It's my first day back at work since our amazing trip to the Dominican Republic, so I thought what better time to write a trip report. I'll upload pics as soon as I get home today. I'm also in the process of piecing together some video of the trip so stay tuned for that as well.
We opted to go with ScubaFun as our dive provider. I couldn't have been more impressed. Every dive was on this giant catamaran that they had with twin 150hp engines on them. These things hauled. The divemasters were hillarious and made each dive very fun. I would recommend them a thousand times over for anyone thinking of diving in the Dominican Republic.
Day 1: We touched down in Punta Cana airport which was very picturesque. The terminal had these beautiful thatch roofs and giant fans to keep us cool while we waited in line to pass through security. Of course I got searched...profiling I guess. From there we boarded a small van to begin our 1 1/2 hour trip to Bayahibe where our hotel was. I think this trip would've taken any normal driver at least 4 hours but our driver appeared to be an ex Dominican NASCAR champion. Weaving in and out of traffic, tailgating within an inch of the other car, running red lights and even honking at armed military to get out of his way, he made the trip very entertaining. We passed through a town that could only be named "Meat Town". Here, the vendors would hang the carcasses of goats and sides of beef and pork out in the sun to display them to potential buyers (i think the flies would cost you extra if you wanted them with your meat).
After the blood returned to my knuckles and my heartrate fell below 200bpm, we arrived at our hotel, The Dreams La Romana (actually in Bayahibe). We were greeted by a glass of champaigne as soon as we exited the cab. Once we were squared away, we decided to waste no time getting in the water. We decided to go for a snorkel on a reef that was just offshore of the hotel. Although the reef wasn't very healthy, it was teaming with life. Great start to the vacation. After our snorkel, we decided to get the lay of the land which consisted of visiting all of the bars that lay on the land. I won't bore you with the rest of the details but dinner was fantastic and we went to bed good and early ready for our first day of diving.
Day 2: Our first dives. We visited the wreck of the St. George and the Atlantic Princess. The St. George was a huge freighter that sank off of the coast of Bayahibe in about 135 feet of water. Depth to the upper deck was around 50 feet and about 135 at the bottom of the hull. The wreck had been cleaned out for penetration so we obviously went inside, led by our animated french divemaster, Richard. Inside, it was incredible. There was tons of coral growth and animal life. This was my first encounter with a lionfish. Despite them being an invasive species, I have to admit that they're incredibly beautiful.
After a good long surface interval, we proceeded to the Atlantic Princess which reminded me a lot of the Niagara II in Tobermory. This wreck had only sank around 3 years ago but already was falling apart. With each surge, the wheelhouse walls seperated and smashed together. Again we went inside. This wreck wasn't cleaned out since it sank so we had to be wary of hanging wires and sharp shards of metal inside. Richard swam into the engine room accompanied by my dad and brother while I brought up the rear. Before I could get my head in, I was waved off by Richard and told to back up. Once they were all out of the engine room Richard wrote on his slate that there were too many lionfish in there. Apparently a couple had found a place between my fathers legs and Richard had to move him before he got zapped.
Day 3: The Ojo de Maria Reef and Coca Reef. This was my first dive on true coral wreef. I couldn't believe how much life there was on the reef. The dive began with me face to face with a giant puffer fish which I tried to annoy into puffing but unsuccessful. The reef was nice and colourful with lobsters peeking out of their various holes, lionfish, a giant scorpion fish sitting right in the open sand, stingrays etc. It was a very nice dive.
We then proceeded to the Coca Reef which is sometimes called the Coca Wreck because it is situated around a ship that had been blown up and its wreckage scattered around the bottom. Again it was full of life. Lots of healthy coral wreef around it, saw some free swimming barracuda etc.
