If we work hard in the Peace Corps (and believe me, we do!), then we play hard as well, and what better place to play than a friendly, travelable island in the tropics? This past weekend I went to Jarabacoa with 7 other Peace Corps friends, chosen for its location nearly in the geographic center (accessible to all!) and its reputation for outdoor adventure. On the guagua ride up, we started to notice something we hadn't seen in a while (unlike lizards on walls, spiders in showers, and cockroaches in beds): that is, we saw pine trees! Jarabacoa, known for its waterfalls, is situated in the highest mountain range in the DR and therefore offers some trees that don't exist in the more tropical lowlands. This isn't to say that I've grown tired of cacao and mango trees, which are in their height of fruit giving as I type, but it was somewhat like going home to visit a cooler city covered in hardwoods.
We arrived at our budget hotel (there really aren't many hostels here, but we still found a little hole in the wall for about $7 American a night) on Friday and were immediately greeted by a friendly tour-guide who undoubtedly thought "money" at first, but quickly realized that we were Peace Corps volunteers and had none. When I asked how he knew, he pointed at the Nalgene water bottle hanging from my bag and said "you all have them". What can I say, we like to hydrate! Being a nice guy, he agreed to take us on an all day private tour of the 3 main waterfalls, including transportation to and from the trails, which were vigorous at times, but completely worth it. The second waterfall we arrived at was surrounded by a small beach and we were the only ones there for most of the time. We were all taken aback by its beauty, and were not surprised to find out this was the site of part of the filming for Jurassic Park.
The weekend went smoothly, full of good company and good food, until Sunday night when I got violently (yes, I mean that) ill. Able to think of nothing that could have caused it (I was a good girl and drank only bottled water!), I couldn't help but laugh when I realized it was probably all the rich, delicious food. Great: I get sick when I leave the campo for a visit to the city. Apparently, I gotta have them viveres (remember my old friends, the white starchy vegetable group, each barely distinguishable from the other)! My disease reared it's ugly head again today, and after consulting my doctor by phone, found out that if I keep this up I'll be taking a sample cup to the lab in no time (or babyfood or mayonnaise jar, or any old thing with a lid that's laying around). Yipee!
Yesterday was one of those slightly frustrating Peace Corps days that turned out pretty good in the end. For several weeks now, several people have been telling me that my attendance is desired at the meeting of a youth group the next community over, an hour walk uphill both ways (yea, that really exists here), starting out at 5 PM …in otherwords, it's a commitment! I told them if they got me the details before the last minute, I would go, but no one ever seems to know what time, or where, or if it's happening at all due to rain, so I've just been kind of waiting it out. Well yesterday I was at home alone waiting for my host mom to return from the Chocolate Factory (I know, do I live in Heaven? Sometimes I think so) so I could take a much needed shower, which they don't like me to do so when I'm home alone. When she walked in the door I heaved a sigh of relief and was preparing to enjoy the cool water when she announced "Milagros is waiting for you at the top of the hill to go to the meeting in La Travesada". Mouth agape, I realized I was trapped and set out the door in shorts and flip-flops at a near trot so as not to keep her waiting for too long. An hour later, we arrived at the meeting which, to my surprise, had the principal goal of getting to know…well…me! I realized with some comfort that it sure was a good thing I went, and put my best foot forward in introducing myself and encouraging them to make the trek to my weekly environmental youth group meeting. They were very happy to see me, and had obviously been looking forward to meeting me, which made all the sweating and trekking worth it in the end.
On the walk home, subdued by a sense of accomplishment and the cool moonlight, I smelled cherries and gardenias, Dominican night smells that I don't usually get to enjoy as I'm always in the house before dark. Certainly preferable to the daytime smells of pigs and chickens, I soaked it in and strolled on home, where I took my first bucket bath in a while. The power had been out all day, which keeps the aquaduct from pumping water through our pipes. I was a bit out of practice with the bucket and didn't have enough water to wash my hair - I swear this bucket is smaller than the one I had during training! - but it was a relief to be clean and at home, in a place which I have no qualms calling by that name.
No comments:
Post a Comment