We had breakfast at the Westin before getting on
the bus. We faced a lot of traffic on the way to the boat to snorkel, but we still made it
there. The boat was fully equipped with a slide and a diving board! We got to
go snorkeling, which I had never done before. We got to see a beautiful coral
reef and all the fish that live in/around it. We saw some really big sting
rays, a lot of yellow fish with black stripes, and some fish that looked like
they had long noses. There was even a fish that looked like the fish from The Rainbow
Fish (but less colorful). My favorite was a black fish with shiny purple-blue
spots.
Once we had snorkeled for a long time, we got back on the boat to drive
to another spot. The second spot was a lot shallower, meaning we could all
stand in the water and feel the sand on our feet. There was paddle board for
people to go out on and look for conch shells on top of the coral. We didn’t
find any, but one 4-H’er found a smaller pretty shell. The water was super
clear and blue. I ended up very sunburnt after our boat trip!
After our time
out on the water ended, we explored the tourist market on the beach. It is
normal to haggle here, which is hard for me as an American. After spending some
time in cool, open-air market, our group gathered up and got back on the bus. We had a few hours of time to go to the beach, swim in the pool, and eat lunch.
I got the resort nachos
and went to the beach to eat lunch with a couple of
other Virginia 4-H’ers. The water at the resort beach was nice today, with a
little less sargassum than usual. It was nice to hang out in the pool and hot
tub for some time before everyone regrouped in the lobby to get on the
bus for dinner.
We went to the home of a Dominican family, and two of the Dominican teens we met this week. They taught us some Dominican dances, which was lots of fun. The dances
they taught us involved a lot more hand movements than foot movements, which
contrasted from the dances I am used to. The family had 2 very sweet cats, one
of which was 16 years old! The food was delicious. I really loved the tres leche
cups that one of the Dominican teens made for us! Tonight was the last night we got to see the Dominican
teens we made friends with this week. It was sad to say goodbye! After a very
fun evening, we went back to the Westin. We did our reflections and then had
some free time before bed. I have loved getting to learn about Dominican
culture on this trip, and I can’t wait to tell everyone about it when I get
home!Victoria Delacourt, Fairfax Co.
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