We had quite the amazing weekend!
As you can see, today was a pretty exciting and unique day!
Today we went to the Monkey Jungle Cabarete. Our group feed the monkeys, and went zip lining. The workers were a blast to zip line with. All proceeds we pay for this excursion go to medical and dental clinics around the Dominican Republic. The volunteers who work there are amazing. They were so nice and funny to us; especially patient.
The monkeys were so cute and friendly! They had no fear jumping from head to head, limb to limb and LOVED being fed. They were so soft. I loved exploring the exhibit. It was so cool! I have never seen monkeys that close in person before. The second part of the monkey exhibit were rescue monkeys in their own exhibit who had previously been abused, or malnurtured. Let me tell you, they were quite entertaining! They were dancing, throwing things, and screaming at us. They gave us a good laugh.
However, there came a challenging part.
Along with the monkey exhibit, there was a zip lining course (as you can see up above in the rainbow picture). I've been zip lining before. Once on a family trip, and a few other times at leadership camps. However, they were not THIS high. We were well above the trees. I couldn't see the ground. I'm not an avid height person, and I was extremely nervous about trying this. Although I was screaming for my life, wiggling my legs, screaming for my mom, I thought it was an amazing experience. I can now say that I went zip lining above the trees and mountains in one of the most beautiful places of the DR. The volunteers and employees made us laugh to many of us who were scared.
I would do it again in a heartbeat. For sure a once in a lifetime experience.
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Yesterday was such a fun day too. We are very lucky girls
We went kayaking, swimming and paddle boarding in a river about 30 minutes away from our villas. The river was right next to these beautiful mountains, trees and farmland. (Pictures currently underway)
This excursion also quite the memorable experience.
The beginning of the day was very rainy and dark. We didn't bring much with us other than bug spray. As soon as we got there, it was sunny as can be. We regretted leaving the sunscreen at home. about 10 minutes into our hike to the river.
I shared a kayak with my friend Jasmine. The kayaking trip was amazing, but to have a fun friend with me made it priceless. This was Jasmine's first time in a kayak. We had a little bit of trouble in the beginning, but when we finally got into the swing of things, we were golden.
Except the times where we went 360, broke a paddle, got stuck on rocks, went backwards, and lost control of our kayak for a camera pose.
We had so much fun together. Jasmine and I laughed so hard and had the time of our lives. We swam by these beautiful cliff on our breaks, and tried paddle boarding too.
After that adventure, the girls, staff and I went to a home where a family cooked us a traditional family dish; beans, rice, chicken, plantains, and eggplant. It was delicious and an amazing scene of the mountains and animals who live there.
I had a wonderful weekend full of laughs and memories. These girls are so much fun to be around. I am so lucky to have this experience with them. :)
As you can see, today was a pretty exciting and unique day!
Today we went to the Monkey Jungle Cabarete. Our group feed the monkeys, and went zip lining. The workers were a blast to zip line with. All proceeds we pay for this excursion go to medical and dental clinics around the Dominican Republic. The volunteers who work there are amazing. They were so nice and funny to us; especially patient.
The monkeys were so cute and friendly! They had no fear jumping from head to head, limb to limb and LOVED being fed. They were so soft. I loved exploring the exhibit. It was so cool! I have never seen monkeys that close in person before. The second part of the monkey exhibit were rescue monkeys in their own exhibit who had previously been abused, or malnurtured. Let me tell you, they were quite entertaining! They were dancing, throwing things, and screaming at us. They gave us a good laugh.
However, there came a challenging part.
Along with the monkey exhibit, there was a zip lining course (as you can see up above in the rainbow picture). I've been zip lining before. Once on a family trip, and a few other times at leadership camps. However, they were not THIS high. We were well above the trees. I couldn't see the ground. I'm not an avid height person, and I was extremely nervous about trying this. Although I was screaming for my life, wiggling my legs, screaming for my mom, I thought it was an amazing experience. I can now say that I went zip lining above the trees and mountains in one of the most beautiful places of the DR. The volunteers and employees made us laugh to many of us who were scared.
I would do it again in a heartbeat. For sure a once in a lifetime experience.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yesterday was such a fun day too. We are very lucky girls
We went kayaking, swimming and paddle boarding in a river about 30 minutes away from our villas. The river was right next to these beautiful mountains, trees and farmland. (Pictures currently underway)
This excursion also quite the memorable experience.
The beginning of the day was very rainy and dark. We didn't bring much with us other than bug spray. As soon as we got there, it was sunny as can be. We regretted leaving the sunscreen at home. about 10 minutes into our hike to the river.
I shared a kayak with my friend Jasmine. The kayaking trip was amazing, but to have a fun friend with me made it priceless. This was Jasmine's first time in a kayak. We had a little bit of trouble in the beginning, but when we finally got into the swing of things, we were golden.
Except the times where we went 360, broke a paddle, got stuck on rocks, went backwards, and lost control of our kayak for a camera pose.
We had so much fun together. Jasmine and I laughed so hard and had the time of our lives. We swam by these beautiful cliff on our breaks, and tried paddle boarding too.
After that adventure, the girls, staff and I went to a home where a family cooked us a traditional family dish; beans, rice, chicken, plantains, and eggplant. It was delicious and an amazing scene of the mountains and animals who live there.
I had a wonderful weekend full of laughs and memories. These girls are so much fun to be around. I am so lucky to have this experience with them. :)