Upon leaving the boat, Avalon and I made our way to the capitol of the Dominican Republic by way of bus and hitchhiking in the back of a few trucks. We arrived during the weekend before Easter, and much of the town was closed down due to the holiday.
While wandering around the colorful, trash strewn streets, we happened upon an Easter parade, complete with priests, a military band, nuns, Roman soldiers, and statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary, with hundreds of townspeople trailing behind.
We joined in the solemn procession for numerous blocks until it reached the sea.
Gazing out over a serene stretch of quintessential Caribbean water, I was shocked to look down at the beach and see a veritable landfill of plastic bottles stretching from the filthy beach into the pristine water. It was already difficult for me to get used to the trash-strewn streets, but this was even more saddening.
We finished up the night by watching a slew of children flying kites on cliffs overlooking the sea backlit by a florescent pink sunset.
The next day we were back in San Juan, where my adventures began.
We attended a vibrant Easter celebration of Bomba, a traditional Puerto Rican style of music that is derived from West African slaves.
The next day we left for Guatemala...
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