Day 5 - Dominican Republic

We woke up, packed up and headed to Samana to go whale watching. The Samana Bay is world famous for its whale watching. All the whales in the Atlantic Ocean go to the Bay during January through March to mate and have babies.

(Not the best picture of the whale but we were distracted.)

We went to a few different places trying to get a boat to take us out. We missed out on a few boats but finally found a small group to take us. We went out in a very small boat with two other people. It looked just like a row boat but a little longer and it had a motor off the back. We were out there for quite a while before spotting any whales. We thought it would be easier to spot them since we were seeing them from the beaches in Las Galeras, but the bay was pretty choppy and there were lots of big waves.

Finally we spotted some whales, a mama whale and her little baby. Since we were in such a small boat we were able to get very close to the whales. It was very cool. At one point the mama whale came out of the water and her back (mid range area) was so wide and huge I thougt for sure her tail was going to come up and knock our boat right over. Luckily that did not happen.

After we did the whale watching we headed to Las Terrenas another little town on the Samana peninsula. This town is a little larger than Las Galeras and has a little more tourism, but still very local.

A man we met on the road recommed that we stay at Casa Robinson which has little wooden rooms with bathrooms and kitchenettes. We actually had hot water there which was a pleasant surprise. The grounds were very clean and it was right across the street from the beach. It cost us $30 a night.

We headed straight to the beach and spotted a kite in the air. This put a smile on Rick's face. We pulled out his kiteboard and headed out just as the sun was starting to come down. He got a couple of runs in.

We folded up the kite, showered up and headed out on the town. We ate at a great restaurant right on the beach called Paco Cabana. It was very romantic; candle light, the sound of the waves crashing on the shore a few feet away, spot lights on the coconut trees along the beach, perfect weather and no bugs. You can't ask for anything more than that!

We had a delicious meal, in fact one of our favorites there. I had Loabster with Estragon sauce and Rick had Filete de pescado may y tierra (fish fillet, white beans, chorizo, serano and onions). We always share our meals so we ate half and switched. This way we get more of a variety. Both dishes were amazing ( a pretty expensive meal for the DR).