A year ago today, Paul and I woke up at 4am after only three-ish hours of sleep. We took the train to the airport, and got checked in.

We boarded a plane for the four hour flight to Santo Domingo!! Savannah cried the whole flight due to her cold making her ears especially sensitive. We arrived and got through customs pretty fast – and Savannah got her first passport stamp!! My first impression of the Dominican Republic was that it was HOT. We took a taxi to the bus station. We drove through Santo Domingo which I enjoyed because it reminded me a lot of Lima.

We then bought bus tickets to Jaracaboa, and left shortly thereafter.

It was getting dark when we arrived, walking to the prearranged meeting spot at a nearby bakery. There, we finally hooked up with these people:

It was a loooong day! (About 14ish hours from the time we left our house.) But so worth it! We had an amazing trip and we are so glad we had the opportunity to visit the beautiful Dominican Republic. It’s hard to believe that the Petersons are no longer living there, as of last week. :-( I do look forward to seeing them again this summer at the Gerig reunion!!

P.S. Happy birthday to Beth today!