Day 4: Catalina trip. We did our day trip to the Catalina Wall and the Aquarium. First up was the Wall. We had a few snorkelers from Germany on the boat this trip but were the only divers on the wall. We started along this beautiful coral wreef and then reached the edge of the wall. Of course I decided to go over head first and begin my descent upside down. As we went along the wall, I couldn't help but marvel at all of the coral and marine life along the wall. To my surprise, there were no eels poking their little heads out.
After we finished that dive, we proceeded to the Aquarium which was a shallow reef that had a ton of fish in it. Here, we saw plenty of lobsters, stingrays, fish of all different colours etc. When we finished, we headed to catalina island for a lunch on the beach. It was amazing. Nothing like sitting in white sand with the sun enjoying delicious food after an amazing couple of dives.
Day 5: Back to the St. George, Viva Shallow Reef and a night dive on a local reef from shore. We went deeper into the St. George on this dive, going right down into the engine room and popping up through hatches and stairways to visit the above decks. It's amazing how the light penetrates deep into the wreck. I was able to get some amazing video of this dive.
We had a good long surface interval and then went to Viva Shallow Reef. This is a shallow reef but was easily one of the best of the trip. There were lots of crabs and lobsters hiding as well as stingrays in the sand and hidden in the coral. As usual lots of lionfish and scorpion fish.
The night dive was an adventure. Originally, we were supposed to go to Viva Shallows again for our night dive but unfortunately, the military has put a fresh ban out on boats going out of Bayahibe harbour at night. Apparently there has been a problem with people smuggling Dominicans into Puerto Rico. John (the owner of ScubaFun) tried his best to reason with them but it was like talking to a brick wall wearing camoflage. We were taken instead to a reef that was off shore a bit past an area that they use for OW checkout dives. This couldn't have been a more successful night dive. We saw at least 8 octapi, stingrays, eels, tons of fish, squid (one of which seemed to have a crush on me until i bopped it lightly on the *head*?).
Day 6 Shark Point I and II and Penon 3 Reef. First of all to kill the suspense, we saw no sharks. The dive started out at Shark Point I which is the "traditional" shark point dive. Here we encountered some really mean surge and had to time our kicks accordingly. For those of us that use frog kick to dive (me being the only one of this group) this was easy as I timed my kick to coincide with the surge. There was lots of life on the reef and it was funny to see it all move as we did with the surge. John came with us on this dive and was peeking under every crevas, cave and crack that he could find to see if he could scare us up a shark. No luck.
The second dive was very similar to the first one but was at a location that John and another shop owner had discovered. Again we were met with surge and saw similar life on the reef.
After the first 2 dives, we went to Saona Island to have our lunch. This was an amazing place to eat and just relax. Lots of white sand and little shops along the beach.
We then went to Penon 3 reef. This had to be my favourite reef of the entire vacation. It was bursting with life. As soon as we hit the water we saw a sea turtle swimming in front of us. There were tons of colourful coral and different forms of life. Huge crabs everywhere and lobsters. The intense surge that we felt at the past 2 dives was non existant here and made the diving much more enjoyable.
Day 7-Cave diving
Our guide, Melkie, took us to a local cave. It was about a half hour car ride to the park system and then another 20 mins along a very sketchy road driving very slow to get to the trail that led to the cave. To get to the cave, we had to suit up at the car and follow a skinny rocky trail to the entrance. Then, we had to go down these wet, mossy rocks that were super steep to get to the water. We sat down on a ledge in the water to bring our respiration down and do our final briefing before the dive. The cave had been strung with line and was a direct route so it would be a good beginner cave dive. We began in a large chamber where some tourists were swimming. We descended and swam into the tube that connected it to another large room. The swim to the second room was about 15 minutes in a completely overhead environment with tons of amazing stalagtites and calcium formations. Once inside the second room, you couldn't see a thing. Bats were flying everywhere and we tried to catch them in our flashlights. If ever there was an argument for a powerful can light, this was it. I had an Ikelite PC LED light and it did the trick but it'd have been nice to be rocking a can light in there.
