It's Friday, November 5, but what do days and hours mean here where time has no dimensions?
We left Croatia one Wednesday evening with tears saying goodbye to our grandmother, but at the same time to ourselves for the last 6 months spent in Croatia. What we had in Croatia stayed with us - it was beautiful, constructive, intense, slow, the way we needed it and the way we wanted it.
Although we didn't plan to return to Denmark before the flight to the Dominican Republic, we still decided to make a trip there and visit family, friends and home in 4 days.
Denmark was wonderful, as warm in autumn as it is not always, and this time it generously gave us both the weather and the colors of autumn and awakened feelings and brought relief.
It was exactly as we wanted, but we were still tired and set off on our way to the Caribbean.
The route went from Hamburg via Paris and then directly to Punta Cana. The first flight lasted only 1.5 hours, the layover in Paris was exactly 3 hours and then 8.5 hours to Punta Cana. It was peaceful to arrive at the almost empty airport in the morning and go through check-in and security in peace, eat breakfast and fly to Paris. Controls and waiting were tolerable, and in Paris, while waiting for the next flight, we met a couple of Danes and their three children - traveling to India. The children played with them, so we got tired and got on the last plane.
Flying out of a rainy autumn and landing in a hot 30 degrees was a shock, but also a joy.
To enter the DR (Dominican Republic) you need to fill out an e-ticket – papers that prove where you are coming from and how long you plan to stay. DR provides 30 days without the need for a visa, with the possibility of extending the stay (with payment of those additional days). At the airport in Punta Cana, we went through customs and picked up our luggage - all without any delays or any problems, and the agreed driver was waiting for us outside who transported us to Cabrera - a small place on the north-eastern part of the island where we will stay for the next 6 weeks.
The journey by car at night lasted 5 hours and was the final arduous route that we couldn't wait for to pass so that we could fall into our beds tired. The time zone here is 5 hours behind the central European one so we need some time to acclimatize – which means that the children fall off their feet at 7 o'clock in the evening which is not strange knowing that it is midnight in Europe. For me, this also means waking up at 2 in the morning to realize that I have to force myself to sleep a little more. But the best part is getting up at 5, welcoming the sunrise on the terrace while doing yoga listening to the crickets mixed with the first birds singing. Our days are long, even though we go to bed around 8 in the evening, we actually accomplish so much during the day. This also means that my husband works a few hours before breakfast and then the rest after which leaves room for him to finish his work day between 12-2pm and then we spend the rest of the time together.
DR is beautiful, but also poor. People are smiling and cordial, warm and generous, they often do not understand English and knowing Spanish is a great advantage. My great desire and goal is to learn Spanish on this trip.
The climate is wonderful - warm without extreme heat, with occasional rain storms. The beaches are the most beautiful we have seen so far.
But the best of all for now are the people. We live in a community with 6 other families from different parts of the world, with whom we are connected by our love for traveling and getting to know new cultures. There are enough children to meet everyone's needs, and in addition, we also went to the center (a school that is not a school) for self-directed learning on the days we are given. So we have facilities, time for lazing around, lounging by the pool and weekend trips.
We are tired, but fulfilled. Children's worms came to us as a reminder that nothing is perfect, but that you can always solve everything if you are calm and ready to actively work on it. And accept life when a mixture of challenges, excitement, joy and worries. Last night the storm brought heavy rain where the children happily built an ice rink and later swam in the pool after dark, then a power outage opened up the most starry sky into which we stared for an hour interrupted by sighs of admiration and fireflies that took our breath away. The power outage also meant the inability to do business for those who do it online - another mix of losing and gaining at the same time. For me, it is a reminder to stay present in the present moment and accept all sides of this life and even the occasional cockroach that runs through the house, intense time in the company of others and life learning that I deeply feel will change us forever...
To be continued...
Comments