Dominican Republic

As soon as we passed by the Silver Banks, located off the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic, Pete gave the shout of, "whale"! I dashed out in the nick of time with my Canon to shoot its final emersion back into the deep. Whales are a common sight along the DR coast, not to be feared. In all the twenty-five years we've passaged through the West Indies, we've never encountered a dangerous situation, nor heard of any other vessels encountering rouble. We relish the dramatic show of the male juveniles, competing for the attention of the females with uproarious antics of a great breach, or a breathtaking leap from the water followed by a great returning splash. They slap their big tails and flippers on the water to make sounds, communicating with their pod.

Samana remained an isolated fishing village until 1985, when the first whale-watching expedition set out. The North Atlantic humpbacks find the bay waters suitable as breeding grounds, passing through, then lingering from mid-January to mid-March.

Dominican Republic

Miami

Bahamas

Turks &
Caicos

Dominican
Republic

Republica Dominicana is part of the West Indies archipelago and encompasses the eastern two-thirds of Hispaniola, sharing a western border with Haiti. We avoided the urban areas of Santa Domingo, preferring to visit the more rural villages on the east coast. Samana became our favorite. Few sailors stop here, choosing to linger in Luperon, on the north coast, before pushing on across the Mona Passage.

Described by Christopher Columbus as “the fairest land on the face of the earth,” the Samana Peninsula is considered by Dominicans and visitors alike as the prettiest part of the island of Hispaniola. It is the jewel in the crown of Republica Dominicana. Entering Samana Bay in the half light of dawn is a magical experience not to be missed. As we sailed in close to shore, the sparsely-populated mountainside was resplendent in an abundance of tropical vegetation, glistening from recent rain. Tendrils of smoke twirled into the morning sky from cooking fires and the air was rich with an earthy fragrance. We couldn't wait to don our shoes and hit the trails to our favorite waterfall, Casacada del Limon!

WHALE!

Night Boarding

Humpback Whale

Poverty is a fact of life in the DR, and yachtsmen can be easy targets for unemployed men, whom want to lift a few can goods or more valuable items for money for their large families. After a particularly fierce low pressure settled over Samana for three days, monsoon type downpours left waters a red ochre color. Taking advantage of the noisy distraction of a rain squall, a villager boarded "Whisper" in the dark of night from his dugout.

When Ben heard the bump-thump-thump of the dugout against his aluminum hull, he vaulted out of bed, tore up the companionway, and yelled into the night, " there's a man on my boat"! Anchored close behind them, I ran up on deck to see what the matter was.

For protection against 'sticky fingers', we've adopted a habit of removing all looose gear from above decks, keeping our black Belguim barge dog - known as a Schipperke - outdoors on night watch. Other cruisers lock their companionways at night. Most thieves are after a loose bit of change, cameras or cell phones. Violence is rare. When we come into port, we always make acquaintances with cuisers on other boats to hear if any such problems exist.

Ben never found the supposed 'thief' that night and nothing was reported missing. Next morning, Ben towed the dugout to the National Guard at the Police dock and issued a verbal report.

TIP:

The more remote the village, the better we like it. But victims of poverty lie in every port.

Cuba

Haiti

Waterfall Trek

Rickshaw to Market

El Salto del Limon

While waiting for favorable weather to cross the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico, we hired a van to drive us into the countryside to Casacada del Limon. The trek to the falls begines with a dirt trail through the verdant mountain terrain, thick with flowering vines and hard wood trees. The trail winds alongside a snaking river, flooded from recent, low pressure rainfall. Thirty minutes later, we arrived at the falls to swim and picnic, while soaking up the jungle-beauty of the Dominican Republic.

Foot holds are carved into the rocky slope of the El Salto Limon Falls, so all the guys took turns clambering up the slippery face, diving from the top into the ochre pool below. Sylvia and I preferred to look away, not wanting to consider a slip of the foot or mistaken landfall at the bottom.

