Sunsets and Sunburns

I absolutely love the beach. There is truly nothing else like staring out into the deep abyss that is the ocean and imagining just how far it goes. I got the opportunity to go to the Dominican Republic for two weeks over my winter break. I went with my boyfriend, his twin brother, and three of our friends. It was an amazing time to say the least. We stayed in Punta Cana, which is one of the more popular and safe areas in the DR.

We had a bit of a hurdle our first week, as the Airbnb we booked was not exactly what we thought. I will spare you the details, but I'm just happy there were no bed bugs. Fortunately, Airbnb upgraded us to a different place that really made it feel like a vacation. We spent the second week at a third-floor condo on resort property and, my favorite part...it was a five minute walk to the beach!

Most of our days were spent soaking up the sun on the beach and exploring all the amazing places to eat. I was quite content laying out on a beach chair getting a nice tan, my book in one hand and a mojito in the other.

On a Tuesday, we all decided to take a two hour car ride and an hour speed boat ride to one of the DR's most famous islands. It was so beautiful! While on the boat ride to the island, we stopped at a natural pool for an hour and took some pictures!

My boyfriend and I in the natural pool.

When we got to the island, it was a tropical paradise! White sand, palm trees, and turquoise waters all around. There may have also been rum and coke in the mix!

My boyfriend, his twin, and I on the island.

Unfortunately, when we got back into the car to head back to our Airbnb, our sunburns set in. My boyfriend, being a red head and very fair skinned, got the worst of it. Even after reapplying sunscreen every hour on the hour, the UV index was just that high! However, most of our sunburns faded to tans the next day or so.

My boyfriend and his buddies woke up early some days to run to the beach and watch the sunrise. I'm more of a sunset kind of girl, and there's nothing like a sunset on the beach. One of the last days of the trip, I took some cool pictures of the beautiful sunset!

Pretty beach sunset!

This was my first trip to the DR, and I'd say it was a success! I definitely recommend it to anyone looking to have a good time. I look forward to hopefully returning someday!

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Hi there! My name is Emma! As you could probably tell by the name of my blog, I have a passion for baking and travel. A little bit about me... I am originally from Mt. Sterling, IL with ties to my birth town of Elgin in Chicago. In the fourth grade, I moved to Uganda, where my family and I founded a school for underprivileged children. I spent eight wonderful years there. When I was a senior in high school, I moved back so that I could get a job and save up for college. I ended up moving to Macomb, IL in 2020, as did the rest of my family, where I currently do life. I am a junior at Western Illinois University majoring in Creative Writing and minoring in Professional Writing. I work part-time as the manager of The Study, a small locally-owned coffee shop on the square here in Macomb. I've worked there for over two and a half years and I absolutely love it. Coffee is another passion of mine. In my free time, I enjoy serving on the worship team at my church, spending time with my bo...

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