The camp kitchen was in a long cabin that had about 12 fires burning to cook over, and our guides doubled as chefs who made us breakfast, lunch and dinner. After we ate our dinner of sancocho, a traditional Dominican soup, we headed to our tents to get a good night's rest because we would be waking up at 4:00 a.m. the next day.
On day two, we hiked 3.5 miles to the summit, which took around four hours. Since we woke up at 4:00 a.m., we watched the sunrise over the mountains, and it was stunning. Once we made it to the summit, we sat there for an hour, soaking in the incredible views and warmth of the sun. The feeling of accomplishment was overwhelming. After a while, we hiked back down to camp and relaxed and rested for the remainder of the day, which was much needed. It started to rain in the afternoon, and we waited it out in our tents, snacking and talking about the day's hike and accomplishment. We all went to bed really early that night, after having woken up so early.
On the final day, we hiked back down the mountain to where we began, which took us 7.5 hours. The final day was very difficult, as we were worn out by the previous days' hiking. But once we finally made it down, we were all so happy that we had completed what we set out to do.
In many ways, hiking Pico Duarte was reflective of my Peace Corps service. I started out nervous yet excited, about to venture into a journey I had prepared for, yet still did not know exactly what to expect. It challenged me in ways I had never been challenged before, and because of this, I came out on the other side more knowledgeable and stronger than when I started, just like during my Peace Corps experience.
