Mountain Air and Village Service 2017

This is my third year traveling with Rustic Pathways and there's a reason why I keep returning! This trip was a great balance of meaningful work in the community, fun and leisure activities, and important lessons about language, history, and culture. The specific project that we worked on was laying pipes in a rural mountain community so the community members could access running water in their houses for the first time ever. For weeks other Rustic groups had been working on the project, however my group was lucky enough to actually finish the project and as a reward we got to see the water actually get turned on within these houses and the looks of pure excitement on the locals' faces. We actually worked alongside the community members and bonded greatly. For me it was an opportunity to improve my Spanish that I had learned in school, but for others that weren't as confident in their Spanish, the program leaders were eager to make any translations. Every day the local women would bring us coffee, the men would work alongside us, the teenagers would cheer us on, and the children would eagerly play with us if we had to take a break from working due to rain. The locals even taught us some of their favorite games! And at the end of a long day, the program leaders always rewarded our work by buying us ice cream, or a trip to the local smoothie shop. In addition to the community work, we also spent time at a beach and we even got to go snorkeling at a coral reef! the pictures were incredible. At the end of the week, we went to Santo Domingo and got to tour the colonial zone (a UNESCO world heritage site) and experience a traditional Dominican dance performance. The whole week was also filled with small surprises like Dominican dance lessons, a trip to a chocolate museum, and open air bus rides. I really enjoyed how the activities were a mix of things we expected from the schedule, and fun little surprises. One of the things that stood out most to me was how perfectly hired the staff is. Every Rustic trip I've been on has had at least one local program leader who knows everything about the area and can answer any questions about what local life is like. The local leader on this trip was also an avid traveler and backpacker, spoke perfect English in addition to his native Spanish, and was EXTREMELY funny and charismatic. Our other program leaders were a high school teacher from Spain, and a Venezuelan-American with a degree in international relations. They were all dedicated to making sure we got the most out of the trip. Overall this wasn't the most rustic trip that I had ever done. In the past I've done programs that were far more rural and involved sleeping in tents and going without electricity. However I think that makes this trip PERFECT for any first time travelers or parents who may be apprehensive. We spent a lot of time in hotels with hot showers and wifi so this is nice for anyone that might want to try it out before going on one of the more extreme trips. One thing to note is that if you want a traditional tourist experience, Rustic Pathways really isn't the program for you. In all of my trips, we've avoided the major tourist areas and activities in favor of getting a much more local, unique experience. But if local and unique is what you're looking for, then 10/10 I would recommend Rustic Pathways