Salto del Limón - Las Terrenas

An unexpected chance came up to go to Las Terrenas as Katherines sister had arranged to go with her friend to Salto del Limón and Las Terrenas but the friend cancelled last minute. So not wanting to see a ticket go to waste I said I would go. I am not usually one for organized tours as I like to be able to go and do what I want when I want but it was a really good deal and I have never been to Las Terrenas before so I thought why not.

Cascada

Katherine is not a fan of trekking especially through a forest so she swiftly passed on the trip. 

The trip was to Salto del Limon which is a waterfall and to the beach in Las Terrenas. The bus left at 6am which meant a 5am wake up but I was pretty excited so it didn’t bother me much. It took about three hours to get there on the new (ish) Samana road, with a stop for breakfast on the way. I like the road as there isn't usually much traffic and very few pot holes! The only problem is the tolls - if you come in a car on your own its pretty expensive, I cannot remember the exact amount but its around RD$700 ( $17 USD ) each way - maybe being on an excursion is not that bad.

River crossing

So we arrived at a restaurant where the walk starts from, it was a really nice place called Manzana (apple). We got our swim stuff on and got ready to go. They were renting boots for the trail at 50 Dominican pesos (just over $1USD) but me thinking I was being clever passed the offer - just another way to get money out of you I thought. So many times on my travels you get offered things at the start of trips and 99% of the times you regret getting them as it was a waste of money... his was that 1% of times that I wish I had not been a cheap ass and got the boots - of course I didnt admit that at the time.

Trail

So we started walking up - a few of the older members of the group got horses to take them but I love a good trek and the guides said it was only 2km so no way was I getting on a horse.

Only a little muddy

It was a pretty easy trek, longer then 2km for sure but not to bad, it took us around 40 minutes. The reason why it took so long was the mud... they must have had a lot of rain as the trail was a swamp, I had to put up with a lot of people laughing at me in my sandals a I was hopping from stone to stone. But it was worth it when we made it there, by far the biggest waterfall I have seen in the Dominican Republic so far. So I got straight in to start washing all the mud off me, pretty refreshing but not to cold. My one piece of advice is to get there early, we were lucky that when we got there only a handful of people were around but about 20 minutes later the place was packed!

Parrot eating lunch with us

So we started the walk back to the restaurant to try and beat the crowds. I have to say it is an awesome walk, you forget what its like to walk in silence when you live in the capital - no traffic, no horns - nothing. The scenery was  beautiful, when people think of the Dominican Republic the first thing they think of is the beaches but theres so much more. 

Beautiful

 So after an equally muddy walk back we sat down for a delicious lunch, local Dominican food washed down with a Presidente. They had to parrots which live in the tree and come down for food identical to my parrot Linda, could not help taking a photo.

A refreshing dip

So back on the bus for the second part of the trip - Las Terrenas beach. I have never been before so was looking forward to checking it out. The ticket for the trip included free drinks at the beach so the rum started to flow  followed by a dip in the ocean. 

Las Terrenas reminds me of Cabarete but a lot quieter, it is basically just two roads of bars and hotels. I will definitely come back again as we only had a couple of hours.

Las Terrenas beach

So that was the end of my little trip, I would recommend the waterfall to people as it is a great day out. The next place on my list is Punta Rucia - hopefully I will make it there some time after xmas.