ALPENGLOW: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

We left at 9:00 am on Jan.14th, 2015, in a rain storm, from Long Island, Bahamas, towards the Dominican Republic. We could of made several stops along the way, such as Rum Cay, Mayaguana and Turks and Caicos but we had such good wind, we kept going all the way to the Dominican Republic. It took us 5 days, 4 nights and 500 nautical miles to get to the Dominican Republic. We had a pretty easy time during our passage. I think one night passages are more difficult.

While sailing near the Silver Bank, a whale swam about 20 meters from our boat. We saw him (or her), several times before he passed us. It's a real thrill when one gets an encounter with wild life however, a whale can do lots of damage to a boat. The Silver Bank is an area in the Atlantic ocean north of the Dominica Republic. On Oct. 14, 1986, the Dominican Republic established the Silver Bank Sanctuary to protect this area as a safe haven for sea mammals. On July 5, 1996, a Dominican presidential decree enlarged the area and declared it the Sanctuary for Marine Mammals. The Silver Bank has long been a breeding and calving area for humpback whales.

WE WERE JUST TRYING TO GET RID OF THE FLYING FISH OFF THE DECK

WHILE UNDERWAY, OUR TRAVELLER NEEDED FIXIN'

SAMANA: As we were getting close to the Puerto Bahia Marina near Samana, we called the marina but nobody spoke English. We found the word for slip, which is Muelle. Two guys escorted us in with their dinghy. The immigration and drug enforcement boarded our boat in the marina. They said they didn't need to inspect our boat, phew ! but you can tell, they wanted something. I gave them ginger ale and nuts !

In the Dominican Republic and in some other countries, you must check out of the country with customs before departing. After a short conversation with 'Sheppard', our customs agent, he gave us an exit clearance and asked us for $20. He did not give us a receipt. One must wonder if the $20 wasn't for him.

ENJOYING A DIP IN THE POOL AFTER OUR PASSAGE

The Puerto Bahia marina is very upscale with two infinity pools, three restaurant/bars, ok laundry, a corner store with good food and beautiful showers.

Labor here is cheap so we decided to hire Jose Louis to remove all the rust on the stainless which took him 2 days. It was well worth it.

The little town of Samana is quite interesting. It's bustling with 2 stroke, loud motorcycles and people all over the place. It boasts good local restaurants and has several markets. It's easy to get a motorcycle ride as anyone will gladly drive you wherever you want to go for a cheap price. You will however be 3 people on a motorcycle ! There are other options to get around. You can take a GUA GUA which is a small bus which can be open aired or you can take a motorconcho which is a motorcycle that pulls a 4 seated trailer.

HAVING LUNCH AT A LOCAL RESTAURANT

A MARKET IN SAMANA

A TRUCK DELIVERING PINEAPPLES

THE BRIDGE TO NOWHERE

Built in the late 1960's, this famous bridge was intended to have at the end a Casino Complex and a Restaurant-Bar. Only later, in the mid-eighties was open a two level Restaurant-Bar that lasted only a few years and now only the structure remains. You will find many Park Benches with rest areas spread along the 1.3 kilometers length of walking distance. This is a favorite place among locals and foreigners alike to take a stroll early in the morning or late afternoon before sunset.

SAMANA WATERFRONT

SANTO DOMINGO: We took a bus from Samana to the capitol city of Santo Domingo. We mostly visited the old city which is called Zona Colonial. There are numerous old buildings however all signs were in Spanish and not enough literature in English. The museum did have an audio tour in English. There is a main drag which has many cheap tourist shops, some restaurants and lots of cheap clothing stores. This area could of been so much nicer, it was a disappointment. However, if you look beyond that and look at the old architecture, it's quite something. We found a lovely restaurant off the main drag and had some sangria and wonderful appetizers.

The town of Santo Domingo is a loud, busy, lots of traffic with honking horns and too much trash on the roads. It also is home to many homeless sad looking dogs.

MAIN DRAG

SAN LORENZO BAY, LOS HAITISES NATIONAL PARK: The National Park is a protected virgin forest accessible mostly by boat from Samana Town with very little road access. Haitis (singular) means highland or mountain range in the Taíno language, although the elevation of the park's hills ranges from 30–40 m (98–130 ft). There is a multitude of caverns created by water erosion. Native Americans adorned these caverns with pictographs and petroglyphs. There are several inlets where you can drive your dinghy around to take in the views. One inlet in particular has massive amounts of mangroves. At the end of this inlet, you can park your dinghy and walk to the Altos de Cano resort. At the resort you can swim in their natural pools of fresh mountain water with man made waterfalls. A walk up the resort is a magnificent view of the valley below.