In the latest episode of “When Bloggers Stretch Their Content …”. Ha, I’m kidding!

Keep up with me here, the fun is just getting started. I mentioned rain showers at the beach, right? Here’s how we got there:

Early Sunday morning, upon checking out of the hotel, we headed around 37 miles east of the city to Juan Dolio, a tourist town in the province of San Pedro de Macoris. On the way there, a new group of cousins Nathan hadn’t yet met joined the caravan, and we continued the trip to Hemingway Beach.

We checked the forecast a few times before heading out and decided we were doing great on time so we’d miss the rain. Needless to say, we were wrong, but that didn’t stop us from having a good time! Right after the rain, the water was super clear and warm and the sun warmed us once again. We swam, drank and had fun playing around with videos on my cousin’s drone.

The next day my dad and younger brother picked us up, and we headed south to my family’s hometown, San Juan de la Maguana. Both sides of my family are rooted in the south; my maternal grandfather was a regarded professor in Las Matas de Farfán, one of the provincial towns, and trustee of the liberal/conservative political party in San Juan. He and my grandmother had 12 kids, most of whom moved to different parts of the country after his death in 1995.

Although we were only there for 24 hours, our trip was special to me. I hadn’t seen my dad or brother in roughly 12 years and my 98-year-old grandmother in 14. Seeing them felt like a warm a hug for my heart. We drove around the city and showed Nathan a few important historic buildings — he even rode on my cousin’s scooter and spotted this cool abandoned castle that was never finished — and grabbed dinner with one of my maternal aunts who still lives there.

Before we left, we stopped at La Presa de Sabaneta — a manmade dam used to generate electricity and store water for agricultural use — for some sightseeing and content, of course. The feeling and stillness being surrounded by mountains and large bodies of water gives is one of the most grounding experiences; I cherish it dearly! The water levels were pretty low this day.

We got back to the capital early in the afternoon the next day and spent a full day relaxing, going through family photos and enjoying time at home. That week, we picked up a rental and drove around La Zona Colonial before heading back east (again!) to Catalonia Grand Royal Resort.

Seeing how things have gotten a little long here, I’ll leave the story of our visit to El Altar de la Patria (The Altar of the Homeland), a mausoleum that keeps the remains of the founding fathers of the country — Juan Pablo Duarte, Francisco del Rosario Sánchez and Ramón Matías Mella — for the next blog.

Until then, stay hydrated and wear SPF, but most importantly, safely enjoy yourselves!

— Yasser Ogando, advertising & production manager