... but have moved on to Las Galeras, the last outpost of the peninsula. I arrived here via gua gua (a small local bus that resembles a minibus) on Saturday afternoon. Quite the ride too. We took the same route as the ride to Samana for the day trip on Samabna Bay last week. The ride from Samana to Las Galeras was all new territory to me though and it was all so beautiful. Again up into high mountains and over them to the other side. This is trtruly one of the worlds most beautiful places. This time though, I sat in the front seat for the whole ride getting lots of photos and taking some MPEGs. I don't know how it will work putting MPEGs in the gallery but we'll find out soon. Tom is working on it this week. Everybody say "thank you Tom for all your hard work on our behalf" for he deserves a metal for his patience and for being such a big help to me. This is one of the many reasons I love that man so.
Checked into my hotel, Club Bonita, on Playa Las Galeras. My room is quite nice, overlooking the beach, pool, bar and front gardens. The prices here are so cheap by North American standards but the locals think I must be rich to be staying in such an expensive place. For 3 nights accommodation I will pay more than most people here make in a month.
When walking down the streets the motos go by honking horns and offering lifts. Sometimes I take a ride just to save a few steps but I am usually out for a walk (not normal around here) so decline the offer.
I went for a dive yesterday morning, last minute. Due to the cold I developed just as I was leaving Las Terrenas, I had a minor equalization problem with my left ear but it was manageable. It was a shallow dive of only 14 metres max. depth. I did another dive today that went to about 25 metres and had similar problems but I was ready for it this time and knew better how to adjust for it. All went well.
The dives were good:
Yesterday we went to the northeastern tip of the peninsula to dive an unusual reef. It is a pair of concentric circular reefs, the outer ring about 1km across. The canyon between them is 20-30 feet across and up to 15 metres deep. The reefs themselves are out of the water at the high points and at the low points are no more than 10 feet below surface. It made for an interesting dive with some strong current action. The surface here is extremely choppy. There were alot of sand and other particles in the water so the photos look a little 'milky'. There were almost no fish here and what was there were small or juvenile. Several juvenile parrotfish especially.
Today we went to the point of the peninsula further west and slight further north. Las Galeras is nestled in the large bay between the two points. Here the dive is on the wall. The shoreline is all sheer cliff here and that sheer drop runs down into the ocean. The reef here is gorgeous and there is next to no floating sand. The water is so clear in this leeward bay that as we rolled over the side off the boat and looked through our masks into the 20 metres of water I was shocked to see bottom. Details on the bottom too! I decided at the last minute to leave my camera on the boat so I could concentrtate on the ear equalization. BIG mistake. There was a marvelous Spotted Pufferfish about 24-30 inches long, the 'box' of his body wa about 10 inches across his back. He let me swim to within about 5 feet of him before lazily swimming away to a little cave like hiding place. I could see his big eyes watching me as I came down towards him for a better look. When he got a frightened 'look' I backed off and swam away. I also saw a nice big High Hat. He was in his little nook close to the bottom swimming in the characteristic figure 8 pattern that defines his world for his entire life. He was at least 12 inches long so had been living in this place for quite a long time. The coral here was out of this world. In one 'cave'there was a massive amount of purples, mauves, pinks and lavenders covering everything. The colours here were all very strong and well defined. Again though, there were not a lot of fish.
BTW, to get from my hotel to the resort where the dive centre is, I must (oh woe is me... not) walk along a dirt 'road' which is more of a path tramped through the woods by jeeps, motorbikes and feet and horses hooves. These woods are a palm 'forrest' that runs along the beach coastline. The walk takes 15-20 minutes depending on how fast you walk and what you're carrying. Some people, myself included, have spent over 2 hours doing the walk up and back. Of course if you get tired just listen for the sound of a moto heading your way and raise your hand. They always stop even if fully loaded with people and stuff. If they can't take you right away, they'll come back for you.
Horses roam freely in these woods, grazing on the grassy undergrowth. No power mowers needed here. Dogs and cats run wild too. It really is a different world.
Must go now. It looks like it may rain again soon and I want to get some souvenirs across the strtreet. Found a fab little shop there.
Next stop... leave here tomorrow to Samana, boat across the Bay to the other side then gua gua (3 different I think) to El Romana on the south coast.
Posted by gailene at April 14, 2003 03:55 PM