A Very Embarrassing and Funny Waterfall Story
This jungle hike turned into a terribly embarrassing and very funny waterfall tale. I felt more like crying at the time, but it made for an excellent story!
Our large group of sailing buddies decided to take a trip to the 27 Waterfalls Park, in Puerto Plata. We had all anchored in Luperon, so we found Joel!
Joel is the one-man show in Luperon. He does everything – from greeting newcomers, through money exchange, T-shirt trade and transportation facilitation.
It was Joel too, who arranged the “big bus” for our group of 35 people, which seated around 25.
Thankfully, our bunch of boat kids had no problem squishing into the “big bus”, and the road police cared less about the number of people that could fit inside a vehicle, or outside, or on top!
There are 24 waterfalls in the 24 Waterfalls Park, but due to lack of water (typical for that time of the year, not related to any climate changes), we were only able to book our tour to see 12 of them.
And, as most of our trips go, I do have a great story about that outing too! A funny waterfall tale.
Everyone was so excited to swap the swampy anchorage in Luperon with the cool shade of the park. I was too – who doesn’t like waterfalls! I was not planning to go in any of the waterfalls; it was not the right time of the month for that…
So, before everyone was equipped with a life-vest and a helmet, a had this strange feeling I’d better make my wishes clear before we started the hike,
“Excuse me, I don’t want to go in the water today, is that ok? Is there a path around?”
“Oh, si, si, lady! No worry! You swim?”
“Yes, I swim, but not today. No water for me today!”
“Ok, no problem, you don’t jump in waterfall, there is path around, no problem!”
And so we started a beautiful hike inside the shaded jungle! Palm trees and cacao trees lined the path. Birds were singing Dominican songs, I had never heard before.
We hiked for around 30 minutes with occasional breaks, because it was quite hot and the first waterfall was far. I am mentioning this for a reason, of course, why else would you need to know it?!
Soon after our second break, we reached a beautiful blue-green waterfall. I looked around for the path surrounding the falls, and there was none to be seen… maybe it is a secret path just for the guides. I approached one of them with a tiny note of alarm in my voice.
“Excuse me, I am not swimming today. Where is the path around?”
In my defense, one of our boat moms was from Argentina, so my earlier no-water-for-me-today conversation with the guide was confirmed in Spanish too!
“Eh, no path, lady. You go in the water! If you don’t want jump, no worries, I push you, hahaha!”
“No, I cannot swim today. I’ll walk back.”
“No, you cannot go back, lady. All group must go back. You cannot go back alone. No worries I push you, hahaha!”
Hahaha, I’ll let you swim downstream from me!
Well, there was no way I was going to ruin the trip for 35 people, so I braced myself and climbed on Joe’s shoulders – he is 6’4″, I am 5’4″, how deep can this waterfall be?
It was deep! As Joe started slowly sinking deeper and deeper, I felt my shorts get wet. Soon he was underwater. I mean, I cannot possibly allow my husband to drawn over a period.
I climbed off and swam into the river, waiting until all of our group had walked out of the waterfall and back on the path.
After I swam out of the first waterfall, Joe assured me there were no extra colors on my clothes. What a relief! My shorts would dry by the time we reached the end of the hike, it’s not so bad, it’s not so bad.
It was! The park was called 24 waterfalls for a reason. Sure, we were only touring 12, but did that mean 12 more chances to totally embarrass myself?
The other waterfalls required either a jumping platform, or a rocky slide to go into. So the funny waterfall adventure continued with me throwing all of my hope into those widely advertised wings… and flying into the water! Times twelve.
As it turned out, each of those waterfalls flowed into another one, creating a narrow river canyon between the tall rocks.
The waterfalls were so pleasant, the jumps and slides so thrilling, I only wished I had done a simple internet search the day before, oh well, there was a funny waterfall story for the blog!
As with most self-centered events in people’s lives – no one really cared about my situation. It was too much fun and such a cool adventure that my period struggle went completely unnoticed.
Thankfully, the entrance to the waterfalls park had showers, so everyone changed and all refreshed, we tipped our guides and boarded the Big Bus! I am sorry that I did not take photos of the bus, just imagine a clown car, only bigger!
After a brief tour of Puerto Plata, our long day came to an end, back in our cute small anchorage in Luperon.
Everyone loaded their dinghy with fresh new provisions, planed through the windy bay, against the waves of the turning trade winds, and arrived half-soaked aboard their tiny floating home.
We washed our hands, changed out of our street clothes, prepared dinner and just relaxed, away from the crowd and the noise.
One of my favorite perks of living on a sailboat – our home went wherever we went, offering a cozy, clean and quiet place to rest after each fun adventure!
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What a funny story. I had no idea! That was such a fun day out. Glad we could spend it with you guys 💗
Me too! Yes, I confined with Andrea, so she could translate for the guide, to no avail, alas! 🙂 I only remember the fun parts of that trip though, it was worth it!
Oh this is so fun to read! I’m only sad I missed it. We miss your family!
Thank you for reading our blog! I know, I miss hanging out with you too, and we very much miss the boat, at least 80% of the crew, Joey still likes land better 🙂