Our scariest experience to date occurred during our time in the Dominican Republic. It wasn’t an ocean passage or a building squall we braved. The dangerous experience that we conquered was riding motorcycles through the Dominican Republic. Most Dominicans get around via motorcycles. It’s normal to see a family of five on a single bike or someone hauling two dead goats. The street conditions are poor with the roads covered in pot holes. Motorcyclists fail to obey elementary road regulations and pass on the left, the right, and sometimes side by side with two other vehicles. To complicate things more, stray dogs and livestock wonder into the streets. All of this combined creates a chaotic obstacle course that’s exciting to navigate.
We had two different driving experiences and visited two different waterfalls. During our stay in Luperon, we visited the 27 Waterfalls (27 Charcos) via motorcycle. Then we braved the crazy Dominican roads again in Samana when we rented a car to explore El Salto Del Limon.
27 Charcos
We rented a motorcycle (450 pesos or $10 USD) with two other cruising couples, Lori and Paul from Imgine2 and Julie and Jason from West Wind. They rented motorcycles earlier in the week, so they showed us the ropes. The one thing to remember is to get off the bike on the left. The bikes don’t have a guard on the muffler. Many cruisers end up with a “Dominican Tattoo”, a nasty muffler burn on their right leg. Luckily Rob and I walked away without any scars.
The ride to the waterfalls was chaotic, but gorgeous. The green country side was breathtaking. We arrived early and decided to see all 27 waterfalls. Our options were 7, 12, or 27. The more waterfalls, the longer the hike. But we didn’t mind, we actually welcomed the exercise.
Two guides helped our group of 6 navigate each waterfall. We jumped off rocks, slid down waterfalls, and swam in fresh water pools. We had a blast in this natural water park.
After 3 hours of playing in the waterfalls, we continued to explore the DR on motorcycles. We rode to Agua Verde and met other cruisers for beers. When we left our motorcycle gang had grown from 3 to 8 bikes. We continued to explore, stopping for 15 pesos ($0.33) empanadas and crossing over a river. As the sun was setting, we returned to Luperon. We had a wonderful day exploring the countryside and even though I must have asked him to slow down about 100 times, Rob did a great job navigating the chaotic roads in the Dominican Republic.
El Salt Del Limon
We braved the Dominican roads a second time when we rented a car in Samana. We drove to Las Galeras to explore the northern beaches with the pups. We stopped along the way for more fried chicken. We really can’t get enough of the food in the Dominican Republic. While in Las Galeras, we picked up a few paintings from a local artist. I’m a horrible negotiator, but Rob was able to score us a good deal.
The next day we decided to hike to a large waterfall, El Salto Del Limon. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, we were bombarded by locals looking to be our guide. Most people opt to travel to the waterfall on a horse. However, we were looking forward to the exercise and passed on the guided tour. The previous day’s rain made the trail very muddy. We slogged up the trail through puddles, mud, and horse manure. It wasn’t pretty, but it was nice to get a hike in. We were hoping to swim and soak in the fresh water pool at the base of the waterfall, but the rain carried the muddy run off into swimming hole, turning it brown. We decided to hike out and return to the resort for a soak in the infinity pool. As much as we love the ocean, nothing beats relaxing in fresh water.
The roads in the Dominican Republic are poorly maintained and chaotic, but are worth braving to explore this gorgeous country. We barely scratched the surface of what the Dominican Republic has to offer. Two days exploring certainly doesn’t do it justice, but we’re happy we got a peek of the country side.