Samana, Dominican Republic | Buckle Up

This trip was planned specifically to be uncomfortable, to get dirty, to not care about looks, to be tired, to experience nature at its fullest, to explore, to breathe fresh air, and to eat fresh food; THIS is how I wanted to celebrate my birthday this year and I did.

The town of choice was Samana in my country Dominican Republic! I planned this trip to the Z, but due to the incessant and stubborn rains for security reasons, we had to change two of the planned locations. The hotel of choice was an eco-friendly one that took the term “Eco” to another level, I mean the bathroom was outdoors and TVs were nonexistent, but the location even though it was dangerous due to the drive, was just steps away from Playa El Valle and that made every muddy step, and crazy road curve worthy. A gray day and nonstop rains did not take away the absolute beauty of this beach, framed by mountains. I am not a fan of other than white sand beaches but the orangy tone of the sand there adds a compelling burst of contrast to the already stunning view.

DAY 1

PLAYA EL VALLE

The plan that afternoon after arriving at the hotel was to hang out at this beach but weeks of heavy rains and the weather that specific day did not allow us to do that. The sun was on vacation and the currents were deathly, so yes no thanks we just observed and absorbed the beauty from afar while having lunch around there at a random eating spot the locals recommended.

DAY 2

EL SALTO DEL LIMON

We started that morning like every morning during this trip, very early. Our first stop the day after having a delicious breakfast was El Salto del Limón, that was not my first time going to this beautiful natural work of art but this time around the inclemency of the weather made the path a tad more difficult, but not enough to have me going down in a quadruped, so again the choice of transportation was on foot. There are horses and donkeys available in the area for rent to take you to the waterfall if hiking is not your turf. In honor of the truth walk there is not a cup of coffee.

We had ahead a 1 hour and a half of slippery and muddy walk up and down hills and stairs, hard even for the horses and donkeys. But if you ask me I would do it again, it was fun, fueling, and challenging (for some strange reason, I enjoy challenging my body to sometimes dangerous limits). Seeing this majestic waterfall and jumping the warm beautiful river made it all worth it.

The second stop of the day was supposed to be Playa Ermitaño but due to the wet, unpaved roads that would not allow us to go up the hill despite the 4x4 SUV and the disapproving look of the locals when we told them where we were heading, we decided not to risk it change location and ufff what a location.

PLAYA MORON

Serendipity! This beach is beautiful, clean, and organized! If you want food you need to order it at the entrance and they will serve it at a table they will set up for you in a spot of your choice in the beach area.

The military is overseeing the area so you won’t find random vendors all over the beach making a mess and walking around selling stuff to people who are trying to enjoy the beach and sun.

DAY 3

PLAYA RINCON & CAñO FRIO

Back in the day visiting this gorgeous intense blue water beach kind of required a 4X4 or a high car due to its lack of roads. You had to hustle through the jungle to be able to access this magnificent beach. During this trip, I learned that a road was built making the trip there seamless, but now with the construction of this road, hundreds of people are transported there on tours by busses from different towns of the country, making it a literal nightmare to get to the “parking lot” and to park. At least that was our experience during a rainy week, I don’t even want to know how it is during sunny ones.

The problem with the crowd gathered there is that this is the type of crowd that gathers around mostly by the side of Caño Frío with loudspeakers, pans of homemade food they bring for themselves or to sell, leave tons of garbage behind, block the access and get awfully drunk. Yeah… not for me. I loved this beach for its beauty, cleanliness, solitude, the great food the little amount of vendors around provided, and the silence.

Not even a gloomy day reduced the intense blue color of this beach. The water was not as clean because the storm created strong waves and those tend to come with an immense amount of seaweed or whatever those plants were, but we still enjoyed it.

We parked as far as we could from the crowded area to enjoy the beach, for a while and then headed to the estuary of Caño Frío, a stunning emerald-colored river surrounded by mountains that meets the ocean on the western end of Playa Rincón.

During a previous visit, we took a boat ride through the creek to enjoy the mangroves and beautiful crystal waters but during this trip, all we saw were tons of people gathered around the edge of the creek no boats nearby, and a lot of garbage.

PLAYA LAS GALERAS

Just as beautiful as a remembered! white sand and crystal blue waters, a delight to the soul. A short drive from Playa Rincón.

I liked how the food vendors were all moved and organized in nice and clean gazebos restaurant style away from the beach giving a cool surf vibe. The food was delicious!

DAY 4

PLAYA MADAMA

Going to this beach was not part of the plan before this day I’ve never even heard about it! But apparently, the path to hike to Playa Frontón was nearly impossible, due to the thick vegetation left behind by the storm. I was not expecting it easy but judging by the look of the locals when we asked around about where to even park the car and how bad the hike was, concern, frustration, and anger started taking over me because I really wanted to go to this beach, so much that the plan was to visit only this spot that day. But sometimes it is best to just let go, so we decided to take the suggestion and hike to Playa Madama, because according to one of the locals, it was closer and the path was a bit better.

OMGGGG WHAT A CRAZY HIKE accompanied by a steaming hot and humid sunny day, the only one we had throughout the trip. These two beaches are easier to access by boat, but for a more adventurous experience, you can do it how we did it but do yourself a favor and do it with a tour guide (is easy to get lost, we did! each way), a machete to clear the path because the vegetation will be blocking the trail, and a weapon of some sort, preferably a gun because this is not exactly a secured area to walk around as we did, it could be dangerous, some crazy could jump out of nowhere and attack you.

You must cover yourself to make this hike, for several reasons including a vast amount of prickly plants that will attack you, as you walk. Also, make sure to pinpoint where you park the car on your map, so you can make it back without getting lost (we made that rookie mistake of not doing that and we sure paid the consequences).

Right before arriving the fear and exhaustion hit the fan and had most of the group turning back. To be able to finally make it to the beach, you have to climb down a reef, and as scared as I was, I was not going to turn back and miss this GORGEOUS and empty beach ahead! the sight was out of this world and my wish of being on a hard-to-access tiny beach came true! the whole experience felt like a portion of the movie The Beach!

We were so happy and proud about accomplishing this hurdle that we will forever cherish the memories.

And with these highlights, I will finish this article! Enjoy, cheers!