A Rìo I Actually LIKED!

Normally, when the Dominicans say,"Let´s go the rìo," I shudder with images of dirty, shallow, FREEZING rivers full of Dominicans drinking and bathing. Naturally, then, when I was invited on an end-of-the year teacher trip to the river, I wasn´t exactly thrilled. I mean, we live in Puerto Plata...doesn´t ANYONE like the beach?!?! Anyway, things started to look brighter when we piled up about 20 teachers, BUCKETS full of rice, plantains, etc., TWO coolers of Presidente, about 15 bottles of pop, and rum into a guagua. We drove east along the coast for about an hour, until we got to the river, in a place that I think is called Jamao. I was shocked to discover that the river was GORGEOUS! They actually had garbage cans so the landscape wasn´t covered in trash, and people were actually swimming! The whole day ended up being pretty fun. Although most of the teachers (like all dominicans) don´t know how to swim, this time there were a few who do swim, and we were climbing up rocks and jumping off cliffs. There was even a vine to swing from! (Pictured: A member of our cleaning staff swinging from the rope vine). The food was hilarious-we literally had a BUCKET full of moro (rice mixed with beans), a BUCKET of boiled plantains, two crates full of roasted pork, salad, roasted vegetables, gallons and gallons of homemade juices and, my personal favorite--about 100 mangos. There was swimming, volleyball, cards, dominoes, and drinking. All in all a really fun day, except for when our creepy bus driver started talking to me all about how I could have a boyfriend here and at home. After my attempt to explain to him that I have values didn´t work, I just told him that I wasn´t interested in having either! I still hate being a creepster magnet, but the river was SWEET.