Slowly and indifferently, Pedro trudges along the narrow path, looking neither to the right nor to the left. He could probably walk the path with his eyes closed. If it weren’t for the fact that there are always steep slopes strewn with rocks that require energetic, coordinated footwork when climbing and careful stepping when descending.
Horse Pedro probably knows that his evening meal is particularly sumptuous when he safely and gently guides his rider over the trekking paths densely lined with trees and scrub.
Actually, we wanted to walk to the Salto El Limón waterfall. But the horse rental station is right at the beginning of the path, and you can easily be persuaded to compromise.
Maybe the terrain is hardly passable on foot after yesterday’s rain? “With the horse you are on the safe side on the way there,” advertise the guides. You can still walk the way back on your own.
The Salto El Limón is located in the heart of Samaná, this peninsula in the northeast of the Dominican Republic that offers much more than the miles of palm-fringed beaches that the Caribbean country is known for. Active vacationers also get their money’s worth in Samaná.
After three quarters of an hour, Pedro’s work is done. The last section of the path through the jungle-like forest is now left to your own feet. First you hear a strong noise, then the view of a waterfall opens up. The masses of water that rush down a rock face here – framed in lush green leaves – look like long, dense spider threads.
The Salto El Limón flows into a kind of natural swimming pool. So into the cool water. In the tropical climate, what could be nicer than a refreshing swim?
The next stop would actually be the Samaná Zipline. Rush over the trees hanging from a rope at up to 65 kilometers per hour and up to 100 meters high. What the provider promises is exciting to read and it looks spectacular.
Maybe another day. As time has passed, we’ll skip the zipline adventure and focus on the walk-through enclosure called “Monkeyland” with a good three dozen squirrel monkeys.
Guide Simson provides papayas and watermelons for the excitement of the horde of monkeys, who unexpectedly pounce on the fruit, choosing the park visitors as a picnic station. Every seat is used – regardless of whether the visitor’s head, shoulder, arm or camera. This makes for some comedic situations.
The fact that Samaná also has dream beaches becomes clear to us at Playa Rincón at the latest. Merengue sounds waft across from a small restaurant, but apart from a fishing boat, hardly anyone can be seen on the three-kilometre-long bathing bay.
“Things are different at the weekend,” says Carlos Romero, who is involved in Samaná’s development at the Ministry of Tourism. “Then party for young people and picnic for families is the order of the day.” The large, wind-protected bay with the soft sand then turns into a hotspot for the locals. Beach vendors sell coconut bread and grilled food, children make their first attempts at swimming in a shallow creek that flows into it.
Another day in Santa Bárbara de Samaná: We do a catamaran tour in Los Haitises National Park. After 40 minutes on the open sea, the boat meanders through a landscape full of rugged karst islands that provide nesting sites for various bird species and sheltered rearing of their offspring.
Pelicans, herons and other seabirds soar by. The male frigatebirds are particularly conspicuous, signaling their readiness to mate with their bright red throat pouches and courting the attention of the females. The catamaran makes a stop at a bay lined with mangroves.
The owner of the excursion agency, Ileana Messina, insists on accompanying her guests personally through the caves and the almost one kilometer long cave of the Cueva de la Arena.
She explains the pictographs, petroglyphs and reliefs that were once left by the Taino natives when they went fishing. Hardly anyone among the excursion guests would have expected such a wondrous world right in front of the palm beaches.
On the return trip, the ship’s team promotes the relaxed atmosphere on board: they serve rum with cola and coconut meat. So the crossing to Cayo Levantado is entertaining.
It is marketed as “Bacardi Island”. Here between palm trees, snow-white sand and turquoise-blue water commercials for the rum producer are said to have been shot in 1970.
The passengers also get something like a Bacardi feeling: at least the rum served on the ship whets the appetite for the beach lunch on the island.
Arrival: Flight to Santo Domingo, from there it is about two hours by rental car or by bus to Samaná.
Entry: A passport is sufficient. In addition, vacationers must fill out an “e-ticket” (eticket.migracion.gob.do) from the migration authority, writes the Federal Foreign Office in its travel information. Corona proof is currently not required.
Travel time: Samaná is a year-round destination with almost constant tropical temperatures of around 30 degrees. The months of January to June, when it rains the least, are particularly popular.
For more information: godominicanrepublic.com
