The Dominican – Part 3 – Flora and Fauna

I’m still not over my trip, mmmmkay? But I ‘think’ this is my last blog post about it.  There was just too much to say all in one post!!  And this is will be a short one, I promise.  Basically I’m writing this post to share the story of the ‘black flamingos’ and how this country girl felt at home with them. 

You’re probably thinking there is no such thing as black flamingos.  And you’d be right.  Well, almost right…I did a little research and came across THIS… so you’re mostly right, but that’s neither here nor way over there…

Dominican, me, my husband, and chickens.  Our first morning waking up in the resort, I go out on our balcony to enjoy the morning and low and behold, there are chickens pecking around the grass below me!!!  I can’t tell you how happy it made me, to see something so ordinary in such an extraordinary place.  I’m sure they’re there for bug control but who cares!!  They provided great entertainment, especially when the staff had to chase them out of the sitting area of the pizzeria!

Before I’ll tell my story, I’ll say that I knew somewhere on the resort there were flamingos, of the pink variety.  We looked for them the first day and couldn’t find them, but that was because we didn’t realize the resort had a whole other section that we didn’t know existed!  Eventually we did find them and enjoyed watching them in their bizarre behavior.

So, imagine Michael and I walking along one of the lovely paths, watching chickens off on the grass, when he pipes up to say something along the lines of, ‘Oh, there’s some of those black flamingos’…. Now, if you know him, he might strike you as a serious fella, but let me tell you, he is always trying to get a rise out of me.  So, his comment was said loud enough so the lady in front of us heard us, and you could see the pause in her step, her sideways glance in our direction and of course, we lost it!!!  For the rest of the trip, we always referred to the chickens as black flamingos.

I wanted a souvenir to bring home to remind my of our trip.  I bought the prettiest red mug but also loved the carved wooden pieces, I had narrowed it down to a flamingo and of course, Michael picked the black flamingo….

I’ll also sneak a few flower and palm tree pictures in here, too, because I don’t want to bore you with a FOURTH post from our trip.  We spent a lot of time talking about palm trees and coconuts as we lay under them, trying not to burn our fair winter skin.  Am I the only one who thinks they look very prehistoric and that dinosaurs should be coming around the corner at any minute?  Anyway, flowers in February seemed like such a treat!!

This thorny plant reminded me of a plant mom had tucked in the corner of our living room as kids.  It was tall and had thick thorns on it but it had the prettiest blooms.  As soon as I saw this, my mind went back to my childhood and that plant in the corner.  Funny how things make you remember, eh?

And how could I not share the cuteness that was this sweet little three-legged kitten???  I caught him mid-yawn as he sat, washing in the middle of the path.  We saw a few cats around the resort, again, probably pest control but engaging, regardless.  There was a tall, lanky mister that seemed to enjoy hanging out in the theatre, he’d be on the stage, curled up in a seat or sitting by the doorway, expecting some affection from a passer-by.  Funny how little things like cats and chickens can make the world seem a little smaller and home not so far away!

Well, I think that finishes off all my posts about our trip to the Dominican…I think…. And if you missed the previous parts, you can find them HERE and HERE!

To be continued,

Lori