Today we visited a town called Higüey. This town is about two
hours’ bus ride from Punta Cana. While
at Higüey
we first went to town’s main market. In
there we visited three souvenir shops and bought some souvenirs for ourselves,
families and friends. The prices at the
stores were fair and we were diligent about finding a good bargain.
Once we
finished our shopping expedition, we visited the Basilica Nuestra Seňora
de la Altagracia at Higüey. The Dominicans
are very proud of their catholic heritage 
Then we went to
Wellington’s parents house for a filling and delicious Dominican meal. I got to try Mangos
and limoncillos again they were both juicy and sweet. I have not had a mango that sweet before in
my life! Wellington also taught us how to make tostones fritos (a Dominican
staple). The avocados there tasted amazing and they almost reminded me of the
ones I eat at home. Wellington also taught us to dance Salsa and Bachata.
Bachata was easier of the two dances because it was a simple dance in nature.
Salsa on the other hand took a bit more time to get used to but we all
eventually got the hang of it. I have
some nice videos of the dance lessons!
These lessons definitively will come handy when we go to the
Giudicelli’s home for our Monday night farewell dinner.
Submitted by Danny Cayelli, Shenandoah/Fairfax counties
This was my second trip to Higuey and it was much
better than the first year. We started off by driving through the countryside to
get to the city. When we got there, we were able to go to some of the little
shops to buy souvenirs from the locals. I got a good deal on a couple of
paintings and Manuel (a Dominican teen) was able to get me a pair of earrings for free and a ring for $12.
After we finished shopping we went to the farmers
market. This time
was much better than in 2015. I was prepared for the entire experience. If only Manuel and
Hermes hadn't kept pointing out different kinds of meats hanging in the alleys.
Next we drove out to Welinton's parents house in the country and we tried different
fruits and played with the chickens while we waited for lunch to be ready. I
tried mango, wild Dominican berries, and limoncillos for the first time. For
lunch we had an amazing
medley of rice, beans, chicken, avocado and fried plantains. After we ate we danced the Merengue and the Bachata (although the Salsa is my favorite.)
Next we went to Iberia, the Dominican supermarket, where I found the
cutest pair of heels and a really cute top. All and all it was a really great day. It was so cool to see the Dominican teens haggling with the shop owners to get us lower prices and I loved dancing at Welinton's home.
Submitted by Carter Adcock, Alleghany County
