Trip to Higuey on Father's Day

Happy Father’s Day to all the Dominican dads out there! I have said it before and I will say it again, today is probably one of my favorite days of the week. Today we got the opportunity to travel to Higuey, the eighth largest city in the Dominican Republic. We hopped on a bus at nine o’ clock this morning and traveled for approximately 45 minutes.

The bus ride there is interesting because you get to see the transition from the upper-class to the lower-class. The colorful buildings that we got to view on the way there were very neat; especially the wall murals on sides of buildings.

The first thing we got to see was the farmers market. I can still see the meat hanging in the hot open air, vegetables and fruits in crates and on tarps sitting on the ground, rice, beans, and grains in sacks, and the flood of people throughout the narrow street. The smell was much worse this year, many teens and chaperones said that they had to hold their breath just to walk through it. We saw so many eye-opening things, such as a woman carrying multiple live chickens home, blood from the animals running by our feet, and even four or five people riding on one motorcycle, scooter, or moped.

While walking through the farmers market, a familiar face greeted us, a local man who gave us a tour last year. He showed us different areas of the farmers market and new shops where we could buy little knick-knacks or souvenirs.

Following our shopping adventure and bartering with store employees for a lower price, we went to the restaurant we have gone to the past three years.

Following lunch, we visited the Basilica, a huge Catholic cathedral. The building displays many marvelous characteristics including, the giant mosaic windows, the tall arch, and the orange and gold accents around the cathedral.

We were finally ready to go and loaded up on the bus and headed back to the hotel to eat at Franco’s Pizzeria.  All of a sudden we hear a, thump…thump…thump…thump! The bus driver pulled to the side of the road, got out, inspected the bus, and got back in the bus. He told us that we have a nail in our tire and it was going flat. We went up and down the streets looking for a mechanic shop. Most were closed because of Father’s Day. After looking for about fifteen to twenty minutes we found one that was open. They jacked up the bus, removed the tire, and what we found out to be was a large screw through a piece of metal about the size of a large walnut. I was impressed by the workers we had, men and even two little kids working on getting us back on the road. It was definitely a relief once we were back on the road with a good tire.

We arrived back at the hotel just in time to get ready for dinner at Franco’s Pizzeria.  I cannot believe we only have one more full day. I dread to think about leaving, I wish we could stay longer. Can’t wait though till tomorrow when we get to go snorkeling! See you all soon.

Submitted by Chase Smith, Bath County