CVHS swim goes on team trip to Dominican Republic

The CVHS swim team went on a trip to the Dominican Republic on April 1 for one week.

The team had been waiting in anticipation for almost a year as the trip approached. Looking over the itinerary over and over and getting more and more excited. 

That day, they set off from SFO and the adventure began. After almost 12 hours of travel, they arrived in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. There, they met up with their tour guides which would show them around for the next six days. Although the swimmers were tired from traveling, the tour guides made them shake off their jet lag by taking a walking tour of Santo Domingo that afternoon.

They were tired and it was very hot, but it was exciting to see all of the old historical buildings. They even went to some places where Christopher Columbus had been. Afterwards they went to a chocolate shop and got to see the whole process of chocolate being made. The tour guides also let them have some free time and walk around and look at the shops in Santo Domingo.

On the second day, they traveled into the mountains of Jarabacoa, for a white water rafting excursion, where they braved the rapids and even went down a waterfall with a vertical drop. The team also enjoyed a pottery class where they made dolls out of clay. Throughout the rest of the trip, they went surfing, snorkeling on a sandbar, and a walking art tour.

“ I had so much fun doing all the different activities with my friends and creating core memories, especially river rafting and surfing.” said team member Haley Johnson. 

Team members found the tour guides extremely helpful and informative everywhere they went, teaching the team about the culture of the Dominican Republic. 

This once in a lifetime opportunity will be remembered for years by everyone that went. 

Overall, the CVHS swim team came closer together from the experience of traveling to a new country together and made memories they will never forget.