“I soo scarr-red” – Crew
As we slowly idled our dinghy into the dark, the kids were screaming with what looked like bats swarming around us. It was dark, stinky and clostrophic. Crew broke into a cry and we knew it was time to chuck her in reverse and make a hasty retreat. As we exited we found out that they were actually small birds and not bats after all. This was the best day EVER!
From my last post you could tell my heart was in the gutter, being swept away with yesterdays trash from the sidewalk. But today, TODAY all is well in the world again.
We were granted permission to sail across Samana Bay to the National Park (Dominican Republic). Can I just say that this place should be on everyones bucket list. It is the The Beach (think Thailand) versus Jurassic Park, minus Leonardo DiCaprio, which isn’t a bad thing.
We anchored and took the dinghy out for some exploring, we discovered a fantastic cave that went on forever. Carl did reference the TV show Lost a few times whilst exploring. And the kids, the kids thought it was the coolest thing ever! There were no safety rails or tour guide like in the States, we were able to explore with no limitations. Amazing.
We all left the cave with a new sense of adventure and continued in to find a mini cave in which Carl drove the dinghy into with all 4 of us screaming. There were what we thought were bats swooping us and a foul stench what could only be poo. Ewww. But totally ewww in such a cool way.
Exiting the mini cave we spotted a path into the mangroves, our friends from Sea 
Spice lead the way and we slowly dinghy up narrow watery paths boring high rock cliffs. It was a mini amazon in the DR. Birds swooping overhead, crab scarring up and down the mangrove roots. Magical.
The day didn’t end there, we moved around the corner to another anchorage where we ventured into another mangrove maze only to end a small hut with a dirt road. Some locals who spoke no english told us with a lot of hand signals that the waterfalls were up the road, around the corner and to the right. We passed cows, horses and even some kittens. Who would have thought our kids could walk that far without even one single complaint.
The road ended at an eco resort, we paid $4 USD each to get in and there was the most magnificent structure I have ever seen, maybe not ever but definatilye in the last few years. The hotel was built into the rock, made out of that same rock and they had diverte
d the natural flowing river and created their own waterfalls, slide and swimming whole. It was rather chilly but from the cave exploring, to the mangroves to the dinghy ride we were all rather sweaty and on the nose.
So fresh, so natural and so bloody cold.
We stayed for dinner. $50 fed us all (4 adults and 5 kids) with leftovers to take home, can’t get better than that.
We may have missed bats in the mini cave early in the day but on the way home we were swooped with about 20 of the suckers. I don’t like bats but I must admit it was pretty neat.
We made it home with the last light, navigating the maze of mangoes at night would have been interesting.
After settling the kids into bed Carl and I rinsed off on the stern. Carl called me back out to the back of the boat to take me on a magical dinghy ride. Of course I had to bring a small child along with me for company.
There was a plethora of bioluminescent plankton where we anchored, I’d never see so much. Capri and I ran our hand through the water as Carl ran the dinghy. This may be as close to fairies as I’ll ever get.
We haven’t had a day like today in such a long while and we needed it. No wifi, no traffic, no schedule. Our family all together enjoying the best of what mother nature has to offer.
Here are some more pictures from the National Park, not that you’ve seen enough.
Incredible 🙂