Swimming with Yaya

A couple weeks ago my yiayia came to visit me.  It was her first visit to the DR in more than 20 years and so we packed in lots of things.  Within 48 hours, she had swam in the Caribbean sea, a couple pools at our resort in Punta Cana, and in a chilly, fresh water river.  

My grandma is one of the bravest people I have ever met, and at 67 years old I think she's just as.. ballsy.. as she was at age 16.  At the beach it didn't matter how strong the waves were, she would repeatedly walk straight into them intending to get farther from shore, even though they would roll her body all the way back into the sand.  Every.  Sixty.  Seconds.  Wheres the camera when you need it? 

Yaya braving the waters, it was much choppier than it looks here!

After the resort we took her to A's family's farm, one of my favorite places {see my foodie rave post here}.  With 1 kilometer of river in the property, its the perfect place on a hot afternoon.

Picture from a previous visit, isn't it beautiful?

Since it had rained there was a strong current, so I told her to stay close to the rocks where we were getting in.  But, her fearless self decided to jump right in and try to make it across the river without telling anyone of her plans {she wanted to catch some sun and the other side was sunny!}.  She was dragged down the river instead, but managed to grab onto some rocks before reaching the next mini waterfall.  At the time, the rest of us were all in shock, half laughing and half worrying, but Yaya?  She barely flinched.  Typical. 

When she made it back we spent some time getting back and shoulder water massages by a mini waterfall.  In her words it was a massage worth 1,000 dollars.  

Handpicked fruit post-swim; the bottom center one is star fruit

Do you prefer the beach, pool, or rivers and lakes?
When I was young I preferred pools, but in my older years I've grown to appreciate the beauty of natural beaches..  I'm spoiled to be able to swim in the warm Caribbean waters every few weeks!