Cascading & Kite Surfing

There’s more to the Dominican Republic than nice beaches, so we decided to go on a cascading excursion to Ciguapa Falls with my brother from another mother in DR – Alejandro Peña Jímenez and 2 more local guides, Diomedes and Alberto. For non-spanish speakers, cascading is essentially a softer version of canyoning where you swim/float through a river and then jump down the waterfalls into natural pools – loads of fun!

Sal & Dave having a shower mid way through the descent

After a slippery hike down to the Arroyo Frío river we started its descend through the natural pools and up to 10m waterfalls. When asked who wanted to go first, Jane (Sal’s Mum) jumped at the opportunity (pun intended) and led the group off almost every cliff into the stunning greeny blue pools.

Jane shows us how it’s done!

3hrs, some scratches and few bruises after, we climbed out of the river, walking back to the van through coffee and habichuelas (beans) plantations and humble but beautiful farms.

Beautiful scenery on the way up

Alberto’s family was waiting for us at the base (his place) with one of the best home-made
meals that we’ve had in this trip so far. The menu consisted of the typical rice, beans, chicken and vegetables but we were told that everything had been grown nearby and we were lucky enough to try it. We will start posting about our favourite meals soon!

A day or two later the call to attempt kite surfing became too much to resist so we gave it a try. Winds start to blow after lunch time, so it’s a great sport for those who have had a long night and lazy morning. While Scott has already mastered the sport and was getting some air, Sal, Dave and I started our induction by familiarising ourselves with the handling of the kite.

Despite our instructor’s flashy looks, all eyes were on the kite

For those who haven’t tried it before, imagine a biiiig kite connected to a steering bar, connected to your harness (and secured by a plastic tube apparently called the “donkey dick”). These kites are capable of lifting you off the ground or water so learning to control the kite is the key unless you want to end up on a rooftop.

The local kids showing off incredible tricks

Couldn’t have a different name: Kite Beach – Cabarete

After the full lesson on the ground, we managed to get control, but the next day Dave proved to be more persistent than us and continued the lessons in the water. It’s an sport that requires time… so hopefully we’ll get the chance to give it another go during the trip!