Sunday, August 9, 2015 Trip to Higüey

Today was the third day of our trip. We had to get up a little earlier today to prepare for our trip to Higüey. We ate breakfast at the hotel buffet then loaded the bus. The first thing we did when we got on the bus was go pick up the Dominican teens at their villages. The teens are super sweet and help us a lot with our Spanish and getting around. We then made the hour trip to the city of Higüey. 

When we got there we first went and toured the open air farmers market. As we walked through the farmers market all the meat and fish was out in the open, cut up, and all the fruit and vegetables were just laying out and there was a large variety of both. The farmers market was one of the busiest places I have ever seen. One thing I noticed was the farmers market had a different odor than anywhere else I’ve been. 

After the farmers market we went to shop on the streets of Higüey.  There are many different stores on the streets and the coolest part is you can barter at all of the stores. Each store has paintings, lots of jewelry, and typical souvenirs you find in tourist places. The stores take Dominican pesos and American money. The shop owners are very nice and will also sometimes give you stuff for free. 

After all of our shopping we were all getting hungry so we went to a casual Dominican restaurant. At the restaurant we ordered platters of food and shared them family style. We had grilled chicken, grilled beef, french fries, fried plantains, rice and beans and tomatoes and lettuce.  The food was really good. While we waited for the amazing food we sat and talked with the Dominican teens and played card games as a group. 

Our next stop was the Basilica of La Altagracia where we looked around and went inside the church. All of the girls had shorts on which are not allowed to be worn inside the church so they gave all the girls long skirts to borrow so we could go in. 

Background on the Roman Catholic Basilica:  Higüey's concrete basilica was built in 1972, and is characterized by its representations of oranges, symbolic of the nearby orange grove where a vision of the Virgin Mary has become legend. There's a shrine depicting an orange tree and stained-glass windows with cutouts shaped like oranges inside the cathedral. The pinched arches of the facade stretch 250 feet (76 meters) high. The basilica is the site of annual pilgrimages on January 21 and August 16.

After our stop at the Basilica we went to what they have as a grocery store - almost like a WalMart. This store has a lot of the same stuff as America however it is all packaged very different. They are very big on conservation so stuff is packaged very lightly. (They also have water in bags. Did you know that was even a thing?) After our awesome day touring and shopping in Higüey we came back to the hotel. We are now relaxing by the pool and getting ready for dinner. The third day of our trip was fun and really opened our eyes to what other places in the world are like. 

Andrew Rhodes, Tiffany Heishman and Isaac Rhodes

Shenandoah County