Well thats it. If you made it this far, thanks for reading. Again I'll post pics very soon. I know the DR isn't known for diving but I'd recommend it to anyone. It was absolutely incredible.
We opted to go with ScubaFun as our dive provider. I couldn't have been more impressed. Every dive was on this giant catamaran that they had with twin 150hp engines on them. These things hauled. The divemasters were hillarious and made each dive very fun. I would recommend them a thousand times over for anyone thinking of diving in the Dominican Republic.
Day 1: We touched down in Punta Cana airport which was very picturesque. The terminal had these beautiful thatch roofs and giant fans to keep us cool while we waited in line to pass through security. Of course I got searched...profiling I guess. From there we boarded a small van to begin our 1 1/2 hour trip to Bayahibe where our hotel was. I think this trip would've taken any normal driver at least 4 hours but our driver appeared to be an ex Dominican NASCAR champion. Weaving in and out of traffic, tailgating within an inch of the other car, running red lights and even honking at armed military to get out of his way, he made the trip very entertaining. We passed through a town that could only be named "Meat Town". Here, the vendors would hang the carcasses of goats and sides of beef and pork out in the sun to display them to potential buyers (i think the flies would cost you extra if you wanted them with your meat).
After the blood returned to my knuckles and my heartrate fell below 200bpm, we arrived at our hotel, The Dreams La Romana (actually in Bayahibe). We were greeted by a glass of champaigne as soon as we exited the cab. Once we were squared away, we decided to waste no time getting in the water. We decided to go for a snorkel on a reef that was just offshore of the hotel. Although the reef wasn't very healthy, it was teaming with life. Great start to the vacation. After our snorkel, we decided to get the lay of the land which consisted of visiting all of the bars that lay on the land. I won't bore you with the rest of the details but dinner was fantastic and we went to bed good and early ready for our first day of diving.
Day 2: Our first dives. We visited the wreck of the St. George and the Atlantic Princess. The St. George was a huge freighter that sank off of the coast of Bayahibe in about 135 feet of water. Depth to the upper deck was around 50 feet and about 135 at the bottom of the hull. The wreck had been cleaned out for penetration so we obviously went inside, led by our animated french divemaster, Richard. Inside, it was incredible. There was tons of coral growth and animal life. This was my first encounter with a lionfish. Despite them being an invasive species, I have to admit that they're incredibly beautiful.
After a good long surface interval, we proceeded to the Atlantic Princess which reminded me a lot of the Niagara II in Tobermory. This wreck had only sank around 3 years ago but already was falling apart. With each surge, the wheelhouse walls seperated and smashed together. Again we went inside. This wreck wasn't cleaned out since it sank so we had to be wary of hanging wires and sharp shards of metal inside. Richard swam into the engine room accompanied by my dad and brother while I brought up the rear. Before I could get my head in, I was waved off by Richard and told to back up. Once they were all out of the engine room Richard wrote on his slate that there were too many lionfish in there. Apparently a couple had found a place between my fathers legs and Richard had to move him before he got zapped.
Day 3: The Ojo de Maria Reef and Coca Reef. This was my first dive on true coral wreef. I couldn't believe how much life there was on the reef. The dive began with me face to face with a giant puffer fish which I tried to annoy into puffing but unsuccessful. The reef was nice and colourful with lobsters peeking out of their various holes, lionfish, a giant scorpion fish sitting right in the open sand, stingrays etc. It was a very nice dive.
We then proceeded to the Coca Reef which is sometimes called the Coca Wreck because it is situated around a ship that had been blown up and its wreckage scattered around the bottom. Again it was full of life. Lots of healthy coral wreef around it, saw some free swimming barracuda etc.
Day 4: Catalina trip. We did our day trip to the Catalina Wall and the Aquarium. First up was the Wall. We had a few snorkelers from Germany on the boat this trip but were the only divers on the wall. We started along this beautiful coral wreef and then reached the edge of the wall. Of course I decided to go over head first and begin my descent upside down. As we went along the wall, I couldn't help but marvel at all of the coral and marine life along the wall. To my surprise, there were no eels poking their little heads out.
