This Christmas, the man and I decided to forgo a family Christmas and escaped to the sun. Destination: Samana, Dominican Republic. Samana is a relatively new area to tourism (considering the airport just opened weeks before we got there) It was the first trip away with the man and I was a bit nervous we were going to kill each other. Thankfully, we didn't. We did however, have some thrilling experiences such as extreme horseback riding, an extreme fishing boat trip and extreme taxicab riding (yes, it's possible)
First of all: extreme horseback riding. We did a guided horseback trip to the El Limon Waterfall. Basically, the horse took us up the side of the mountain then down to a lovely waterfall. The extreme part was the fact that this was done in six inches of mud over rocks. Yes, I never thought I could be terrified on a horse, I was wrong...
After surviving the horseback riding, we decided we were ready for another adventure. Whenever I've gone on vacation in the past, I've had success in arranging my own excursions. Overpaid hotel excursions be gone, it is possible to do it cheaper... well, I've learned an important lesson in the hotel excursions; they're usually SAFE! We arranged our own private yacht on Christmas day(ok, it was a 16ft fiberglass boat) to the lovely Los Haitses national park. Looking at the rough chop in front of our hotel, we thought it'd be too rough for such an adventure. Nevertheless, our guide assured us that it would be "calm as a lake". I don't know what lake he's been on, but no lake I've ever been on has 10ft chops!!! It was nuts. We went with this great couple and we all looked at each other like we were going to die. Just when we thought it was all over, we looked at each other and burst into hysterical laughter. Oh, and to make the start of our Christmas day a little more memorable, my man got robbed on the back of a motorcyle! Needless to say, we got back to the hotel Christmas night and started drinking straight rum!
Our last adventure, we took a tourist taxi to the breathtaking Playa Rincon (that's where the picture was taken). Playa Rincon was voted one of the best beaches in the world. What was so incredible about it, was it's remoteness. Only certain taxis will take you there (as the road nearest the beach is incredibly rough, hence the extremeness of the activity) But once you're there, it's heaven! The best thing about the beach (besides the incredibly warm turquoise ocean and white, soft and deep sand) is the fact that the only thing on the beach are three beach huts that will cook you fresh grilled seafood at a reasonable price (they serve you pina coladas in coconuts too, always a plus)
If this is what going away at Christmas is like, I'm addicted!