With a whole day at leisure on Wednesday there was definitely time for an adventure? And with Pam (an adventurer if ever there was one) and Mark (a fluent Spanish speaker) I knew I was in for a treat!
Pam booked a taxi to take us in to the countryside and off we set. We drove for about 30 miles, past fields of sugar cane in various stages of harvesting, to the small town of Higuey. We had told our driver we wanted to visit a market and places where we could take pictures. We pulled up outside a souvenir shop… Not quite what we were looking for?
With Pam in the lead we set off walking.
Have you ever seen those artworks that seem to be for sale everywhere in the Caribbean? We found a workshop where they were being churned out in quantity… One worker painted the white backgrounds with a roller, and then they got passed around, each artist adding a different layer.
It was a very cheerful place and the men were happy to banter with Pam as she took photographs. I haven’t worked out how to use my camera successfully inside but Pam got some wonderful pictures. You can see them on on her Facebook page.
This pile of primed canvases just outside the door caught my eye.
We moved on down the street and came to a market with real authentic fruits, vegetables and meat, and the smells to go with them…
Bananas,
The blue crates of assorted produce made for a colorful display,
Some sort of pea?
On to the meat section (and the smell).
We left the market behind to wander around a bit.
Lots of balconies,
Different styles of iron work,
All the colors,
And motorbikes everywhere.
I took a lot more pictures in the streets but I think you get the idea?
We did go into a few of those souvenir shops. I wanted to buy some rock samples of Larimar which Wikipedia tells me is a rare blue variety of the silicate mineral pectolite found only in the Dominican Republic. Mark helped me come to an agreement on the price (everything has to be bargained for) and then proceeded to buy them for me! Thank you Mark 🙂
Time for a picture of Mark, Pam and our driver before we got back in the van.
Higuey is known for its Basilica, and we headed there next. It’s surrounded by King Palms. They are very photogenic.
The Basilica (Basílica Catedral Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia) was finished in 1970. 
The bells were ringing as we arrived at noon.
Once again I took lots of pictures… but here’s just a couple.
This mosaic inscription was just inside the door.
Here’s a view looking towards the front. The modern stained glass was beautiful.
Ever onwards…
Back in the van for the drive home to the resort, on different roads to our outward journey. We worked out how to open the windows so we could take photographs on the way.
Lots of colorful wayside stands and small shops.
We stopped at a little shop that had cheese for sale. Apparently people come from afar to purchase it. The lightly pressed fresh curds reminded me of Wisconsin. 
Yummy. There was also home made rice pudding for sale. We enjoyed a little pot each!
Across the road was this building.
I needed a closer look.
Somebody had put a lot of effort into the door surround.
There was a semi standing in the parking lot… a purple semi… not a hue I see too often on the Illinois highways?
And one last colorful picture.
I did enjoy our excursion. I am so glad we had the opportunity to get out and about and I had such good company…
We returned to the resort in time for lunch (available until 4.00 pm) with lots of time to relax with my book and a cup of tea on my balcony before our farewell dinner.
But I’ll leave that story for another day!
