Gri Gri Lagoon

            A sight to see is the enormous red mangrove trees that line up on both sides like walls through the Gri Gri Lagoon. The Gri Gri Lagoon is a lagoon in the Dominican Republic that houses striking stands of tangled tropical red mangrove trees. This is enjoyed through a slow calming boat ride. .
             Dense mangroves with enormous roots and giant trunks that have formed like a floor within the water stretch along a passage of about 260 meters long and about 3 meters wide. The red mangrove is recognized by its arching stilt like roots that look like legs walking into the water. Because of these roots they also look old as if having history. These trees range from 10" to 80" in height. In the taller trees the tops of them fold over into each other like waves to form canopies along the lagoon. This is an extra nice touch since these trees are tropical and can block out the blazing sun during the day when traveling by boat to view them. Mangroves are filled with shiny and leathery leaves. The leaves are oppositely arranged 3" to 5" long and 1" to 2" wide, they are egged shaped and have smooth margins. The trunks of these trees are filled with nubs like warts on a person's body, most of the branches are this way and not smooth. The bark is thick, ridged, and scaly, a grayish color fills up most of the trunk and a brownish color is towards the roots. Sprinkled in among the leaves are yellow and white flowers that appear in the spring time. When traveling by boat a person has the chance to enjoy these monstrous trees and be relaxed by them. At night though these trees can also frighten a person because of their claw like roots clinging onto what looks like just the water and coming to life like the enormous trees in The Lord Of the Rings. When slowly moving along on the boat ride, thousands of leaves rustle together making swooshing sounds that sometimes sound like background music to a song.