We Didn’t Fall Off the Mountain in Juncalito

Friday afternoon we took off into the mountains to stay in the town of Juncalito. We knew the drive was windy, hilly and a little rocky, but this turned out to be an understatement. We all piled into the Toyota Coaster (now named the roller coaster) and endured the 2 hour drive. The roads were indeed windy and extremely hilly. The part that we did not expect were the huge rocks and uneven roads that we would have to travel over. Also, we drove on the edge of cliffs with only a small barbed-wire fence between us and the ground hundreds of feet below. This became quite an issue for Jen as she had decided to plop herself next to a window. That particular window happened to be on the cliff side with every windy turn. She made the mistake of looking over the cliff at one point and quickly jumped into the arms of Anne sitting next to her. From then on, she refused to look out the window!

We arrived in Juncalito, after the traitorous journey up, to find a quaint little town on the edge of the mountain. It was breathtaking to see the views from about 8,000 feet above sea level. Alfi, our bus driver, did an excellent job of getting us safely into the parking lot at the ILAC retreat center in Juncalito. We unpacked our belongings and found the open air rooftop to be just the place to relax. We spent the evening walking around the ground near ILAC, eating a delicious meal of fried cheese and playing cards. It was just what we needed after a hard-working week.

At about 9:30 on Saturday morning, we took off on a hiking adventure. We hiked down the mountain for about 45 minutes until we reached this waterfall and river. It was so beautiful! We had all worn our swimsuits down, so we were ready to dive in to get a break from the heat. There was a small ledge by the edge of the water that we all jumped in from. The water was very cold, but extremely refreshing. We spent the next hour or so swimming, relaxing and getting a little tan and a lot sunburned!
After a nice relaxing swim, we started our hike back up the mountain. We all found this to be very difficult as we weren’t used to the high altitude. The path was extremely rocky, which made it difficult to hike as well. But, we all made it!

At around 3:00, the youth from the community came to ILAC and we spent a few hours getting to know them. We started with a few ice-breakers, but it quickly led to a mini dance party! They wanted to teach us their native dance of meringue and bachatta. We had a great time learning the dance moves and learning about their culture. We then sat around in a circle and asked questions about their life, studies and goals. It was neat to see that we shared a lot of similarities in this regard. Overall, it was great to make friends with these wonderful Dominicans and spend the weekend on the mountain in Juncalito!