This trip was quite a while ago and before I had a camera, but this is what I remember the best 🙂

The summer after graduating high school, I went on a trip to the Dominican Republic. Here I stayed at an all inclusive resort, where everything was amazing! & Although resorts are full of activities, my favorite part of the trip was when we walked down about 2 miles along the beach, until we were off the resort property. Here we found a local town with some souvenir stores.

Ever since this first experience on an island, I keep dreaming of an tropical lifestyle. There is something about all of its aspects that I am completely in love with. As most people can relate to the mesmerizing sound of waves crashing on the sand, continuously breaking and reforming. The sand that will never leave your skin. The long evenings on the beach. Never needing to know the time – Ahhh, but before I get too carried away let’s get back to my trip, shall we.

We explored a little bit around the shops which were RIGHT ON the shore line. During high tide the steps were actually in the water. Behind the first row of stores were several more rows of shops selling the same souvenirs. One of the stores seen in the picture was a liquor store advertising the local drink of ‘mamajuana’. This was a concoction made by the native people, which was a mix of rum and red wine soaked with herbs in tree bark.

The labyrinth of local shops

These shops were more like a labyrinth of hand made crafts. All connected but somewhat divided by walls and stairs intersecting with one another. All smushed together so closely that it felt overwhelming at times. There was almost all that you could imagine in these small stores, but the one thing that I remember from them the most were the artists, they were all so happy. Bargaining their way through tourists with a continuous smile.

In & On the Water

The next day we went back to the scuba shop to do a snorkel excursion. I wish I had a camera at the time because the water was so beautiful! It was crystal clear with fauna and marine life everywhere. An amazing place to see some wildlife and a place that looked almost pristine, as if no humans had touched it.

I remember the tour guide saying, “Stick with a buddy and if you see a shark swim back to the boat… fast”. He tried to laugh it off but everyone on the boat could tell he was serious. This of course left all the people on the boat with a terrified look that we all tried to hide. It made me a little nervous to be honest, but also excited. Fortunately ( & unfortunately)  we did not run into any sharks, but later that day we were taken to swim with some nurse sharks and sting rays.