Days slowly passed by, as we sat glued to weather charts, analyzing them for a favorable passage across the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico. It had been five days of heavy rainfall. Debris rushed down the mountainsides into the bay, swirling out with the tide . When a bloated dead pig drifted by, I was ready for some serious sunshine. That musing came about the time when a Dominican fishing boat anchored up wind of us started to drag. Its bulky stern became entangled with our bridle warps. Disentanglement was completed in a nice, friendly way with much gesticulating.

It was insteresting to peer inside their humble boat, which lacked a number of amenities. I appreciated my comfortable catamaran, all the more. It is the gift of travel for me. Knowing the ways of a country is, in effect, a guide to understanding the soul of that country and its people.

Honey, They're Dragging!

During the moonless night, while closing in on Cabo Cabron (northwest point of the DR), we passed a number of small fishing vessels, all unlit. Only the sound of them passing in the night alerted us to run forward on deck to avoid a collision. Accustomed to sailboats, fishermen in small craft can maneuvers out of the way, unless they're fishing with nets or line. On one such occurrence, the fisherman shouted loudly as we approached him - way too close.

Nighttime Hazards

The people of Samana use a motorized rickshaw pulled by a motorcycle (called a motorconcho) to get about town. A cheap and fun way of inner-city travel! I wouldn't recommend them for long distances with four people though! On our first excursion, we hired one for the Casacade del Limon waterfall trek. My hair stood on end, as we headed up the steep hill outside of town en route, when the Mack truck behind us roared up close to our stern to pass. I felt the tiny motorcycle start to lose traction on the slick road, wet from recent rains. (It always rains in the Dominican Republic. It’s a jungle country, after all!) Together, we vowed to hire a real taxi-van for the return leg, opting out for safety over adventure this time.

At the large farmer's market, a variety of locally grown produce, along with fresh fish were available. I was tempted to sample a stew from a vendor, but changed my mind, when I couldn't identify the meat. Sure smelled good, though!

We returned with overflowing straw baskets of papayas, melons, pineapples, green leafy vegies and freshly killed range chicken, all for the fraction of the price from any supermarket. Feathery chickens were held in straw cages ready to be selected, plucked and sold for eager buyers in back. I avoided watching the twirl of its head to break the chicken's neck. Some things are best just not to see, when sitting down to eat later.

Cabarete Kitesurfing

The National Park of Los Haitises is located at the western end of the bay on the south shore across from Sanchez. On an earlier visit here, we hustled our boat up the river for protection against an imminent late season hurricane. While 120 knots of wind blew boats into each other in Samana Bay, we barely saw anything above 35 knots of wind. Above the thick mangrove canopy, we watched in amazement as coconuts and debris whirled back and forth, while we remained safe in our quiet nest of the mangrove roots. View detailed map in link at top.

Once anchoring in Los Haitises, I wondered if at any moment Godzilla would come lumbering around a bend, which lay draped in twisty vines; a gaggle of white birds hovered overhead. Jurassic Park?

Up the narrow river, we coasted in our rowing dinghy, listening to the calls of the wild. Hundreds of tiny red fiddler crabs scurried amongst the giant mangrove roots, some 8” wide. A wooden boardwalk built over the roots allowed for easy entry into the Taino caves, where the island’s first inhabitants once lived. We found several pictographs and petroglyphs in some caverns that were in good shape.

Cabarete is a small, laid-back Caribbean beach village on the north coast, east of Puerto Plata. It is famous for its big waves and high winds, perfect conditions for kitesurfing.

Adam and Sky soon packed their sports gear and caught the local overnight bus that followed the winding mountain road of Highway 5 to Cabarete. Five days later they returned with wide grins and tales of salsa, meringue and good times had!

Fiddler Crab

Los Haitesis National Park

Jurassic Park?

Samana

Whale

Dragging

Peter Disentangling Fowled Lines