Point of interest

Method Lodge

Name: Method Lodge
Address: Cabarete, Puerto Plata, DO

3 locals recommend,

Tips from locals

Evie

August 18, 2021

Most beautiful paddleboarding experience I've had in my life! There is an option for the lagoon paddleboard in which he can teach you how to paddleboard and it's perfect for beginners and apparently very pretty and interesting - we did the "advanced" option - which really anybody who has ever paddle boarded before can do. We met the owner of Method Lodge who was very, very nice and has an adorable young daughter that is very outgoing and showed us a lot of stuff and seemed super excited to show us a bunch of different stuff. They both also speak English if this helps! We went to the river at Parque Ecologico. It was about a 10-minute ride ( 500 pesos from the Method Lodge) and it was $40 USD each for the day. At the Parque, we saw a huge Iguana, a crocodile, a snake, fish, turtles, chickens, ducks, and a free-range peacock. A man named Rudy owns the Parque and he has spent the past 12 years building his garden and everything else on the land. He showed us around his garden and explained how and what they used each plant for and the healing capabilities of different plants. Often people come and stay there and he works with them, using a combination of plants from his garden, to heal whatever ailments they suffer from. He let us try the fruit from his garden and smell different plants. We decided we wanted to have lunch there and he picked breadfruit right in front of us that we ate when we got back. It's like a stickier potato, I loved it. After we'd had our tour, we placed our order for lunch with Rudy and set off! Unfortunately, I didn’t bring my phone because I didn’t know how choppy the ride would be, but you definitely can if you have paddle boarded before. We went down this river (could tightly squeeze both our board next to each other but decided to go one behind the other) and it was just stunning. Everything you saw was green. We saw egrets - some running on lily paddies - these beautiful purple flowers, cows peacefully grazing right up to the river. Then it opens up to a portion where the ocean water runs through it. The water was a beautiful blue and we jumped in to cool off. At this point, it was much wider and very blue water with green on either side of us. Really really beautiful and one of my favorite experiences of the trip. When we got back, about two hours later, we ate lunch in an elaborate tree house made out of all Dominican wood, overlooking a beautiful grassland. I had a veggie dish that was all from the garden and just loved it. The sauce on the food was insane. It was all from his garden and when we asked he explained what plants they use and the process for making the sauce: very interesting and cool. Lunch, a fresh coconut, and the ride back came out to be $30 USD for me and my friend together. We were told to go earlier in the day so it's not too hot and the wind isn't too strong yet. Directions: leave kite beach out the front entrance (not beach), it's on the other side of the road headed into town and about a 2-minute walk and is on your right (picture not accurate).