LAS CUEVAS DE CABARETE

Yesterday, Sebastian, one of the surf instructors, told us that we will be surfing a lake today; there aren’t supposed to be many waves. While surfers are disappointed, I am excited by the fact that I might be pummeled by fewer waves. A smaller group makes it to the beach this morning. Three of my fellow Swell surfers–Bree, Megan, and Parker–graduate to a “real surfboard” and learn how to wax it. I stick with my training wheels board—a soft top. It is true, the waves are much slower today. We wait, wait, wait, and then get a series of waves, followed by wait, wait, wait. We get fewer attempts this way, but I am much less exhausted. Although, one of the instructors still paddles me while I hold onto the leash of his surfboard, and they push me into a few. Maybe it’s because I keep nosediving… It's going well and then suddenly my board isn’t there anymore and I’m just body surfing the wave. I get up on a few though and have less noodle-y arms, so I say it is a successful day.

We return for another yummy breakfast and, while a couple folks go out for the second surf session, Bree, Megan, and I stay behind and play another game of Scrabble. The bruised ribs and tired arms call for a rest day (and a quick nap).

Once Parker returns from surfing, the four of us–Bree, Megan, Parker, and I–go to Gypsy Bowl for lunch, and Mom manages to sneak away from her day of work to join us. I order a chia pudding and end up the a pineapple porridge, which is delicious. Gypsy Bowl is a good place, and I highly recommend it if you are in the Dominican.

Today's adventure (aside from surfing) is a trip to Las Cuevas de Cabarete—The Cabarete Caves. There are several hundred here, and T told us we can go visit three of them. She told us to just walk to the end of the road and we will run right into it. Despite my navigational challenges, it is in fact that easy. You literally just walk to the end of the road. When we get to the end, someone asks us if we are looking for the caves. We are in the right place. We pay, get helmets, and then are taken to the next building up. Our guide comes down and asks one of us to go inside to sign. Megan jumps up and signs all four of our lives away. Alan, our guide, begins taking us up into the jungle. He points out some various plants and tells us about the area. To our right, he points out a giant area of quick sand: “If you step there, you will sink in less than three minutes…don’t worry, I’ll save you.” I think I’m going to stick close to the group for the rest of the journey. We approach some remnants of what used to be a very hopping place. In the 80s, a guy named John opened a restaurant here (right next to the quicksand), and you can still see the bar, kitchen, etc. It used to be quite lively I am told. Alan offers us a drink at the bar and then lets us know they only have water, pointing to the swampy water below. He’s got lots of jokes. Alan also points out a pool of water and says we can dive under, swim a long ways, and pop up in a cave. We definitely don’t have the equipment for that.

We continue our climb to the first cave—Cueva Taina. We enter into an amphitheater space, with rows of seating in the rock going up, and a stage at the bottom. All sorts of entertainment used to happen here, and there are still animal bones sitting in the cave walls from that entertainment. I can’t remember what all he said they did here, although I do think he mentioned sacrifice. There is even a VIP section in this amphitheater—a throne up at the top.

I thought the amphitheater was the main attraction here, but I am very wrong. Alan leads us to stage left where we start to descend into a dark, steep tunnel with nothing but some rickety stairs and the flashlights from our phones. We keep winding down, down, down until it opens up into a cave area with water. “Okay, you can jump in,” Alan tells us. You want us to jump in that…we all start overthinking. “After you,” I tell Alan. “Ladies first,” he responds. Bree reluctantly volunteers (or maybe is nominated) to go first. After some hesitation, she asks someone to jump with her, and this time, I volunteer. We pick our jumping routes, overthink a little more, and then count to three. On the jump in, she grabs my hand and pulls me with her, just to make sure I don’t bail. Neither of us thought the other would jump. Once the initial shock of jumping into water in a dark cave passes, we realize the water is actually very nice. Megan and Parker are next, and then Alan takes our picture. In that process, all the phone flashlights go out, and it is pitch dark. Very spooky, especially as we are just floating in the water. It feels very Outer Banks season three. This cave connects to others if you want to swim a long ways.

The next cave isn’t a swimming one. This one is Cueva Cristal and has hollow, what I believe are salt, columns (that look like icicles) coming down. The guide taps the columns to show us their hollowness, playing a tune. The clear water pool at the bottom is hard to initially spot. Cave divers can enter here and swim (I believe it is 2.5 kilometers) to another cave, using three oxygen tanks along the way. Alan tells us it is the most advanced of diving.

On the way to the third cave, we pass several locals at home or doing some work. One woman walking by us says hi enthusiastically. None of us initially recognize her, and then she reminds us she is one of the cooks at Swell. Alan points out several more trees and plants, including cacao trees, a fruit tree whose fruit is quite the laxative, poisonous leaves, and a tree with natural spikes on it that was (or maybe is) used to make canoes and climbed to avoid various jungle hazards. Alan asks if we want to climb it, to which I respond “after you” and he quickly says “ladies first…I am a gentleman.”

The third cave has us high above the water below, where we can jump in. There is also a ladder and platform if that is preferred. Bree and I went first last time, so it’s Megan and Parker’s turn. They all jump while I video below, and then we switch. I can’t remember how tall Alan said it is, but it’s a decent drop. So much so that I loose my suit a bit once I hit the water, and I have to work to pull myself out, as the bottom step of the ladder seems to be missing. On my first jump, the group thinks I hit the railing (see Bree's reaction in the video), but Alan says I was fine. Alan has clearly done this before and lines us up for a slow-mo video on the second jump.

A short walk brings us back to the beginning. It is a fun afternoon activity, and I highly recommend it if you ever find yourself in Cabarete. We now realize that what Megan signed is all in Spanish, so she doesn’t really know what she signed, and they gave her the only copy. Maybe it was a receipt, not signing our lives away. It doesn’t matter now because we all survived. On the walk back to Swell, we pass the local school and see all the students leaving for the day. Many are walking and some are piled onto motorbikes. It is quite impressive how many people you can fit on one of those and how small of kids you see on them. Earlier in the week, I saw an adult driving with one kid in front of him and two small kids behind him; those little boys on the back were gripping on for dear life.

T, knowing all the local happenings, invites us to dinner and festivities at Cabarete Sostenible - La Cocina Comunitaria. In collaboration with Taino Studies and the Festival Arawako, it is a cultural event to honor and maintain the indigenous identity on the island, with native food, a concert of ancestral Caribbean music, and a Roda and exhibition by the local Capoeira Angola group. Almost everyone from Swell goes, and we meet T there. We are just in time to secure a table. It gets very busy, and as the performance goes on, lots of people are dancing and clapping along. The group performing speaks in fast Spanish that I can’t understand, but it is good music, a fun vibe, and yummy food. After dinner, Mom, T, and I pop over to the open mic happening next door, while the others return to Swell. It’s acoustic night, and there are some good groups playing. They have a stand-in drummer–a middle school aged Dominican boy that gets paid to jump in on drums. He is really good! It is a very fun atmosphere, and I am told Wednesday night is when it really gets going—rock and roll night with all the tables moved out of the way by 9:00pm. We stay for several songs before retiring for the evening so I can get enough pre-surf sleep. On the way back, T shows us Bliss—an upscale Italian restaurant that is a little oasis in the middle of the busy street. There is even a pool in the middle, and the tables are candlelit.

That’s it for today! See you tomorrow for another adventure-filled day.

Quicksand

Cueva Taina

Cueva Cristal

Cave #3

Cave #3