Friday 1/22
I wanted to get far from Santo Domingo and unfortunately far from my girlfriend for just a few days
...
Around 4pm I grabbed a backpack, and my dog (Blondie) and hopped on the Samana highway: destination Las Terrenas. We arrived around 7:30pm at Fata Morgana Guest House ::F A T A M O R G A N A:: - Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic. I always stay here because the rooms are comfortable and inexpensive. The grounds are clean, the rooms have hammocks on the front porches, there is a communal kitchen that everyone has access to. There are also plenty of animals that Blondie has a good time with: lots of dogs, a cat that never leaves the kitchen porch, a chicken and a donkey that begs for food every morning at the kitchen table. It all just adds to the atmosphere.
Around 11pm I headed down to the beach strip at ?El Pueblo de los Pescadores? and had pizza at Playa Pizza. Nothing to write home about but it was nice to eat with the sea breeze. From there I just hopped in and out of the bars along the strip. I love the small bars they have in this section of town and I love that they are all right next to each other allowing for easy bar hopping.
It?s also a relief to hang out on the beach where things are not as formal. Sometimes I forget that I live on a tropical island when I?ve been in SD for too long. It feels good to enter a bar in jeans and sandals sometimes. Here is SD, there are many places that won?t let you in unless you have a collared shirt. Such formality bites. I also like the fact that there is no taboo music. Many clubs in the capital would never think of playing bachata, but in Las Terrenas they mixed it all up. Lots of dancing and drinks later, I got back to the hotel around 4am.
Saturday 1/23
Was feeling the drinks but I promised myself I would hike to El Salto de Lim?n today. I drank lots of water for obvious reasons and Blondie and I headed over to the Salto. The entrance fee was 50 pesos and we were off. I can never understand why people contract guides and horses. This is a mild 40 minute hike that is really enjoyable, although I do not recommend drinking the night before. In past visits to El Salto de Lim?n I?ve carried Blondie in the rough parts of the river where you have to cross but this time I was in no shape to be carrying a 40 pound dog. She had to fend for herself and did very well. The Salto was beautiful as always but sometimes it?s a bit uncomfortable to swim because the water falls hard and shoots mist in your face. So, we hiked to the top and I cooled off in a small lagoon above the Salto.
The rest of the afternoon was spent at Playa Las Terrenas and dinner was at Coco Pizza along the beach...I guess I ate a lot of pizza
That night I had heard of a party at Paco Caba?a on the beach; some big DJ with lots of drink specials. At 12 am no one was there so I went across the street to La Bodega. There was a live Bachata band and lots of people; mainly Dominicans, ?night workers?, sankies and some tourists. Come to think of it, that was the type of crowd everywhere. At around 2am I left and passed by Paco Caba?a but it was still empty. I suppose that party was a total bust.
Back at the strip, I hopped around a few of the same places and saw that the club Gaia was having a serious bash. Not the cheapest club with an RD$300 cover charge and RD$200 for Presidentes. Pretty steep but the place was packed. Three floors with three different types of music and they close at 6am! The normal bars close at 4am. Pretty good for a beach town because there aren?t many spots open after hours in SD.
It was a good night and I left at closing.
Sunday 1/24
Woke up very late, obviously, and spent the day between Playa Bonita and Playa Las Terrenas. This was just a day to rest and relax. Since I woke up so late I decided to spend one more night to not drive in the dark back to Santo Domingo. No bars tonight, just sleep.
Monday 1/25
On my way home on the Carretera de Samana I decided to turn off at a sign for a local waterfall called ?El Salto de Socoa? that I?ve seen on several occasions. It was just off the highway and the entrance fee was RD$50 per person and RD$50 for the car. It seems as if the local community is using the salto as an eco-tourism project. In all honesty, I just walked down with my camera, no bathing suite, because I thought I would take a shot and leave...no way. This salto was gorgeous! The fall dropped about 30 ft to a large green lagoon below. I was not expecting such a beautiful fall and since I wasn?t walking back to the car, I just went in with my underwear For anyone traveling on the Samana highway, this is a worthwhile stop.
The change from Santo Domingo was nice and really everything in life has its good and bad. I talked down the capital a bit in the trip report but I?m pretty sure that if I lived in Las Terrenas I would get somewhat bored of going to the same clubs and seeing the same people. At least SD is big enough where I can get lost.
