Cabarete

R and I headed off to Cabarete for the Labor Day weekend (whoa - sudden déjà vu to Jimmy Buffet's Come Monday). It was our first time out of Santo Domingo and was a very welcome break. We're very fortune to have generous friends who included us in their travel plans, which on this trip meant that they drove over three hours to Cabarete and three hours back and shared a condo with us. We had a great time enjoying the beach, eating (a lot) and going to Sosua and the monkey jungle. I can tell already that getting out of the city is absolutely critical to having a good tour here. I'm really enjoying my work in ACS, but the weekends need to be filled with exploration and soft sand. Forgive the bazillion photos, but this island is amazing!

Cabarete beach where I took a walk each morning that we were there, collecting shells and bits of coral.

Look at that water!

Cabarete is the kite-surfing capital of the Caribbean.

And now for a word about our adventure in the Monkey Jungle: Cool!

After a full day lazing about the beach on Saturday, on Sunday we headed over to Sosua and drove down a rough dirt road five miles to investigate the monkey jungle we'd heard about. Basically, it's an enclosed botanical garden with 40 free-roaming squirrel monkeys that happily scamper all over you in an attempt to get the fruit you offer on a little plate. There are iguanas, parrots and capuchin monkeys, too. Iguanas and parrots are not so fond of being petted, and the capuchins are too dangerous - they're small, but they can tear your face off - so they're kept in a separate enclosure within the garden. An aside here: monkeys are not indigenous to the Dominican Republic, and the squirrel monkeys in Sosua came from a Monkey Jungle in Florida. The capuchins are rescued from people who once owned them as pets but ultimately decided they couldn't care for them.

Ziplining is available, too, but we limited ourselves to the monkeys and really enjoyed the experience. The best thing about the place is that it's a non-profit that raises money to fund an on-site medical and dental clinic for the local people.

Everywhere you go in the DR you encounter these guards. Yes, that's a pistol-grip 12 gauge pump-action shotgun ... who knows if it was actually loaded. It reminded me of Elmer Fudd's popgun, but at least the guard was a good sport!

R and his new friend in the Monkey Jungle outside of Sosua.

I made a few friends of my own!

Iguana!

Sosua.

We had a wonderful breakfast at Fresh Fresh in Cabarete on Monday morning and then leisurely made our way back to the city. Although there is a road along the coast, we opted for the road over a mountain which offered gorgeous views. 

On the way back to Santo Domingo.

Gorgeous!