colombus, waterfalls and a visit from uncle dan.

last week before we came to philly my brother was visiting us in the dr.

hence our last vacation.
we spent a lot of time in santiago - hanging out and walking around, catching up on all the crap i needed to do before i left -- waiting for nine hours to talk to my now former boss, waiting for nine hours at immigration, all of the fun things that are nearly impossible for me to do by myself because i might shoot myself out of boredom.

we also went to la isabela, christopher colombus' first "real" settlement in the new world. the actual site is pretty unimpressive - not a huge tourist draw - and we had to drive pretty far on a curvy, cow infested "highway" but it was worth the trip. the scenery alone and the two practically private beaches we hit on the way home were amazing.

the dr is known for its beaches, but the beaches that are developed have nothing on the undeveloped sand. white sand, crystal clear water, coral reefs... and best of all, no weirdos selling shit you're never going to need, no strange, fat, topless euro women or men in speedos. a lot of dominicans, depending on the day, but that i can handle.

we also went to jarabacoa, to the filming site of jurassic park. this mountain town is filled with waterfalls, most of which are easily accesible - some require a lot more hiking (which with a baby on my back didn't sound really appealing). we hit two.

breathtaking.

next trip, though, samil-on-back or not, we're going to the biggest... the one where you hit a silent-order monastery and a nunnery on the hike there. the one that inspired jurassic park.