Between beaches, remote work and new horizons
Everything indicated that it would be just three weeks in the Caribbean.
My daughter Madelyn had traveled to the Dominican Republic to visit friends and take advantage of the possibilities offered by remote work, a modality that was beginning to expand after the pandemic.
But the weeks turned into months, the months into even longer, and when I realized that I had no intention of returning anytime soon I decided to travel to see that corner of the world that had managed to conquer her.
After the pandemic, as airports began to reopen and the world tried to regain some normality, my daughter Madelyn, then 27 years old, decided to take advantage of an opportunity that few generations had had before: work virtually from anywhere in the world.
He was always an independent person, curious and willing to explore new paths, so I wasn’t too surprised when he told me that he wanted to travel to the Dominican Republic to visit some friends and spend a few weeks there.
The initial idea was simple: travel, enjoy the experience and return.
But plans changed, and changed completely.
Madelyn fell in love with that place.
What was going to be a stay of a few weeks turned first into a few months and then into almost two years living in the Caribbean.
At first we expected his return with the original ticket, then the first date change came, then another, and finally we understood that there was no longer a certain date to return.
It was then that I decided that the time had come to find out what was so special about that place that had conquered my daughter in such a way.
That’s how I started my journey.
I arrived in Santo Domingo and there she was waiting for me.
It had been several months since we had last seen each other and the hug of the reunion was one of the happiest moments of the entire experience.
From the capital we begin a road trip towards the north coast of the island.
With a rental car we discovered incredible landscapes, small towns, endless beaches and corners that hardly appear in traditional tourist circuits.
As we continued, I understood more and more why Madelyn had decided to stay.
The Dominican Republic has a special energy: the warmth of the people, the tropical climate, the permanent proximity to the sea, the feeling of freedom that is breathed in every corner and that everything seems to invite you to live at a different pace.
Our final destination was Cabarete, the place where she had chosen to settle.
And there I finished understanding everything.
Cabarete is not just a beach.
It is an international community of people who came from different parts of the world looking for exactly the same thing: quality of life, contact with nature and the possibility of working from anywhere.
The beaches seem to never end, the ocean accompanies each day, the sunsets have impossible colors and the environment transmits a permanent feeling of tranquility.
We also toured Puerto Plata, a city with a fascinating history and a perfect combination of cultural heritage, nature and Caribbean life.
The mountains covered with vegetation, the sea and the colonial architecture create a landscape very different from other Caribbean destinations.
But perhaps the most extraordinary thing about that trip was something much simpler since we both worked virtually and many times we did it in front of the sea.
I still remember opening the computer while looking at landscapes that seemed straight out of a postcard.
It was a reality that years before would have seemed impossible.
Work and, at the same time, enjoy places of extraordinary beauty.
Those days allowed me to get to know a different Dominican Republic, not that of the large tourist complexes, not that of organized trips.
But the Dominican Republic that my daughter had chosen to build a stage of her life.
And above all it allowed me to see her happy.
See her carry herself with confidence, make friends, create projects.
And show me that he had been able to challenge his own limits to pursue what he dreamed of.
When it was time to return, I returned home with enormous peace of mind.
Of course I still missed her, that never changes, but I also came back happy.
Happy to have understood why she had chosen to stay, happy to see her grow and happy to see that sometimes children teach us something very important: that the world is much bigger than we imagine and that dreams usually appear right behind the door that we dare to open.
If you go
Places visited:
• Santo Domingo
• Puerto Plata
• Cabarete
Not to be missed:
• The beaches of Cabarete
• The international and relaxed atmosphere of the north coast
• The historic center of Puerto Plata
• The coastal landscapes of the Dominican Republic
💙 For me, this trip will always be much more than a visit to the Caribbean. It will be the memory of a daughter who dared to build her own path and of a mother who traveled to discover why that corner of the world had conquered her heart.
