Samana, Dominican Republic

We decided to stay a week at Puerto Bahia in Samana Bay to relax, get some boat jobs done and of course enjoy the local area and marina facilities. Jen & Richard from Our Rose were also very keen to stay.

PUERTO BAHIA MARINA
We don’t normally stay in marinas but this one exceeded all our expectations. We met some great people and had some rather late nights out.

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Hazel sung for us on our last night and we found out she has a beautiful voice.

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Out with the crew from Dezeo (Jimmy, Tristan, Captain Danny & Elesha), Jen & Richard and Hazel

We met lots of great people staying at the marina who shared info with us for heading to the Bahamas. Thanks to David & Isabel from Morning Haze and Mark & Fiona from Avatar.

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Chocolate tour guide extraordinaire

LOS HAITESES NATIONAL PARK

We organized a tour with a local called Chocolate who was quite the character. The day ended up being the highlight of our trip here. We were collected at the main gate to the resort and driven to a fishing village called Sanchez where we got to see how the locals live and how welcoming the community was. Chocolate proudly introduced us to his family, showed us his community and taught us about the local fishing industry.

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We then boarded a local fishing boat with Chocolates friends Tony (car driver who picked us up), and Ricky (boat driver) bound for Los Haiteses.
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P1050295A little bit of a wet trip on the way over, but all part of the adventure.

They took us to a fishing camp where the local fishermen stay for approx. 2 weeks to fish, which was an eye opener seeing how they lived with their open cooking facilities and tents for sleeping.

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We drove around the many small islands in the park, through the mangroves and into two caves to see old drawings and petroglyphs stopping to spot various birds along the way. All very impressive.
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Our trip back to Sanchez was a little more adventurous with us nearly running out of gas but thanks to Angie, another friend of Chocolates, who came to the rescue with more fuel, we made it back. Note the new fuel tank in photo on right.
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Chocolates mother had made us lunch and brought it down to the community hall. She had prepared chicken, fish, beans and rice for lunch, which was delicious. The locals all came by to see us and say hello. It was amazing sitting around with everyone. The fee for Brett to pay dominoes was a beer and so yes he paid up.
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Our day did not stop there. All of the boys we had met wanted to take us out dancing so we found ourselves at a local bar on the side of the road on the way back to the marina. Was completely unexpected and lots of fun. Great group of guys that made our day.
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Toronto, Chocolates brother came out to the bar with us to enjoy a few drinks. Yes he had been to Canada hence the name Toronto.

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Toronto and Brett

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Richard noticed some men across the road setting up to watch us all, so he took them a beer. It was appreciated as you can see.

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LAS TERRENAS
We hired a car and drove to Las Terrenas on the Northeastern Coast of Semana peninsular for a provision run and lunch on the beach. This was a really touristy area compared to Samana town and Sanchez. We were all hurting form the night before so it was good to just laze at the beach.
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LOCAL WATERFALLS
Hazel organized an outing to her local friend Cookie’s private land, which had a couple of waterfalls on it.  There was a pool at the bottom, which Cookie and his family swim in. We sat around the base of the pool and listened to the waterfalls around us. Magical.
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From what we could see Dominican’s have a great attitude to life and are so friendly welcoming you and sharing what they have. We really enjoyed our stop here in the DR but our bodies need a break from all the socializing here so we are off to the Turks & Caicos.