A Day in Paradise

We spent a most fabulous night and day in an enchanting spot on the island, called Punta Rucia. Randy has been planning for us to go on a snorkeling trip with Elder and Sister Healey from Santiago since Thanksgiving. We met them in Santiago at 11:00 am on Tuesday morning Jan 3 and drove to the northwest corner of the Dominican Republic.

Elder Gordan and Sister Rinda Healey

As we got near the town of Punta Rucia the roads went from paved to dirt to deep mud.  So deep in places we thought we might lose the Civic.

Entering Punta Rucia, D.R.

The scenery was absolutely gorgeous though, with lush jungle forests. Of course, when you get outside of the large cities here, the people are very poor and the homes are very humble. This little village was just that, but there was no trash and the little wood houses sat right on the road. Some had thatched roofs, but many were tin-- rusted tin, with holes. The little children were happy and many of them waved as we passed.

We arrived at our hotel, Paraiso Ecolodge. about 2:00 pm. The hotel was a three-story concrete building with six rooms on one side of the little dirt road and the restaurant and beach were on the other.

Paraiso Ecolodge, Punta Rucia, D.R.

There was a cactus garden and the walkways were very pretty rose-colored concrete with large leaf fossil designs pressed into them. It looked like we could have been in Mexico. Each room had a balcony and they were very modern and clean inside.

Across the road, everything was outdoors, but had covered dining areas, a bar and very clean and modern dressing rooms and restrooms. The open-aired lobby and restaurant sat on the beach and was breathtaking.

Outdoor Restaurant and Hotel Lobby 

We hurried to our rooms, changed our clothes and went straight to the beach, where we walked swam and visited. That evening we ate on the top floor of the restaurant. It was pretty quaint, but it was nice to visit and hear the ocean breaking on the beach below us.

View from Hotel Lobby

A Friend in the Hotel Lobby

It was the next morning that my expectations were so far surpassed of anything I could have imagined. We had a yummy breakfast, then climbed into a small outboard motored boat. put on our life jackets and took off for "Paradise Island." On the way, our guide, Pavo, stopped several times to let us look into the ocean, that was shallow enough in places to see the coral below and fish in the crystal clear water.

As we approached the "island" which is really a sand bar, he stopped again to let us snap a picture. I laughed at the size of the island. It was not fifty yards long and 20 wide.  It had huts of palms where the resort staff handed out snorkeling gear and served water and soda from coolers. We disembarked and left our flip flops and towels on our boat. We were fitted with snorkeling gear and I told Pavo I wasn't very confident in the deep water.

Paradise Island, Punta Rucia, D.R.

After he helped me get my fins on, he took my hand, as Randy followed us and off we swam into the deep water. It was the most amazing snorkeling experience I've ever encountered.  Now grant it, I've never been in the deeper waters, so my snorkeling experiences are limited. But Randy has and he agreed, this place was awesome! Pavo never let go of my hand and I learned without fear to clear my tube and keep swimming, which I hadn't done in the past. I usually stand up and clear it out or if I'm deeper than I can stand up, I panic and start heading for shallower water. He took us over the top of the reef and we were hovering inside. He stopped and let go of me with Randy close by and dove to the bottom and pulled up a sea urchin. He had me feel it and then he put it into my hand. As he pulled it off of my hand, it sucked and tugged a little. It was so cool. We saw the most beautifully colored fish! Bright yellow trumpet fish to bright turquoise fish with hot pink and yellow stripes. I am so glad I "swallowed" (literally) my fears and went on this amazing journey. I've never been able to imagine when people tell me about snorkeling. Wow! is all I can say about it.
I have learned in life that when you push yourself outside of your comfort zone, you are always rewarded. You grow a little bit each time. If you give into your fears, as I have also experienced, you miss out on that growth. You also miss out on some really amazing experiences.
It has been like that with this mission. Yes, I was pretty nervous about leaving my country and coming to a non-English speaking country and spending 18 months trying to teach and communicate with no Spanish at all. I had to take a leap of faith and humble myself and allow the spirit to guide me. I'm so very grateful that I am here and that I've been able to meet so many wonderful friends, teach the gospel, and experience this beautiful culture of the Dominican Republic. I'm grateful to my Heavenly Father for the gift of the  Holy Ghost, who teaches me, guides me and comforts me when I need a hand to hold on to. I'm grateful for Randy, whom I know the Lord sent to me to help me through this journey of life. He gives me a little push when I have doubts. I pray that if anyone of my family and friends wonders if they can serve a mission, that they will take the leap of faith and go forward, not knowing before hand the things that they should do and trust in the Lord. (1 Nephi 4:6) You never regret when you trust in the Lord, but you may regret if you don't.

fNow, back to my naritive. We floated smoothly through the calm waters inside the park. The river seemed to wind and twist in so many directions, I thought we'd be lost, but no fear! There it was! It suddenly opened up into the massive blue ocean once again.What a treat! Pavo Pointed out large pelicans nesting in the trees. We watched as one launched from the water and flew effortlessly to a branch high above.

The Return Trip through Mangrove Trees

After arriving back at our hotel, we had a lovely lunch on the seashore before heading for home. As we reflected about our experience, all agreed that the name, Paradise Island is the perfect name for the small sand bar in the middle of the Caribbean Sea.

It really was the highlight of our outings from our concrete city here in Santo Domingo. (Don't get me wrong. I love it here, but it is like any large city in many ways and nice to get away from once in a while)

We love our mission but we love to go on an outing occasionally, when we have down-time. We have enjoyed every minute of our lives here in the Dominican Republic. Peggy