After we finished that dive, we proceeded to the Aquarium which was a shallow reef that had a ton of fish in it. Here, we saw plenty of lobsters, stingrays, fish of all different colours etc. When we finished, we headed to catalina island for a lunch on the beach. It was amazing. Nothing like sitting in white sand with the sun enjoying delicious food after an amazing couple of dives.
Day 5: Back to the St. George, Viva Shallow Reef and a night dive on a local reef from shore. We went deeper into the St. George on this dive, going right down into the engine room and popping up through hatches and stairways to visit the above decks. It's amazing how the light penetrates deep into the wreck. I was able to get some amazing video of this dive.
We had a good long surface interval and then went to Viva Shallow Reef. This is a shallow reef but was easily one of the best of the trip. There were lots of crabs and lobsters hiding as well as stingrays in the sand and hidden in the coral. As usual lots of lionfish and scorpion fish.
The night dive was an adventure. Originally, we were supposed to go to Viva Shallows again for our night dive but unfortunately, the military has put a fresh ban out on boats going out of Bayahibe harbour at night. Apparently there has been a problem with people smuggling Dominicans into Puerto Rico. John (the owner of ScubaFun) tried his best to reason with them but it was like talking to a brick wall wearing camoflage. We were taken instead to a reef that was off shore a bit past an area that they use for OW checkout dives. This couldn't have been a more successful night dive. We saw at least 8 octapi, stingrays, eels, tons of fish, squid (one of which seemed to have a crush on me until i bopped it lightly on the *head*?).
Day 6 Shark Point I and II and Penon 3 Reef. First of all to kill the suspense, we saw no sharks. The dive started out at Shark Point I which is the "traditional" shark point dive. Here we encountered some really mean surge and had to time our kicks accordingly. For those of us that use frog kick to dive (me being the only one of this group) this was easy as I timed my kick to coincide with the surge. There was lots of life on the reef and it was funny to see it all move as we did with the surge. John came with us on this dive and was peeking under every crevas, cave and crack that he could find to see if he could scare us up a shark. No luck.
The second dive was very similar to the first one but was at a location that John and another shop owner had discovered. Again we were met with surge and saw similar life on the reef.
After the first 2 dives, we went to Saona Island to have our lunch. This was an amazing place to eat and just relax. Lots of white sand and little shops along the beach.
We then went to Penon 3 reef. This had to be my favourite reef of the entire vacation. It was bursting with life. As soon as we hit the water we saw a sea turtle swimming in front of us. There were tons of colourful coral and different forms of life. Huge crabs everywhere and lobsters. The intense surge that we felt at the past 2 dives was non existant here and made the diving much more enjoyable.
Day 7-Cave diving
Our guide, Melkie, took us to a local cave. It was about a half hour car ride to the park system and then another 20 mins along a very sketchy road driving very slow to get to the trail that led to the cave. To get to the cave, we had to suit up at the car and follow a skinny rocky trail to the entrance. Then, we had to go down these wet, mossy rocks that were super steep to get to the water. We sat down on a ledge in the water to bring our respiration down and do our final briefing before the dive. The cave had been strung with line and was a direct route so it would be a good beginner cave dive. We began in a large chamber where some tourists were swimming. We descended and swam into the tube that connected it to another large room. The swim to the second room was about 15 minutes in a completely overhead environment with tons of amazing stalagtites and calcium formations. Once inside the second room, you couldn't see a thing. Bats were flying everywhere and we tried to catch them in our flashlights. If ever there was an argument for a powerful can light, this was it. I had an Ikelite PC LED light and it did the trick but it'd have been nice to be rocking a can light in there.
Well thats it. If you made it this far, thanks for reading. Again I'll post pics very soon. I know the DR isn't known for diving but I'd recommend it to anyone. It was absolutely incredible.
