How to Get to the Waterfall outside of Los Higos

This is how you get to the waterfall outside of Los Higos:

Follow the diveted red road out of the village, situated in the Dominican Republic’s jungly heart, past Melvin’s house (Melvin is the boy who loves animals the most, and has his own donkey).

When you find yourself at the top of a grassy slope, steeper than any you have ever walked down, follow the dozen or so boys who are acting as your guides. Some of them are barefoot; at least one has used his laces to directly tie the soles of his shoes to his feet. Watch them as they whoop and gallop their way down, with all the wildness of boys and the confidence of mountain goats. You may be dead last, and they may laugh at you — but it will be with cheerful camaraderie and not the cruelty of some children. Try the side step, and the zig zag.

When you finally make it down the slope, where the jungle begins, trek pathless into the denseness. Soon the river will become your soggy trail. Watch the boys scamper from boulder to boulder and marvel at their impeccable grip. Watch the smooth, snake-like branches entangle above you and beside you, gray and green. Watch your step, as you slip knee-deep into the stream, and then slip again. Huddle under some banana leaves in a downpour and wait for it to pass.

When you reach the waterfall, simply scale its face and slide back down — or, alternatively, sit on a boulder and watch at least watch a dozen preteen boys do so, their holey, colourful t-shirts clinging as they dip in the pool at the bottom, scream madly on the rock slide, and holler like only boys can, enshrouded in a verdant jungle.

You’ve made it.