June 25-27
We catch a ride to Nagua and from there take the bus to Samana City.
Samana City looks different than other places I have been; the wide seaside boulevard is beautiful and there are yachts in the harbor. However, once on the street we are back in the DR. Dicker, dicker, bicker, and dicker. Finally for 400 pesos we get a taxi to Las Galeras.
We pass over hills and into valleys that are in such rough shape...
And we arrive at Guariquen which is situated down a dirt road off the main highway.
The lady who greets us is Laura, who speaks mostly Italian and some Spanish. We understand each other just fine.
Our lodging is a small cabin with double bed, covered with a mosquito net. We have a bath with shower and tiny kitchen, as well as front deck overlooking a valley.
Everywhere there are lizards....and the cabins are all painted in bright colors.
In the main area there are couches, music, a tv, and a kitchen.
We settle in and decide we should go into town. First we gather all our laundry and at the corner of the main road and the dirt road I hand over my bag to a teenage girl who promises me that the clothes will be ready for the next day. I am borrowing Alison's tshirts at this point and I have worn my jeans five times. But this is a travel-light trip and I don't care.
We take a concho, 20 pesos, into Las Galeras, which is a small village with not much going on, but at the end of the road is a beautiful bay and fishing boats and a bar. My kind of town. It reminds me just a little bit of Chichiriviche.
Alison and I find a spot on the beach that we like and set about collecting shells and swimming. We have dinner at the bar and then ride back to Las Mariposas. I fall asleep before she does because I am exhausted.
Day 7
Today we decide to forgo the tours offered by Guariquen's guides, who are Dominicans trained by the organization. The tours range from 35 to 60 dollars, I don't know if that is per person. We head back into Las Galeras and send some emails from a small internet cafe run by an Italian man. Then we dicker for a taxi.
For ten dollars we get a ride to Playa Rincon. Our driver promises to collect us, too.
The ride in is surreal...dirt roads, mud, some paved roads...we pass baby chicks and pigs, dogs, horses, donkeys, small schools, people sleeping in the shade, cows, and the like.
Alison loves riding on motoconchos and she spends the whole trip clutching my hand and saying, Look!
As we arrive at the beach there is a lot of activity. A Colombian film crew is on site. We see a lot of people with walkie talkies and cameras and we also see some very pretty girls in bathing suits looking very put together for the beach.
Our driver takes us to the end of the beach and we rent chairs.
There are several kids playing and only a few other tourists.
We meet some Italians and the Dominican kids immediately take to Alison and her sandcastle building.
The water is amazing--clear, blue, calm. We can go out quite far and it is not too deep. It is very relaxing.
We eat right there on the beach and when our driver arrives after a five hour stay, it hardly seems possible.
A long ride back through the countryside and we collect our laundry. I leave Alison in our cabin while I go to the colmado and buy sandwiches. Then I make some calls home and check on things.
Alison is in a wonderful mood on this day--she really liked the beach. We borrow cards and play kings and take pictures. Later, before we fall asleep, she writes in her journal while I write in mine.
Day 8
Today we decide to leave Las Galeras. We loved Playa Rincon but we don't want to spend too much money on tours and we are running out of cash. There are no banks in Las Galeras and we decide to catch a guagua back to Samana City. The guagua fits 8 and we squeeze in fifteen people. 100 pesos--300 less than our private taxi coming into Las Galeras.
In Samana we are just in time for the bus to Nagua. Ali and I choose seats and settle in.
Soon, Alison gets very carsick. When we finally arrive at the next stop, I rush off the bus looking for anything to clean up with. I get a mop and some newspapers. She feels much better after her brief episode of barfing and many people on the bus don't seem to mind and ask if she is ok. The bus driver doesn't seem to care either. I lay down newspapers after cleaning up as best I can. It is a "mommy moment" for me. Alison cuddles against me for the rest of the trip and I marvel at the ease in which I can now clean up barf.
We arrive, Nagua, and get a taxi to Play Grande where we spend the rest of our day. This beach is absolutely amazing and the waves are not too rough for us. We play hard all afternoon. Before we arrived at the beach I stopped and got takeout, rice, beans, and chicken. We pay 200 pesos for a chair and refreshments and the food was 250--and enough for a family of 4 let alone two skinny chicks.
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