Meanwhile in the Dominican Republic: Near Death by Coconut

The color of the water looks magical when the sun sets. This picture on your wall?

Ok, so... a brief update on where we are and I'll get to the coconut story later. Let me start by telling you why we're here. So, we're in the the Santo Domingo right now and I know it might seem a little bit decadent to travel to a beautiful island while we're still preparing for the long trip next year but there's a reason for that. It's Joanna's home country and why we're here is simple: so we can celebrate Christmas with her family. It has been more than two years since she last visited so we really can't leave on a year long trip without having visited her country first. And yeah, I can hear you think: “How convenient!”.

Ha, it is! We've been here for only a few days now and it truly is paradise. We spent two nights in a resort in Bavaro, Punta Cana and it was awesome: Turquoise sea, sand soft like satin, waving palm trees and cocktails. It's easy to see why everybody wants to get married here.

And you know what? My new family told me we'll go to places that are even more beautiful and my brain has some troubles comprehending that right now. I guess I'll have to see before I'll believe. So, expect a lot more pictures in the next few weeks, not only from beaches by the way. We'll stay here another two weeks and we want to visit as much as we can.

Plátanos

I was going to tell you about death by coconut but I have to talk about these amazing fruit vegetables before I do. I don't really know if they're one or the other. I read once that Dominicans really love three things: Merengue music, family and... plátanos (plantains). Joanna confirms about all three although she's not really into merengue herself...

He wasn't really sure how to use an ocean.

Now about the plátanos. I've only been here for five days but I've already seen a ton of them. I've eaten them and heard people talk about them all day. They're everywhere; in all forms and preperations and I love them too. It's amazing how versatile a fruit vegetable (Fregetable?) can be. My favorite dishes, until now, because there's still lots to taste, are tostones and Pastelón. You really have to try to make it yourself. It's easy and delicious.

A Close Call

Right, that was actually what I wanted to write about. The resort was magnificent. We spent the days at the beach sipping cocktails, – like anyone would – and at night we'd go and eat in one of the restaurants that are scattered around the property. On the first night we explored the resort a little bit by wandering on the paved paths that wind around dozens of palm trees. Palm trees... with coconuts.

As we walk through a darker section, suddenly, a loud thud right next to me. Like a bowling ball falling from the sky. My heart jumped and it scared the shit out of me. A coconut fell out of a palm tree only a feet away from me.

Ok, now that I'm writing this, it feels like it's one of those “you had to be there” stories but because everyone was laughingly saying that I almost died there, I decided to check it out on the internets and I found a page on Wikipedia. I mean, it has a Wikipedia page. That must mean something, right?

Oh, and then there's also the matter of the bottle of Brugal rum that mysteriously appeared in our room. Until now we don't know where it came from but we'll try to find out and keep you updated.