Samaná, Dominican Republic 萨马纳， 多米尼加共和国
December 18, 2025
Our second stop in the Dominican Republic began with a shore excursion to El Limón Waterfall. Even before the tour officially started, tensions ran high: the operator refused to allow anyone wearing open-toe shoes onto the trucks, which led to some very unhappy passengers. Once underway, the ride itself was rough and uncomfortable.
The hiking trail was muddy and littered with smelly horse manure. While the hike wasn’t particularly difficult, it wasn’t very enjoyable either. After about 30 minutes of walking, we reached the waterfall at the bottom of the trail. The area was crowded, and after standing around for just a few minutes, we turned back and retraced our steps.
Back at the port, we decided to skip the tender ride back to the ship and explore on foot on the island instead. We walked across a long bridge leading to a small nearby island—a beautifully built pedestrian path that quite literally goes nowhere. The island itself offered little beyond a few rest stops and viewpoints, but the walk was delightful. The water below was crystal clear, and we could easily spot fish and starfish. In the end, this quiet stroll across the bridge and island turned out to be far more enjoyable than the earlier hike.
In the afternoon, we returned to the ship. Since it was already past lunchtime, we grabbed a light bite at the Bistro just to tide ourselves over and saved our appetites for a big dinner later. Tonight was our third visit to the Italian restaurant, where we enjoyed the third set of its eight-course tasting menu. Just like the previous two times, the overall quality was excellent. After three visits, we had now sampled every dish on the restaurant’s menu.For both of us, the appetizers stood out as the best, while the main courses were slightly less impressive.
2025年12月18日
昨天晚上船离开圣多明各，沿着岛开，今天早上转到了岛的另一侧，多米尼加共和国的另一个港口小镇萨马纳。
早餐后我们参加了船上组织的前往埃尔利蒙瀑布（El Limón Waterfall）的徒步游。行程尚未正式出发，就已经出现了一些不太愉快的时刻——当地旅游运营方不允许穿露趾鞋的乘客登上卡车参加这个活动，这让不少人非常不满。老外们，尤其是美国人都比较喜欢穿凉鞋，爬山也一样。在码头上争论了好久，最后还是不让参加。 随后我们乘坐大卡车前往登山营地，一路颠簸，加上大卡车的噪音以及导游大声的讲解声，乘坐体验很不舒适。
来到徒步小径，发现骑马去看瀑布的人特别多。丛林小路本来就潮湿，路上遍布刺鼻的马尿马粪，泥泞不堪，行人还要不停地给马让路。徒步本身并不算困难，但这沿途路况实在太糟糕，带队的导游也不是很周到，常常走的没影了。大约步行了近一个小时后，我们到达了瀑布底部的观景点。瀑布的确不错，但那里游客实在太多，我们只停留了几分钟，便开始原路返回。可以想像这一路走过来，鞋子会有多脏。好在营地有当地人专门给游客洗鞋子，付点小费。
回到码头后，我们决定先不马上乘坐接驳船返回邮轮，而是选择在码头附近步行探索。一座长长的桥连接着附近的一座无人小岛——这是一条修建精美却“通往无处”的人行步道。小岛上没有什么景点，只有几处供人停留观景的休息点。不过，走在桥上和小岛上的感觉却十分惬意。海水清澈见底，可以清楚地看到鱼群和海星。相比之前的徒步行程，我们反而更加享受这段安静悠闲的散步。
下午回到船上，因为早已过了午餐时间，我们就在Bistro随便吃了点垫下肚子， 留着晚上吃大餐。今晚上我们第三次来到意大利餐厅，品尝了第三套八道式的品鉴菜单，和之前二次一样，整体水准非常出色。三次下来我们也将餐厅的所有菜都品尝了一遍。对我们俩来说感觉是前菜做的最好，主食稍微逊色一些。