Sunday - 2.19.23

Our day began even earlier than yesterday with breakfast around 7am. It was great to wake up to everyone’s smiling faces and a hearty breakfast. 

We got on the bus and headed to San Cristóbal, a town about 45 minutes outside of the capital. There, we toured the cuevas de Pomier. What an amazing experience! There are 55 caves that make of the Cuevas de Pomier, but we only toured Cave #1. It was very impressive and it was incredible to see the pictograms that were created in prehistoric times. We had a couple of opportunities in the darkest and quietest parts of the caves to turn off all of our lights and be in complete silence for one minute. It was a very powerful and  reflective experience. I don’t think that in our lives, any of us have ever experienced that level of darkness and silence. After the minute, we took a moment to express what we felt and it was a nice time to connect with each other during the unique experience. 

After the cuevas de Pomier, we got back on the bus and began our journey to the Cibao region of the country. The Cibao is the northern mountainous region of the country where the second most important city of Santiago is. We stopped for some delicious food at “una Parada” (a cafetería style rest stop along the highway) and continued on to Santiago.

Once we got to Santiago, we checked into Hotel Platino and settled into our rooms. We then ventured on to “El Monumento”, which is the most iconic symbol of Santiago (it is the monument on the home page of this website). 

After the Monumento, we returned back to the hotel and relaxed for a bit before getting ready and leaving for our special dinner at Canae Restaurant. The night began with a birthday surprise for one of the students. We then sang some Karaoke, danced, and enjoyed some music as we watched how the locrio de pollo (a chicken and rice dish) was made.

Once the locrio was done, everyone dug in and enjoyed it with a green salad and a pasta salad. After the main course, we cut the cake, sang happy birthday and completed our experience at Canaé. By this point, everyone was ready to head back to the hotel and get some rest. The long days can be really tiring, however, tomorrow is our school visit, which will definitely be one of the main highlights of the trip.