Day Trip to Charco el Palo

Dominican Republic – such a beautiful country

We made friends with a couple of Aussies, Duncan and Ellie, after arriving in the DR, and went with them up to the mountains in Puerto Plata, to see one of the ‘charcos’ or natural pools.

In the Dominican Republic, the locals love their ‘charcos’, where the river forms a natural pool or small lagoon.

The most famous example of these are the 27 Charcos de Damajagua, but Charco el Palo is not part of that series.

Beautifully cool, and surrounded by pristine nature, we chose the less commercial site.

We didn’t have a tour guide, we just paid a small entrance fee.

There were many air plants growing from all sorts of situations, nourished by the humid, nutrient rich atmosphere surrounding the falls.

We ascended the mountain up paths surrounded by wildlife and exotic plants.

So much to see…

We arrived at one part of the river,

and there were plastic tables and chairs around, some were actually in the river.

So we got changed into swimmers, but soon realised we were required to rent a chair, so we left our towels on a fallen tree trunk instead.

Paul discovered a natural jacuzzi…

and also a cool spot to sit and take pics.

Diving back behind the waterfall …

there is a really cool cave behind the water.

Such a cool and refreshing oasis from the midday tropical heat.

It’s very popular with locals, though we were the only ones there on this day.

Walking further, we came upon this sign… oops!

‘Take care of the water – it takes care of life – love the river – respect the land’

As kiters, using the sea, we endeavour to be respectful of our environment.

Thank you Ellie and Duncan for a lovely day 😊