The Krul Family: Crossing the Border

With Jason and Jayden having a few days off of work and school for American Thanksgiving we made plans with friends to escape the hustle and bustle of Haiti's overcrowded capital, and spend some time breathing in fresh ocean breezes and exploring God's beautiful creation.

Looking out the airplane window that bright Wednesday morning, I enjoyed the view of the city from above.

The city eventually disappeared behind us and dry, arid mountains came into view.

Mostly bare of trees, they rolled along endlessly into the horizon.

Playing with my camera settings I tried my best to capture the beautiful colours.

A little later the scenery changed; we had crossed over into the Dominican Republic. Although there was no visible border marking from above, the tree covered mountains made it more than obvious we were no longer in Haiti.

Justin, sitting on my lap, decided at that point he had seen enough. Pulling his favourite blanket over his head he promptly fell asleep.

In less than one hours time from our departure we had Puerto Plata in sight.

The little boutique hotel that Jason had discovered last year while I was in the hospital with Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever was just as charming and inexpensive as we remembered.

Jayden and Justin were soon splashing in the pool,

while I admired the exotic Plumeria blossoms floating in the clear water.

A little later we headed down the stairs to the beach to play in the sand, surf and sun.

Jayden learned how to bogey board with his Dad; something he thought was 'awesome!'

Our youngest son was more interested in dogs, so I wandered back and forth down the beach as he chased first this one, than that one.

When the sun began to sink in the cerulean sky I tried my best to capture the beauty of the moment.

Back on the pool deck Justin enjoyed washing the sand off his feet.

Then the boys splashed and played in the outdoor shower.

At 6:00 p.m. the sun began to sink steadily towards the horizon in a splendid display of brilliant colours.

After a tasty dinner, we put the boys in bed and then found chairs outside to admire the starry heavens.

That night it poured and when we awoke, clouds hung low over the ocean.

Exploring the tide pools on the beach we were caught in a warm drizzle just as the sun peaked through the clouds. We found cover under a tropical tree and admired God's beautiful rainbow.

A Dominican friend of ours had organized a day trip for us and the first stop was a small zoo.

Jayden enjoyed all the exotic animals.

Our next stop was a boat tour through the mangroves, which were full of exotic birds.

Then we battled giant waves in the turbulent ocean to reach a small dark cave in the face of a sheer cliff.

For lunch we enjoyed a traditional Dominican meal of rice and beans, friend chicken, plantain, sea bass, pineapple, avocado and salad. Everything tasted delicious.

Our next stop was a waterfall and then the blue lagoon. There was even a pretty crazy zip line you could take that would drop you more than 20 feet into the crystal water.

Jayden enjoyed snorkeling around giant tropical fish.

There was also a cave deep into the mountains we could explore.

After checking out the emus,

we headed back into the van to our next stop. A beautiful place where multiple rivers flowed into the sea.I had to admit, I was a little skeptical at first, as all of Haiti's rivers that flow into the sea are littered with trash, but this thankfully was not the case here.

From there we drove to a beautiful beach,

and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the crashing surf.

Since the waves were quite powerful, Jayden stayed close to his dad.

I simply dug my toes into the sand and reached for my camera.

After several beautiful days enjoying God's creation, it was Sunday. A missionary friend of ours in the Dominican had arranged transportation for us to attend a nearby mission church. We piled into a glorified tap tap and enjoyed the service there.