Whenever I feel up for an adventure I know I can count on Lindsay to be up for one too. And this time around, the wind blew us to Las Terrenas, a small beach town on the Samana peninsula, renowned for its nearly virgin beaches.
We started our travels early Friday afternoon. Transporte Samana (which you will have to find by word of mouth because of course they don't have any info on the internet) runs buses direct from Santiago to Las Terrenas at 6:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 3:00 p.m. The cost is 300 pesos ($7.50) for a 3 1/2 hour bus ride with one stop about half way through for a bathroom/snack break. Not a bad deal!
Upon request, the bus driver kindly dropped us off at our hostal, Casas del Mar Neptunia, a sweet little hostal with individual bungalows complete with their own bathroom, hot water (often a luxury), a mini fridge, a safe box, free wifi, and complimentary breakfast. Not to mention its just steps from the beach and a conveniently close walk from the heart of town. Our 3 bed bungalow cost us $1750 total per night. A steal in my opinion.
After our trip we were a little tired, so we chilled in the room and waited for our third amiga, Malin, to arrive. She had taken a later bus from Cabarete.
Once she got into town, we figured it was time to russel up some grub. We found a nice little American place, Big Dan's, serving up cheap hamburgers and the best fresh grouper I've ever tasted. There we sat and chatted with Pilar, the rambunctious 3 year-old daughter of the owner, and also talked with the kind managers of the Mexican restaurant, El Huekito, situated in the same little eating nook. Then it was back to the hostal for a little nappy-nap before heading back out at night. Things don't get heated up until about midnight in Las Terranas, so best to squeeze in some rest before then because you'll probably be out til the wee small hours of the morning. We woke up still a little hungry and decided to head into town for a snack before making our way to the party scene. We asked around for where we could find a cheap comedor (Dominican cafe) since we didn't want to spend a lot in the touristy restaurants located in the heart of town. Of course everyone was more than happy to help us and we had no trouble finding two nice young men, off-duty police officers, who kindly offered to take us to their favorite comedor. They payed for our meal and then led us out to one of their favorite spots for nightlife: la bomba Tu Drinks. A "bomba" is a gas station. But many bombas have a small restaurant/bar attached and at night these are converted into swingin' bachata and merengue dance centers. After a few beers and little bachata we decided to head back into another night club, La Bodega, in the town center. I can't say I was super impressed with La Bodega since when we first arrived they were playing old American music that was impossible to dance to. Nevertheless, the establishment was spacious, clean, and quite lovely with indoor and outdoor seating as well as a huge dance floor. And as the night progressed they began to play more Dominican music, luring us out to bust a few moves once again. We made our way home around 3:00 a.m., tired but happy, and immediately fell into a dreamy sleep.
Once she got into town, we figured it was time to russel up some grub. We found a nice little American place, Big Dan's, serving up cheap hamburgers and the best fresh grouper I've ever tasted. There we sat and chatted with Pilar, the rambunctious 3 year-old daughter of the owner, and also talked with the kind managers of the Mexican restaurant, El Huekito, situated in the same little eating nook. Then it was back to the hostal for a little nappy-nap before heading back out at night. Things don't get heated up until about midnight in Las Terranas, so best to squeeze in some rest before then because you'll probably be out til the wee small hours of the morning. We woke up still a little hungry and decided to head into town for a snack before making our way to the party scene. We asked around for where we could find a cheap comedor (Dominican cafe) since we didn't want to spend a lot in the touristy restaurants located in the heart of town. Of course everyone was more than happy to help us and we had no trouble finding two nice young men, off-duty police officers, who kindly offered to take us to their favorite comedor. They payed for our meal and then led us out to one of their favorite spots for nightlife: la bomba Tu Drinks. A "bomba" is a gas station. But many bombas have a small restaurant/bar attached and at night these are converted into swingin' bachata and merengue dance centers. After a few beers and little bachata we decided to head back into another night club, La Bodega, in the town center. I can't say I was super impressed with La Bodega since when we first arrived they were playing old American music that was impossible to dance to. Nevertheless, the establishment was spacious, clean, and quite lovely with indoor and outdoor seating as well as a huge dance floor. And as the night progressed they began to play more Dominican music, luring us out to bust a few moves once again. We made our way home around 3:00 a.m., tired but happy, and immediately fell into a dreamy sleep.
I rolled out of bed around 8:00 a.m., with the morning sun beaming on my face and the beach calling my name. But first, breakfast!
