Afterwards I check out a few more beaches and waterfalls. I can’t get over how beautiful it all is. I chill at the beach have some fish until I want to go further.

Let me tell you something about the Dominican lifestyle here. A lot of locals just work as much as they think is appropriate, afterwards they chill at the beach and smoke their cigars. They chill in these plastic chairs. I’ve seen several of those chairs break. But the people just keep chilling in those three legged chairs with the mentality of just not getting up. It is a balancing act of not caring and deep relaxation. I found it really funny to watch. This is like the peak of relaxation when even gravity can’t define you.

After I arrive at Carbarete and check into the place I notice that in this huge castle like hostel there is only 2 volunteers, me and one other guest in the hostel. First it was really weird, but then I got into it and we just chilled in the evenings or went out to the beach club. You can go surfing in the morning at Playa Encuentro. This beach is made out of dreams. The wave breaks over rocks, which makes the water even more clear. The wave breaks consistent but there is a good amount of people surfing. At the beach there is a real chill atmosphere with hammocks and one laid back restaurant.

In the evenings you can go out and enjoy the latino lyfestyle at the beach club where everyone dances Bachata, Salsa and other different languages. Man I will never say I can dance again. Those are some moves I haven’t seen in my life.

After this ridiculously great days I head back to give the car back. The next day I set out to Santo Domingo and this is where the trouble begins. Santo Domingo is the main capital of the Dominican Republic. It has a lot of crime and is generally not a safe place. The busses are easy to catch, so I manage to get there quickly. I try to rent a Concho, which is a Motorcycle Taxi. It is a great way to cover short distances. So I get of the bus and order one. I offer this guy 100 Dominican Pesos. He answerers with a 100 dollars which I didn’t understood and unfortunately agreed to. So we cruise of to my sleeping place. As I get off the motorbike we start to argue. How ridiculous. He really want’s 100 dollars from me. We argue more as he threatens to call the police. In the end I pay him 500 Dominican Pesos which is also quite too much. I leave my luggage and try to go to city center. I get hold of a different Concho. He agrees for a reasonable price. However I didn’t anticipate how fast he would go for it. As we cruise down the highway way too fast I have to hold my glasses so they don’t fly away. Short reminder. We cruise without safety gear. Without a helmet and I still wear flip-flops. To my bad luck it starts to rain. Regardless the driver doesn’t seem to slow down. I start to question my choices as the driver is holding one hand over his eyes to see through the rain while the other hand is still cranking down on the gas handle of the motorcycle.

I am sick to my stomach after this ride. Only to find out that there really just is a small area for tourists to walk into because the rest is considered unsafe for tourist regarding the recent crimes. The Ciudad Colanial is the first European Settlement in America. Ironic if you think about it. I try to get some cash, but apparently that is not possible as well. In the end this part was not worth it. However I got this picture of a local smoking a cigar. I really like the picture.

All in all the Dominican Republic was great. It was just missing more Backpackers. So I’m off heading to Mexico. Until next time!

The next thing I do is check out the local surf spot. There I meet Leslie. I tell her what happened in the night with the police. She tells me that a lot of cars get broken into and that it’s not quite safe. Especially in the night when there is an abandoned car. Phew turns out the three man with the pump-gun were not trying to intimidate me, they were looking out for me! What a relief! So I get a surfboard and get in the water. I can’t believe how beautiful this place is. Tall palms and super green jungle, crystal clear water and the temperature is just right.

I try to book a flight to Mexico. It’s a supposed to be a flight over Columbia. So a fairly long journey with a short overlay in Medellin. However my card declines. I go surfing until every upper muscle of my body hurts. Later I get to talk Leslie more. She tells me that there is direct flight to Mexico city from this new airline. Nice I can count on my luck! As everything seems to fall into place she invites me to sleep at her couch. Of course, I immediately agree after the night I just had. So this becomes my sleeping place for the next few days. Luck strikes again!

We go surfing together in the mornings. Leslie currently works as a surf instructor so she has to start at 9. Better get the session going early, if you want to surf that day. Her roommate Ales is a surf addict as well. He is from the Czech Republic and is a designer. However he calls himself creator, since the name designer is too far fetched in his opinion.

In the morning the place is even more stunning. A mist is lying over palms and the ocean. The sun is up but it is giving a beautiful light. It is really quiet as almost no-one is on the beach. It became my favorite time of the day here!

We head into the water and the sun and the rain bring in a spectacle of an battle over each other. The raindrops fall from the sky and bounce on the surface of the ocean for a while, until they become one with ocean as we paddle out. The waves make a roaring sound and the sun comes out and lights the ocean in vibrant blue color. The water is so clear that I have difficulty reading waves properly. The interaction of rain and sun brings out a double rainbow just above us as we have the whole spot for ourselves. What a delightful spectacle of nature! This is what surfers dreams are made of at night. What a magical experience!

This is not the only beautiful place on the peninsula of Samana. There is much to see like the lush green hills full of coconut palms. The jungle with it’s stunning waterfalls and a lot more beaches to explore.

During the day the three of us just go about our day until we meet in the evening. We hang out and talk about waves and how the surf is while we smoke some Dominican “Cigars”. I’m so glad I met these people. In the morning before I leave we visit the oldest tree in the neighborhood. Very magnificent and off I go to Carbarete.

So see you next time.

P. S. They say there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. At least that’s what they say….

Shortly after arrival the first problem arises. I do not speak Spanish well enough and so the language gap is bigger than I thought. But that’s what I’m here for. I have to learn a lot and relearn a lot of Spanish.
I share an uber with the people I met on the plane who luckily need to go the same direction. And then I am finally in the country. And boy what a beautiful country it is!

So after a good night of sleep I am heading to the ocean. After only 5 Minutes someone offers me to join him on his motorcycle and off we cruise to the beach. I am immediately struck by its beauty. A clear ocean, warm weather and crispy clean waves! I check and there is no one out as well what a dream! So first thing I do is rent a surfboard und head in and you don’t even need a wetsuit!. What great start into the day.

After that I try to buy a sim card and rent a car to make my way around the island. In the evening the barber of the town comes around as he is friends with the host. After short talking he offers to take me out to a disco. I agree and we head up. There is no shortage on clubs in the dominican republic. As we drive he goes to the first location and orders a large bottle of beer. We share, drink it up and head to next location. And repeat. At some point I wonder if he can still drive. The end location is a club where you can dance all the latino dances. Quite a rythm! The best business you can go party or watch a baseball game. In the meantime someone cleans your car. Quite handy!

I head from Macao to Samana. Looks easy on the map, but it actually is a 7:30h ride. After I arrive I try to sleep in my hammock at the beach. Easier said than done.

As I’m feeling great about my spot I put up my hammock and try to sleep. Everything is well until three big people come up to the car with pumpguns. They ask if this is my car. I say yes. They ask if I’m alone. I say yes again. Then I ask if there is a problem. They say no and leave again. Weird. What was that about? What did they want? Feeling really alone and missing my family friends and girlfriend I dose of into the night.