Andy went on the trip too.
They had rented an Air BNB. It was someone's house that was right along the beach. The owner of the house, Klibi, would drive you around and be more or less your security when you were there. His wife spoke English and would set up any outings that you wanted to go on. There was also a gardener named Alfonzo that the kids really liked.
This was their view from the backyard. The gardener would rake the sand and pick up any debris every night so that it looked perfect all the time. The boys felt bad that he lived in a tiny shed. I think the whole experience was eye opening to them as to how poor some people are.
There was a restaurant just down the beach that they ate at frequently. The boys thought it was cool that all of their drinks were served in a fruit. Bryce and Andy ordered Lambie one night thinking they were going to try lamb. Little did they know, Lambie means snail. Bryce said he chewed the same bite forever and just couldn't do it.
Bryce told me that some random lady offered him an oyster on the beach so he took it. I guess stranger danger doesn't apply in foreign countries?
One of the days they went deep sea fishing. Caleb got pretty sea sick not being able to see the shore. It ended up being a successful trip though. They caught a huge fish that Kliabi's wife cleaned and cooked for them.
This was all the steaks from the fish that they caught.
They ate supper with Kliai and his wife and girls. He told them that he is working on the paperwork to come to the US. If he stays his girls don't have many options for their future. The schooling for girls only went until a little past elementary school and their only options would be to marry someone that could get a decent job. In the week that they spent there I think they all fell in love with this family!
They went on a day excursion to an island where they did a lot of snorkeling. This was one of their favorite things. They said they could see a lot of really neat fish.
Caleb somehow made it through customs with a lot of cool shells for the girls.
Bryce's Dominican style. The boys both thought it was pretty cool that they got to try Rum at the Rum factory that they went to. They brought home Rum and really good chocolate.
One of the days they went on a tour of 30 some waterfalls. If you know Susie at all you know that water is not her thing. It was pretty nice of her to put her fear aside so that they could do this tour. In the brochure it said that there was always an option to take the steps down the waterfall. I guess one of the waterfalls the steps were not an option and it took Bob, the boys and the guides to convince her that she could do it. She was terrified and screamed the whole way down up the boys thought that this was one of the coolest things to see ever!
They also told us that the roads were terrible everywhere. They described them as bad farm roads. Kliabi started buying Caleb a sprite for the trips since he would get car sick. They also thought that it was crazy and a little un nerving that someone with an automatic weapon would be standing outside of the gas stations. I guess cars and gas are a luxury there and the driver would tip the person with the gun to watch his car while he went inside. Caleb also said that the bread store had someone outside with a sawed off shotgun. I guess that store also needed protection? It is probably good that I didn't know any of this before they went or it would have made me worry so much more. They had an amazing time and their 13 year old trip was a true trip of a lifetime!
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