Gaia Naomi

A second trip to the Samana province took me to Las Galeras. A small beach town with beautiful nature around. You can visit Playa Rincon, Playita and basically spend all day at the beach. I also went on scuba diving here, which was my first time doing it in 7 years! I can proudly say I managed quite well and really enjoyed going back down into the ocean. I’m hoping to do the advanced PADI next year and up my qualifications. Also I really need up update my diving ID, since it is a photo from when I was 12…not my best haha. What I really enjoyed about Las Galeras however is that although it is touristy, it is not crowded so you have a lot of beach to yourself. It’s the perfect vacation spot.

Lots of palm trees, pretty sunsets and beaches is where I am happiest. Las Terrenas in the Samana province was my favorite place to visit. I spent a short two nights here and kept myself busy with a hike to the waterfall El Limon and a visit to Playa Bonita. Nightlife is great here as well, with lots of beach bars, dancing (and dance instructors that will show you what to do!) and live music. You can go out for nice lunches and dinners as well, like this delicious pizza I had at Playa Bonita. It was so big, it didn’t fit on my plate haha. I stayed at Manty’s guesthouse, the ideal place for a solo traveller. You’ll get to meet lots of other travelers who will gladly go explore the surrounding area with you. The best way – and the funnest way – to get around this area is by motor taxi. It might not be the safest option ahah but the drivers are quite experienced and will take you anywhere you ask. My best memories were made during a night out, zooming through the empty streets of Las Terrenas and seeing what place we will go dancing next. The motor taxi drivers always try to get a bit more money out of you than the trip is really worth, so taking these will also improve your bargaining skills :D.

My first trip in the Dominican Republic! It was a short 18 hour one to La Romana since I had to work at the hostel, but I managed to go in-between a morning an evening shift the next day. La Romana is only about a 2 hour drive from Santo Domingo, so it is easy to reach. From there you can take a boat to Isla Catalina, a small island just off the coast, and ideal for doing some swimming in the ocean. This trip was my first time getting around the DR by bus and it definitely an experience haha. You arrive at the bus terminal, say which place you want to go to and are then put on a bus. Usually you have no idea what is going on and just got to hope that you’re going to end up at the right place. Up until now, that has always worked out for me :). When visiting La Romana, we pretty much were the only tourists and as always the walking attraction around town. Especially as two women you can expect to be called and looked at, however it is something you simply have to get used to. To sum up this short trip, it was the ideal mix of enjoying food and cold beers at the beach and taking a short little boat ride to a new island.

The capital of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, is what I’ve been able to call my home for the past two months. I spent 7 weeks working at a hostel there whilst taking the days off to explore the island. However, Santo Domingo in itself has a lot to explore and I really did enjoy living in the big city. I spent most of my time in Zona Colonial, the first settlement in the Americas actually. It reminded me a lot of Spain (of course haha) and was by far the prettiest and cleanest part of town. Lots of fun cafes and bars around and always music to be heard at every corner. From day to night you will always find drinking and dancing in the park. The capital also has a business district, one filled with tall buildings and malls. This part of the city feels more like Miami. I also love this area, with all its restaurants bars and rooftops. It makes you forget that you are in a Latin American city, so it is the ideal place to spend time if you miss your European home haha. Of course it’s important to remember that my photos don’t portray the reality of the DR. The country, as well as the city, is haunted by corruption, poor living conditions and lots of trash. As a visitor you do get to experience this while traveling around the city and island. It does really remind you of the fact that everything has two sides to it.

Overall, I can only recommend to visit Santo Domingo. Take about two days and you’ll have enough time to explore the historical and culture area, and go for an evening dinner and drink downtown!

Nothing beats these views. The Dolomites is probably one of the prettiest mountain range with abundant ski areas. The week we spent up on the mountain, we were really lucky with the weather and had blue skies and sun every day. It was not too cold either, which made it perfect conditions for a good week. Even the snow was still good, although it was March! Our village allowed us to walk down to the gondola which directly got us up to the slopes. The walk might not have been the easiest ahah (going up and down the hill) but finally making it up with the gondola made it all worth it. In three days I am off to the Dominican Republic for a new adventure and a complete change of scenery, however I hope to be back in the Dolomites soon again for some hiking or skiing.

The Netherlands being a small country and easy to get through, makes Belgium perfect for a weekend trip! Surprised by our friends Lisa and Noor, they took our friend group on a trip to Brugge, a gorgeous little town about a two hour drive from The Hague. When in Belgium beer, fries and Belgian waffles are a must, and I can proudly say we checked all the boxes. We made sure to stop by ‘Brouwerij de Maan’ and enjoy some delicious beers, had some waffles with (too much) of whipped cream and made the mandatory visit to the fries museum. I can tell you, we have learnt a lot about different potatoes and their history of the fries snackbar. We finished of our short visit with a lunch at Bistro de la Pompe and I highly recommend this place! Brugge is definitely worth the visit and makes for an ideal place to learn more about the Belgian culture.

Unfortunately, due to corona a lot of the Christmas markets across Germany have been cancelled. However, we were lucky and still had the opportunity to attend the one in Cologne. So, we made a weekend trip out of it and spent two days drinking lots of glühwein and eating German food!