I wanted to get far from Santo Domingo and unfortunately far from my girlfriend for just a few days
...Around 4pm I grabbed a backpack, and my dog (Blondie) and hopped on the Samana highway: destination Las Terrenas. We arrived around 7:30pm at Fata Morgana Guest House ::F A T A M O R G A N A:: - Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic. I always stay here because the rooms are comfortable and inexpensive. The grounds are clean, the rooms have hammocks on the front porches, there is a communal kitchen that everyone has access to. There are also plenty of animals that Blondie has a good time with: lots of dogs, a cat that never leaves the kitchen porch, a chicken and a donkey that begs for food every morning at the kitchen table. It all just adds to the atmosphere.
Around 11pm I headed down to the beach strip at ?El Pueblo de los Pescadores? and had pizza at Playa Pizza. Nothing to write home about but it was nice to eat with the sea breeze. From there I just hopped in and out of the bars along the strip. I love the small bars they have in this section of town and I love that they are all right next to each other allowing for easy bar hopping.
It?s also a relief to hang out on the beach where things are not as formal. Sometimes I forget that I live on a tropical island when I?ve been in SD for too long. It feels good to enter a bar in jeans and sandals sometimes. Here is SD, there are many places that won?t let you in unless you have a collared shirt. Such formality bites. I also like the fact that there is no taboo music. Many clubs in the capital would never think of playing bachata, but in Las Terrenas they mixed it all up. Lots of dancing and drinks later, I got back to the hotel around 4am.
Saturday 1/23
Was feeling the drinks but I promised myself I would hike to El Salto de Lim?n today. I drank lots of water for obvious reasons and Blondie and I headed over to the Salto. The entrance fee was 50 pesos and we were off. I can never understand why people contract guides and horses. This is a mild 40 minute hike that is really enjoyable, although I do not recommend drinking the night before. In past visits to El Salto de Lim?n I?ve carried Blondie in the rough parts of the river where you have to cross but this time I was in no shape to be carrying a 40 pound dog. She had to fend for herself and did very well. The Salto was beautiful as always but sometimes it?s a bit uncomfortable to swim because the water falls hard and shoots mist in your face. So, we hiked to the top and I cooled off in a small lagoon above the Salto.
The rest of the afternoon was spent at Playa Las Terrenas and dinner was at Coco Pizza along the beach...I guess I ate a lot of pizza
That night I had heard of a party at Paco Caba?a on the beach; some big DJ with lots of drink specials. At 12 am no one was there so I went across the street to La Bodega. There was a live Bachata band and lots of people; mainly Dominicans, ?night workers?, sankies and some tourists. Come to think of it, that was the type of crowd everywhere. At around 2am I left and passed by Paco Caba?a but it was still empty. I suppose that party was a total bust.
Back at the strip, I hopped around a few of the same places and saw that the club Gaia was having a serious bash. Not the cheapest club with an RD$300 cover charge and RD$200 for Presidentes. Pretty steep but the place was packed. Three floors with three different types of music and they close at 6am! The normal bars close at 4am. Pretty good for a beach town because there aren?t many spots open after hours in SD.
It was a good night and I left at closing.
Sunday 1/24
Woke up very late, obviously, and spent the day between Playa Bonita and Playa Las Terrenas. This was just a day to rest and relax. Since I woke up so late I decided to spend one more night to not drive in the dark back to Santo Domingo. No bars tonight, just sleep.
Monday 1/25
On my way home on the Carretera de Samana I decided to turn off at a sign for a local waterfall called ?El Salto de Socoa? that I?ve seen on several occasions. It was just off the highway and the entrance fee was RD$50 per person and RD$50 for the car. It seems as if the local community is using the salto as an eco-tourism project. In all honesty, I just walked down with my camera, no bathing suite, because I thought I would take a shot and leave...no way. This salto was gorgeous! The fall dropped about 30 ft to a large green lagoon below. I was not expecting such a beautiful fall and since I wasn?t walking back to the car, I just went in with my underwear
For anyone traveling on the Samana highway, this is a worthwhile stop.The change from Santo Domingo was nice and really everything in life has its good and bad. I talked down the capital a bit in the trip report but I?m pretty sure that if I lived in Las Terrenas I would get somewhat bored of going to the same clubs and seeing the same people. At least SD is big enough where I can get lost.
