This past Saturday I was surfing at Playa Los Patos, not too far from Playa Palenque in the South. A friend made a fleeting comment to me about renting inner tubes to float down the river in Jamao just outside of Cabarete; something he had done about three years ago. He said a woman rented the tubes very informally along the river but had no idea if she still did so. He mentioned the experience as small talk but I took every word seriously and had to find out if that woman was still there.
The next morning my friend's John and Danny, my dog Blondie and myself were on our way to Jamao from Santo Domingo. We had no idea what to expect but we had one mission: find tubes to float down the river.
From the capital you take the Autopista Duarte north, getting off at the Moca exit. The road through Moca takes you over the mountains and down into Jamao, some 20km before Cabarete. When entering Jamao from Moca you'll pass two bridges. Just before crossing the second bridge, look to the left. The last house on the left before crossing the bridge is where you want to be.
I obviously figured this out by trial and error, asking plenty of locals who's answers were weird looks. Eventually I was directed to this house where I was greeted by an older woman and a middle aged man named Omar. It was obvious that we were the first tourists looking to rent his inner tubes. Omar told us he had some tubes stored away. Yes! He then said they had no air and there was no electricity to pump them. Bummer. Thinking on his feet, he suggested we take a trip to the gas station in Sabaneta to fill them up. Back came Omar and I with three air-filled inner tubes ready to hit the river.
Omar came with as we drove up a small dirt road next to his home and along the river. Since there was no room for four men, a dog and three tubes, we improvised by holding the tubes outside the car with the windows down. We all got out about 2.5km upriver from Omar's house. We all put trust in Omar, me especially, to drive my car back to his house and wait for us.
So, there we were, all alone in the woods on the banks of the Jamao River with yellow inner tubes. Everyone had their own tube except Blondie who had to ride in my lap.
The river is very slow moving and incredibly calm. At some points you don't even feel like you're moving and there is a sensation to paddle. The trick is to just let the river take you and relax. You basically float by picturesque hills, farms, an occasional fisherman and small riverside cliffs. The only sounds that accompanied us were the echos of our own laughter and the occasional squawk or chirp from birds swooping over the river in search of food.
It took us about two hours to float back to the bridge and Omar's house. We knew we were getting close when we could hear something other than ourselves and nature: reggaeton. "Already?" We thought. Next time we'll just get dropped off 4km upriver.
This is a very informal operation at Omar's house. He rents the tubes for RD$100 per hour and is a trustworthy guy if you're not riding in two vehicles and you need someone to bring your car back to the starting point. I'm sure there's also the option of leaving your car and having a motoconcho take you upriver but I failed to ask.
Omar Rond?n can be contacted at 809.853.6722 or via email at ocarondon@hotmail.com
Unfortunately, I could not take photos because, well, I was floating down a river on an inner tube. I should be back in early May so I will see how I can work out images.
The next morning my friend's John and Danny, my dog Blondie and myself were on our way to Jamao from Santo Domingo. We had no idea what to expect but we had one mission: find tubes to float down the river.
From the capital you take the Autopista Duarte north, getting off at the Moca exit. The road through Moca takes you over the mountains and down into Jamao, some 20km before Cabarete. When entering Jamao from Moca you'll pass two bridges. Just before crossing the second bridge, look to the left. The last house on the left before crossing the bridge is where you want to be.
I obviously figured this out by trial and error, asking plenty of locals who's answers were weird looks. Eventually I was directed to this house where I was greeted by an older woman and a middle aged man named Omar. It was obvious that we were the first tourists looking to rent his inner tubes. Omar told us he had some tubes stored away. Yes! He then said they had no air and there was no electricity to pump them. Bummer. Thinking on his feet, he suggested we take a trip to the gas station in Sabaneta to fill them up. Back came Omar and I with three air-filled inner tubes ready to hit the river.
Omar came with as we drove up a small dirt road next to his home and along the river. Since there was no room for four men, a dog and three tubes, we improvised by holding the tubes outside the car with the windows down. We all got out about 2.5km upriver from Omar's house. We all put trust in Omar, me especially, to drive my car back to his house and wait for us.
So, there we were, all alone in the woods on the banks of the Jamao River with yellow inner tubes. Everyone had their own tube except Blondie who had to ride in my lap.
The river is very slow moving and incredibly calm. At some points you don't even feel like you're moving and there is a sensation to paddle. The trick is to just let the river take you and relax. You basically float by picturesque hills, farms, an occasional fisherman and small riverside cliffs. The only sounds that accompanied us were the echos of our own laughter and the occasional squawk or chirp from birds swooping over the river in search of food.
It took us about two hours to float back to the bridge and Omar's house. We knew we were getting close when we could hear something other than ourselves and nature: reggaeton. "Already?" We thought. Next time we'll just get dropped off 4km upriver.
This is a very informal operation at Omar's house. He rents the tubes for RD$100 per hour and is a trustworthy guy if you're not riding in two vehicles and you need someone to bring your car back to the starting point. I'm sure there's also the option of leaving your car and having a motoconcho take you upriver but I failed to ask.
Omar Rond?n can be contacted at 809.853.6722 or via email at ocarondon@hotmail.com
Unfortunately, I could not take photos because, well, I was floating down a river on an inner tube. I should be back in early May so I will see how I can work out images.