I can’t believe we’ve already been here for a month! In some ways it does feel like we’ve been here for a while but the weeks are definitely starting to go by faster. This week was probably one of the best weeks so far and even though I am tired from doing so many things it was very worth it!
x
Last Monday Kira and I went to Las Galeras with a bunch of clients and Paul. Las Galeras is supposed to have some of the best diving on the Samaná peninsula here, but it is only for more advanced divers so I went snorkeling while others were diving. I was still happy that I got to go as some other volunteers weren’t able to because we didn’t have enough room. The drive to Las Galeras wouldn’t be that long if you could drive straight there because it is almost exactly due east, but instead you have to drive southeast 40 minutes to Samaná and then back up north to Las Galeras about another 30 minutes. When we got to Las Galeras, we were met by two men in a small boat on a beautiful white sand beach with shimmering bright turquoise water. We all helped load the boat with all the diving equipment and then took the boat out onto the water.
We took the boat out past the point of land near the beach and around to the other side where the diving sites were and where the water is calmer. This point is called Cabo Cabrón, which literally translates to something like Bastard’s Cape, because of the roughness of the water there. It’s true we did get soaking wet in the boat and pushed up and down with the waves but it was exciting! The water was a beautiful blue and the point is made of these large rock faces with caves here and there and big arch rock formations that looked almost like a magical world. Unfortunately we didn’t have our phones out to take that many pictures because it was wet!
At the dive site everyone else went diving into deep water and I stayed on the surface snorkeling. Overall there was more coral than Samaná but less fish. I saw awesome fan and brain corals and I did see some colorful fish and a bunch of jellyfish. When I came back up on the boat, I saw dolphins jumping in the distance which was pretty awesome!
Those who went diving also were hunting for lion fish, and they caught over 10 fish! Josh, who lives where we are staying, cooked us lion fish for dinner that night and they were really good!
On Wednesday, we put our kits together and tried to go diving here in Las Terrenas at a beach near the dive shop called Playa Eden. We did do a short dive, but just barely, as the visibility was really bad so we worked on some skills and then got out. Technically this was my first dive in the ocean though, so that was exciting!
In the afternoon, we didn’t have to work again, so we left to go home. When we got home though, one of our friends who works at the surf shop texted us and said the waves were really good, and perfect for learning. We were tired but we thought, why not? So, we put our bathing suits back on and left for Playa Bonita. Kira already knows how to surf, but I got lessons from our friend and I’m so glad we decided to go! Surfing is definitely pretty hard but it was super fun and I am excited to go again.
On Thursday we had the day off, and we went with a couple other volunteers from the dive shop to Salto El Limon, a waterfall near Las Terrenas. To get there, we took a guagua, which are these trucks with extra seating in the back that will take you all over the area for cheap. We took the guagua to Limon, which is a city to the southeast about halfway between here and Samaná. We then hiked up the highway for only a few minutes and then it took us about 45 minutes to hike through the beautiful woods and jungle to get to the waterfall. We chose to hike, but you can also take horses to go a longer route with a guide. It felt so nice to be in nature and in the fresh air, and so refreshing to jump in the cold water once we got there. We spent all afternoon here, exploring smaller waterfalls near the main one, and swimming under and behind the waterfalls in cool caves with crabs and interesting moss. On the way back saw a beautiful sunset from the back of a pick up truck before getting poured on (but we didn’t mind it felt good)! Once back in Las Terrenas, Kira went to Spanish class and I went home, exhausted but content.
We also ended up having Friday off as our second day off this week. We slept in, went to Playa Bonita for a quick swim, went to the grocery store, and then came home to make dinner.
On Saturday, Kira and the other divers working to get their advanced certification went to Samaná to dive, while the rest of us stayed in the shop all day. On Sunday, Kira and the other volunteers went diving again near Las Terrenas. Those of us not certified yet were supposed to go out in the afternoon, but unfortunately the visibility was worse than expected, and many divers got very seasick on the first dive and Paul didn't want to take more people out.
This week we explored more and had a great time. It felt awesome to be in nature at the waterfall and I'm looking forward to going on more day trips on our days off.
No comments:
Post a Comment