D.R. [Uno] : The lost maleta

I had the best intentions of carrying all my bags on to the airplane and totally eliminate the possibility of lost bags and all that comes with that.

Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans.  At 5 AM when an insistent airport worker told me to check one of my bags, I handed it over because there was no fight in me that early.

Travel was pretty smooth until I got to my final destination and stood waiting for my bag.  I wasn't the only one missing luggage, so I waited in line and attempted to speak what Spanish I could remember when I got to the desk.  I had no address to give them, just Lindsey's local phone number, but somehow I communicated that correctly.  It took a good 45 minutes after my flight landed for me to actually do all this, so I was just hoping Lindsey hadn't left.  Lo and behold, I walked through customs, out the door, and there she was.  I was so relieved to have found my Spanish-speaking friend!  I told her about my bags, and we just laughed because what else can you do. We headed about an hour east of the capital via gua-gua (public bus) to a little town called Juan Dolio.  We chilled there that night and the next day, catching up, sitting on the beach, and hanging out in our Eastern-inspired hostel.

Not having any change of clothes turned out not be a big deal.  In the grand scheme of things, having to wear the same clothes for 48 hours wasn't bad, and I even had a hot shower while we were there (my only one of the week).  Here are some pictures...

Our view from dinner the first night...beautiful!

traditional Dominican food for lunch

pretty friend!

I was obsessed with these boats.

so lovely.

Christmas card pic.

Me trying to figure out the bag situation.

Yep that's tiger mural over the bed...we didn't ask questions.

So there you have my first 2 days in the DR.  Very relaxing before we really started going in our travels around the country.  The saga to actually get my bag and the rest of the trip coming soon!