We just got back from our weekend in Samaná after a long day filled with fantastic and memorable activities.
We started the day early, after getting traditional breakfasts packed to go from a local restaurant and headed to the docks around 9am. We all boarded the catamaran not knowing that it would quickly turn into a fun and wet speed boat ride. The boat took us for a gorgeous tour around Los Haitises National Park before docking outside the entrance of a Taíno cave. Haitis means highland or mountain range in the Taíno language. Native Americans often adorned caves like the one we visited with pictographs. It was incredible to think that the beautiful island sights we were seeing were probably very similar to those that Christopher Columbus and his crew saw when they first arrived.
We got to explore the cave, which was most likely a place of refuge for the Taínos people from the Spanish conquistadors. The following is a short clip of the area we were exploring in Los Haitises National Park.
After we explored we got to kayak through park and view the mangroves. Mangroves are various types of trees and shrubbery that grow in the tropics. The roots grow straight into the ocean water, but are still able to osmoregulate by sending all the salt to a visibly yellow "sacrificial leaf" so that clean fresh water can go to the rest of the plant. It was many people's first time kayaking but everyone had tons of fun and got to experience some amazing views.
After kayaking we took another enjoyable boat ride over to Island Cayo Levantado where we had a buffet style lunch complete with red snapper, rice, chicken, salad and fruit. And to top off the meal many people got virgin piña coladas in fresh pineapple shells. For the rest of the afternoon we got to relax on the picture perfect beach and enjoy the scenery. Many of us took naps on the beach and some of us even got messages. We all got a lot of sun before leaving the beach and heading back to Santo Domingo where we were reunited with our host families. We all had an amazing weekend and created some great memories, but were all excited to get back to work at La Piedra tomorrow!
Look for more updates tomorrow!
Spo, Melissa, Andrea and Megan.
No comments:
Post a Comment