Dé y recibirá.: A week in the parrot's habitat

Climbing the Caribbean’s highest peak…hmmm…wasn’t easy. I think grueling is the word I would use to describe the hike; five days through forest on a trail that does not contour the mountains, but rather takes advantage of every peak and every valley – up, down, up, down, up, down – crossing every luxuriously potable river in Armando Bermudez National Park. In one day we hiked from low, swampy, bamboo forest to a savannah valley high in the mountains, arguably the most beautiful place in the Dominican Republic.

The scenery however, was rivaled by the most excellent company a woman could ask for; 3 other female volunteers from my training class, two Dominican guides from the remote village at the trailhead, and two mules. And although we could have just taken the ol’ helicopter to the base and waltzed up Duarte’s Peak we most definitely enjoyed spending every shoe destroying moment together for the entire 5 days. We took about 500 pictures. Since we couldn't get a good one of the flocks of wild parrots, boars, owls or sunrises, most of them are of me being ridiculous…here are some of the prettier ones.