with rice and avocado. We gathered around for drinks after dinner, and talked and just hung out until the night was over.

On Tuesday (January 21), we started our day with a healthy breakfast of yogurt, granola, almonds, pineapple, coconut, and honey. We also had eggs, toast, and a bacon and onion mix. Then Marcos brought up the hot cacao he had told us about yesterday. It was a pretty cool experience!

Then we did something really cool… We went tubing down the river. OhMyGoodness, it was amazing. First of all, the water was so beautiful. Just like the ocean, it had many hints of blue and green, but unlike the ocean, it was very calm. This wasn’t like whitewater rafting, it was like floating down a lazy river at an amusement park. Except this wasn’t an amusement park, it was just the river. We passed by lots of vegetation and farms, trees and fields, and even went under an overpass, where people were watching, and others were swimming in the river. During a trip down the waterway, we had beers and rum with mixers. And when we got out of the river, lunch was waiting for us. It was delicious chicken with rice and salad, plantains and avocado.

After we got back, Luke and I made our way to the beach that was right across from the house we were staying in. What an unbelievably pristine beach! The walk to it was beautiful, a little stone pathway, that led up to the sand and lots of palm trees before the ocean opened up on the other side of the vegetation. The beach stretched for miles, and there was no one else around, just the two of us. The water was all different shades of blue and green. The sand was so soft and a perfect golden hue. There were sticks and debris, and whole trees washed up on the shore, which made for the perfect chairs. It really was paradise.

Valerie and David met us on the beach and we all made our way back to the surf house to hang out and have a couple of drinks. It was a great way to wrap up the day. That, and our dinner of spaghetti with meat and sauce and cheese, and a salad topped with starfruit. What a day!

On Wednesday, we all left the surf house to go to “Coconuts,” a very chill restaurant/resort on the beach. We had PLENTY to eat: pizza, fried seafood, fries, ceviche, salads, even steak and dessert! We watched the water while we ate (even saw a cruise ship off in the distance), and enjoyed each others’ company. We had a couple of adult beverages, and then made our way down to the beach. The water was not meant for swimming, as there was extremely strong currents, but we put our feet in and sat in calf-deep water. We enjoyed more sunshine and more conversations, before having our ride pick us up and take us back to the surf house. Back at the surf house, we sat by the pool and chatted until our dinner was ready. Dinner was an Indian style meal with rice and plantains. As always, very tasty.

Thursday (January 23) was a fully packed day. We all piled into the car to make our way to another cool beach and surf spot. But before we arrived, we took a quick detour to see a waterfall that was stunning! The little pathway to the waterfall was neat, and we walked over a bridge that was at the top of the waterfall and then made our way down many stairs to get to the pool below. The water was a beautiful light crystal blue color. And there was clay around the pool, that had lots of minerals and was good for your skin. Most of us took chunks of the clay and rubbed it on our arms and faces, then rinsed it off in the cool water.

After our waterfall adventure, we made our way to the beach, which had little shops and vendors around. We ordered drinks, had lunch, and our friend David went surfing with some friends. A couple of us made our way down to the beach to cool off. At one point we walked to the other side of the beach, where it was more open (and where the surfing was happening waaayyyyy off in the distance). We walked along the beautiful beaches, with palm trees hanging over and random giant rocks, surrounded by golden sand. All the beaches we had seen in the Dominican were beautiful. Not one place disappointed us, or felt ordinary.

Once back at the surf house, we wrapped up our night with a taco bar-style dinner, drinks and conversations, and a little earlier of a bedtime. We were whipped!

Friday (January 24th) was our last full day in the Dominican Republic. I started off the morning by getting up to try and catch the sunrise, but a few nighttime clouds prevented that. It was okay though, the sky was still beautiful and it was still a very peaceful morning. It was a pretty chill day. We drove around a little bit and looked at the neighborhood that was growing nearby. Luke and I made our way to a German Cafe down the street from the surf house to have some German beer, and was gifted some sauerkraut and sausage. Dinner was an Asian-inspired dish with long-cut vegetables, rice noodles, meat, and a peanut sauce. After dinner, we all headed down to the beach for a bonfire. And a bonfire, it was! We sat by the huge fire and shared stories and laughed. We drank and talked. It was an amazing way to end this amazing trip. Before we headed in for the night, Marcos, Luke, and I were lucky enough to see not one, but two shooting stars! Not a common sight for me, so that made this extra special.

We wrapped up our trip with a nice breakfast (eggs, meat, this plantain mash with onions, (almost) squeaky cheese, avocado) and mimosas. There was a little gloominess in the air, and it was obvious we weren’t ready for the trip to end. It was a great experience – Beautiful and eye-opening. And we packed in just enough, where we didn’t feel exhausted from our experiences, but we felt that we had done a lot. Honestly, it felt like we had been gone for a month.

It was unbelievable.

And then we came home…

to snow…

In Wilmington!!!

What a trip!

Check out the pictures (below) from all our adventures. And if you want more information, have questions, or want to share your stories from the Dominican Republic or from your travels, please leave us a message in the “comments section” at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear it!