Saturday morning was spent with the realization that everyone had a lot more packing and cleaning to do than we had anticipated! Oops! Once we tied all our loose ends together we set off on our 6-7 hour drive from our southwestern host village to the central mountain and rainforest-esque region of Jarabacoa. For those of you curious as to why the drive took so long (and with a map handy), the way the highways run we had to double back to Santo Domingo before heading up to our next location. We arrived in the evening, checked into our bungalows, and spent the rest of the evening lounging by the pool and playing volleyball.

The next day we set off bright and early for a day of adventure! Our first stop was rafting—having been warned that we would be getting soaked and unsure if we would have a place to lock up our belongings, we urged our students to leave their phones behind! There is good news on the photo front, though, as the guides took photos of us, which we will try to share soon. After rafting and lunch, we traded our vests and paddles for reins and saddles and headed out on horseback for a ride through the mountains. That night we relaxed poolside and later went into town for ice cream—not a bad way to close out two weeks in the Dominican Republic.

Wishing it wasn’t almost over,

— Lucas y Jimena