Toasted baguete with all-natual butter from Sosua and delicious tropical jam of unknown flavor. Coffee with milk and honey. Seasonal fruit and a tall glass of oranje juice to wash it all down. Yumm :) I pretty much skipped all the way to the beach after breakfast, I was so happy.
The day was a little overcast, December is the rainy season here, but still, it was a lovely 85 degrees, and the beach was stunning. Absolutely stunning. Soft sand, blue waters, gentle waves, lush palms, and the best part, it stretched on and on for miles. Finding a patch of sand with little to no other people wasn't hard.
After a nice walk and some fetch with two friendly beach-bum strays, I met up with Lindsay and Malin to play in the waves.
Once we had had our fill of fun in the sun, we decided to try for a mini-adventure to El Salto de Límon, a waterfall situated in the mountains not too far away.
After talking with a few of the locals, we eventually ran into a fellow named Leche (milk), who advised us that we could catch a guagua to Límon every 15 minutes for 50 pesos, and who, after some serious bargaining, said that he could get us 3 horses with guides to lead us to the waterfall for only 300 pesos a piece. Let´s put this into perspective: a round trip ride to Limon, plus horseback ride to the falls only cost us 400 pesos ($10 dollars). The excursion price offered to tourists is $45. Now that´s what I call a good deal. Its a good thing we can speak Spanish because a regular tourist would never ever be able to get that price.
P.S. the above photo is of Me, Leche, and Malin waiting for our guagua.
P.S. the above photo is of Me, Leche, and Malin waiting for our guagua.
So the guagua turned out to be nothing more than a truck with benches rigged onto the back. Awesome.
The ride took about 15 minutes all in all.
The ride took about 15 minutes all in all.
Once we got into Limón, Leche led us to a little stream to wait while he went to round up our horses and guides.
The horses ended up being more like ponies and our guides were 3 barefoot Dominican boys: Jefferson (Jefu), age 12, Adrian, age 11, and Nathaniel (Natha), age 19. Although Natha stopped by a friends place to pick up some boots along the way.
Our little ponies bravely forged through rivers, up steep hills, and over treacherously rocky terrain through the heart of a Dominican jungle. And more impressively, our guides hiked almost the entire 40 minute trip as well, without shoes! The two younger ones hopped on the back of the ponies only a couple times, just to make it a little easier to give them a swat on the rump to motivate them forward.
Finally, we arrived. Beautiful. After tying up our horses we made our way down the path to get closer to the falls.
Adrian and Lindsay
The path led down to the first (and smaller) waterfall. We had to wade across the river to get to the path on the other side that would take us up to the larger fall.
Me and Natha, my guide.
And here is where our mini photo-shoot began. Natha hopped into the brisk (very brisk) waters and it didn't take too much persuasion to get Lindsay and Malin to follow. I, on the other hand, opted to be the photographer and stay dry since riding home on horseback wet and cold didn't seem like the most favorable of conditions. I was definitely getting my fill of cold water from the spray coming off the falls in any case.
Jefu and Adrian also thought the waters were a little too cold for swimming
Finally, it was time to make our way back, but not before snapping one last picture goodbye. Then we hopped on our ponies and headed home. By this time however, the sun was starting to set, and it was going down quickly. We urged our little ponies to make it down the mountainside faster so we wouldn´t get caught in the jungle after dark. Malin´s pony wasn´t quite as surefooted as the rest though and the previous night´s rain had mad the trail slippery with mud. The little pony ended up slipping and falling! Luckily, Malin and Jefu rolled off without a scratch and the pony was just fine as well. We took it a little easier after that and only just made it out of the jungle before darkness fell. Leche was anxiously waiting for us at the foot of the jungle path with a flashlight, worried that he might have to go in looking for us. All's well that ends well though, and overall it was an amazing adventure! I would do it again in a heartbeat and I would recommend it to anyone, as long as you don't mind roughing it a little with a truly Dominican style tour.
Once we finally made it back to Las Terrenas after our nearly 5 hour tour, we were starving. Hunger has a funny way of making everyone a little grumpy, and we were having trouble finding a place we all agreed on. Once everyone finally had a little food in their tummy though, peace returned to our little group of three. We decided to take it easy for the night, so we bought a bottle of wine and headed for the beach to do some star gazing.
My puppy pals from earlier in the day decided to join us.
A tropical night, the sound of soft waves crashing, a star-studded sky, good friends, and a cold bottle of wine. What more could a girl want?
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