A Riddle, a Gem, a Best Friend

Here’s a riddle…

What do all cities have that most tourists know nothing about?

Hidden gems.

Born and raised here until she was 5, my best friend, Laura, was the first person I called when we got this job.

“You’ll never guess where we’re going.”
“Dominican Republic.”

Oh, so she guessed it. She is my best friend after all.

A few weeks ago, we were talking about her upcoming trip to Dominican Republic. She is coming for a wedding and decided to extend her trip a bit to celebrate her Godson, Santiago’s, 1st birthday. My son, Santiago. One in the same.

After ironing out a few details (I’m watching her son who is the same age as my daughter when she is at the wedding) we started talking about what we would do after she was done with all the wedding hoopla.

“We can go to the Colonial Zone or Café del Sol. Or we could keep it local and hang out at your hotel pool or our apartment pool.”
“Those all sound like good plans.”
“Ohhhh. I definitely want to take you to the Bluffs.”
“What’s the bluffs?” She asks.

I responded the best way I knew how:

“Umm.. well, the Bluffs are… actually it’s called Praxe’s Bluffs and… hmmm….. Uh.. ok, so our friend Praxe discovered the Bluffs his first year here. It’s on the Malecon, a cliff overlooking the ocean where the occasional fisherman will go to fish. You have to drive on a sidewalk and then up a small dirt hill to get there but it’s so awesome. We go there some Friday afternoons and tailgate: bring lawn games, wine, and a gang of friends. Sun sets. Just awesome.”

I could tell she was thinking about it. “Your family wouldn’t know where it is. It’s not like… on a map or anything.” (Although I have since drawn one.)

It hit me then that this is a hidden gem. Something that – for now – only we know about, a select lucky few of us. I don’t know if this is the reason that the bluffs are one of my favorite places on this island or if it’s because every time we go it means we’re hanging with good friends and loosening up the week’s belt, if it’s the island sun sets at 6:00 surrounded by crashing waves and rocky cliffs. Maybe it’s the lawn games or the drinking wine or the the way I laugh every. single. time we drive up the sidewalk to get to a place that only a select number of us in a whole city know about. I’m not sure…

and to be honest, I don’t care.