Our second day exploring Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic

The following morning we woke up to breakfast already prepared by Paulolino. It was seriously amazing to wake up to breakfast and incredible coffee every morning. I mean, who do I need to talk to, to make this real life? In all seriousness, Paulo truly made our trip and we felt incredibly thankful to him for the experience we received.

It was such a beautiful setting for breakfast in the mornings.

After breakfast we went food shopping with Paulolino. He cooked pretty much all of our meals while we were there. We did try several local places but his meals was sooo good that it was hard to resist his cooking. Because of him (and also because we were not staying at a resort) we were able to go to places that normally they would not have recommended tourists go. His presence gave us the freedom to see and experience more than we initially thought we would.

Our first stop was to Boulangerie Francaise for fresh bread and pastries. When we stepped out of the shop it began to rain but I sang a little song and did a little dance and it stopped. Ha, kidding .. well sorta. That was just the weather in DR. Rained a little bit each day and left just as quickly as it came. I think the daily sprinkle just helps to keep everything vibrant and green :).

After that he took us to the local fish market and that was such an experience. I don’t think there is anything better than getting your fish this way. To have this view and to also know that your fish was just caught is quite the feeling. It was truly awesome. The men who were selling the fish were so nice and friendly too. The two boys in the picture below actually asked me to take their picture which I thought was so cute. It caught me off guard to be honest and sadly I didn’t do a great job with capturing them.

I think I ought to mention that I was quite aware of how trash was discarded on the streets/beach. It made me a little sad because DR is gorgeous and I wish that its beauty was more appreciated. I don't know, ever since my older sister Emma made me pick up a piece of garbage off the street that I nonchalantly dropped on the ground (in front of cute boys mind you!) I always, always look for a trash can. Maybe that is why I noticed it so much.

After the fish market we picked up quite a bit of fish and fruits that a young lady was selling we stopped at a coconut stand for fresh coconuts (yum!) Seriously the food was just so good and fresh! No joke, America must take note. And then we stopped at a tiny market for a few more items.

Once we were done shopping we went back to the house to drop everything off and then we drove into town without Paulo. We checked out art on the streets which I desperately wanted to take home but we could not unfortunately. We just couldn’t figure out a way to transport the art without destroying it in the process; without paying an arm and leg for shipping.

I had the best pina colada of my life at this small bar and watched Sean and Tom interrupt local boys who were playing baseball. It was seriously so cute that they allowed Tom to play with them for a few minutes. It seriously made Tom’s trip!

We bought amazing empanadas from a small food stand (we cleared her out to be honest) and had delicious gelato at Gelateria Italiana Artesanal NOI. Right between the gelato shop was an alley (that to be honest smelled awful) but it went straight to the beach and we were in awe that this stinky alley led to such beauty. We spent some time walking the beach and eating our gelato.

After our little "adventure" we went back to the house and changed into beach wear and spent more time at the beach. We made friends with several dogs in DR. This was actually another thing that made me sad about DR. I hate to be a downer (don’t we all?) but I feel like I should share our full experience and not just the pretty things. There are just too many stray dogs which has become hard to control so locals are actually poisoning them that way they can kill off the population. We saw so many dead dogs on the street. The dogs are skinny, mangy and just there. I think when you are a dog owner you know their potential so it makes it a little sadder than it would be to someone who doesn’t have dogs. The dogs were very, very friendly though and so in turn we were able to feed quite a few during our stay. There is something that they are doing to keep dogs alive. Some of the bars, and restaurants on the beach own a few of the dogs and they have chips on their ears. We were told that the chips are birth control so if you see the chips on their ears locals leave them alone because it’s birth control. The chipped dogs won’t be adding to the ever growing population which means essentially, don’t poison them!

After the beach we went back to the house and Paulo had prepared the most amazing dinner with the items we had purchased that morning. When I say that Paulo prepared the best fish of my life I’m not exaggerating. OK, to be honest, his fish tasted a lot like the fish my mom prepared so clearly a winner.

After dinner we went to the Mosquito Bar and enjoyed music, drinks and just a relaxing night. We tried a shot called Mama Juana which is the local shot and woah! It’s basically a concoction that’s made by combining rum, red wine and honey, and then they allow that mixture to soak with tree bark and herbs.

My body couldn't handle that stuff but if it meant that I could go back right now ... I’ll take ten, please! ;)