Page 8: - Dominican Republic Again - Tropical Adventure /w Pics - From the beginning
We have a perfect day. We need to ride back down to Samana, than take another road across the middle of the peninsula to Las Terrenas, then on to Playa Bonita.
The road is scenic but in bad shape. It is a fun ride but fatiguing and brutal for Heidi on the back.
We hit a lot of construction and a few traffic jams.
We stop to look at the map near Samana to make sure we were taking the correct road. These kids help confirm we were going the right way.
The road from Samana to Las Terrenas leads high up into the mountains that run through the center of the Peninsula. The road is steep, good at times and bad at times and passes through several small communities.
On the other side of the mountain, the road is scattered with places like this to pull over and chill.
OK, Las Terrenas. Heidi mentioned that she would like a little pampering. I decide to look in Playa Bonita for a hotel in the $60 price range with a pool. Playa Bonita is a beach just a short distance from Las Terrenas. The maps in our guidebook make it seem like it will be easy to find.
Las Terrenas is a busy tourist town with confusing one-way streets everywhere. If we miss a turnoff there is no option but to ride through the entire tourist section of town all over again which also leads through a part of the busy Dominican section of town, which is also a one-way road. We find the way leading to Playa Bonita. It is an extremely rough dirt road along the coast. We bounce, dodge and water cross our way down the road only to find the road leads to a private area and is now blocked-off to traffic. Our only option is to go back into town and try to find the back road leading to Playa Bonita. I am good with maps. I had a visual of where I think the back way to Playa Bonita is. I head into the busy Dominican section of Las Terrenas and look for the road. I think I find it and am right but this road is twice as bad as the other road we were on. Pot holes, large chunks of partial pavement with steep edges and many huge puddles. I dodge around the maze like a pro and was having no problem but my riding partner is taking a beating on the back of the bike, we have been on the road for almost 6 hours by now and we are feeling it. After we ride down this road for miles and are nearly to the end, we pull over for a chat. Playa Bonita (Pretty Beach) is much too far off the beaten path for us. We are expecting to be able to walk into town from the hotel.
Plan-B: We ride back to the crappy road we were on before. Our guidebook has three or four good hotel options listed here, just what we are looking for, a short distance outside of Las Terrenas. We ride back and forth along the torn up dirt road looking for the hotels I have marked. Well of course, it seems that our Rough Guide guidebook publishers did not bother to research this area for their latest addition because none of the hotels they have listed existed or they are no longer open for business. Suck! I tried a couple other hotels but they were over $100 a night and they are not even on the beach. No Way.
Plan-C: Ride back toward town then out the same way we originally came in and just wing it. Of course there is a funeral on the narrow one-way road in town and the traffic was stopped, except for motorcycles which squeeze between and around cars, trucks or other motorcycles. There is no way to properly describe the motorcycle road rules here. You just have to experience it first hand. I am getting use to it but this is a first for Heidi, me going with the flow following the other bikers. Heidi called it ‘Pinballing’ At times I have to tip the bike sideways to squeeze between trucks and cars. And, if I didn’t squeeze past I will be holding up a long line of other motorcycles waiting behind me. Anyway, we made it through, twice. Twice because we take a wrong turn and are forced to do it all over again. Anyway, Heidi had about enough of this. The next hotel we tried is $100 a night. After I said no, they chased me down and lowered the price to $80. Then they asked me how much I would pay. I am not interested.
We are frustrated and Heidi is beat up and had enough of the crazy traffic. I need to find something and soon. The next roadway we pass has several hotels listed on it but of course, a new load of rocks and gravel was piled up at the entrance. I tell Heidi to hold on and I went for it. The first place we pass I recognize from our guidebook, Hotel Casa Robinson. It is in the $30 price range but I needed to get this done and was glad we did. We got a cozy room with an outside patio surrounded by a tropical garden. It is right across the street from the beach and next to a recommended pizza restaurant and another restaurant that serves breakfast all day. We took three nights and prepare to do Las Terrenas right. Wheew!
Both our boots need a shine and we know no better way to spend a dollar.
Las Terrenas is a buzz of activity. We enjoy watching it all happen.
We mix a cocktail in our room then walk across the street to the beach to catch the sunset.
Two motoconcho riders ask if we need a ride. We thank them but said no. I ask if I could take a photo and said I think it will look cool. Big smiles!
We march up the beach in search of one more.
There are many loose dogs here. Often they have a yellow tag pinned to their ear. We think it means they are fixed or maybe have had shots. We have found beach dogs to be some of the nicest and most well behaved dogs ever.
They seem to all love me. Heidi says I am a dog whisperer.
Ahhh…. Sunset in Las Terrenas.
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