A large bird population, inlduing frigatebirds (Fregattvögel) and pelicans live at the Cayo de los Pájaros Bird Island in the Los Haitises National Park on the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic.
Ten to fifteen knots of wind in the Samana Bay are enough for a nice sailing day with Ivan, Finn and Uwe on our Sun Odysee 409 Orinoco.
Los Haitises is a do-not-miss-anchorage in the Samana Bay. A natural park with dense deep green vegetation and misty blue and green mountains.
The humpback (Buckelwal) wale calf seems to rest on its mother, playful and relaxed. In February, hundreds of wales meet in the Samana Bay in the North of the Domincian Republic. Some give birth, others mate.
Humpback whales slap their tails and fins in a repetitive fashion and leap out of the water and twist on to their backs (breaching). The resulting sounds travel underwater and seems to communicate messages to other whales.
Mangrove jungles are a breeding place for fish and a perfect place for fishing herons (Reiher). This white heron robbed the fish from a grey heron and was then attacked by other herons. It couldn’t swallow the big fish fast enough.
Some caribbean tourist beaches are cleaned every day to get rid of plastic and other garbage. Others not, as this mangrove coconut coral island near Boca Chica in the south of the Dominican Republic.
In Santa Barbara in the Samana Bay in the North East of the Dominican Republic, Whale Watching provides jobs for a lot of people.
Fifteen miles to Isla Catalinata, a remote and uninhibited Island north of Saona Island, driving a small dingi, on our never ending search for the best snorkeling spot. On our way back, we encountered more squals and wind than we cared for. Luckily, the ambitious snorkelers Ivan, Finn and Uwe we already were wearing wet suits.
The Mona Passage between the Domican Republic and Costa Rica should be sailed by experienced sailors only. Wind, waves and current are hard to predict and many times can be very challenging. The currents are so complex that you can literally be pushed onto the shoals and not realize it until you sense that you are getting thrashed. (Virgintino, Frank, A Cruising Guide to the Dominican Republic). Thus, there are quite a few shipwrecks near the Catalinata Island south of the “Cheating Cape” (Capo Engado). Fisherman that were unable to cross the breaking waves of the outer reef are spending the nights in the shipwrecks.