Trip Report-Bayahibe Dominican Republic

[DRsharky]

Padre Nuestro is about 25 min walk or less then 10 minutes off road car ride from Bayahibe village, from Dreams it's a bit further.
The part of the cave you dove is the first small fraction of a huge system. From the dome you surfaced the system continues much further, I am not sure if all has been completely discovered yet. There are few fresh water cave systems in the area, not all of them completely explored, and those are only accessible for cave divers. We've had many cave explorers here lately and they discovered some really interesting stuff and some parts are closed to the public now because of their discoveries. These caves are not for recreational divers, people should remember that cave diving needs special education, training and completely different equipment, otherwise it's a big risk and there is nothing worth risking our life.

 

[Rhone Man]

Nice report. I am very fond of the St George. Really nice wreck.

 

[DRsharky]

Rhone Man, agree with you, even though there are over 20 dive sites in the area, St.George wreck in m y favorite

 

[Scarborough Diver]

I would say the St George was one of my favourites. We dove it twice while we were there. In terms of the cave. I couldn't agree more that to go deep into a cave system, appropriate training and equipment is needed. We only did a short penetration under the supervision of the divemaster. When we finished the dive, I had almost 2000psi in my tank. The car ride in was definitely an adventure, especially since it was in a cab. The walk down to the cave was even more of an adventure.

 

[Angry Turtle]

thanks for the report.

however..."The dive began with me face to face with a giant puffer fish which I tried to annoy into puffing but unsuccessful..." uncool and unnecessary

 

[Scarborough Diver]

thanks for the report.

however..."The dive began with me face to face with a giant puffer fish which I tried to annoy into puffing but unsuccessful..." uncool and unnecessary

How is swimming towards a fish uncool and unnecessary. I never touched it or did anything to it but swim towards it in hopes that it would think I was a predator and puff. Before you wag your finger at someone, perhaps you should find out the details instead of passing judgement prematurely.

 

[Angry Turtle]

How is swimming towards a fish uncool and unnecessary. I never touched it or did anything to it but swim towards it in hopes that it would think I was a predator and puff. Before you wag your finger at someone, perhaps you should find out the details instead of passing judgement prematurely.

You admitted trying to harass the puffer into inflating and expect the reader to ask for further details? Come on....

Even if you did not touch the fish, chasing him makes him expend energy unnecessarily. That is still stressing the animal for no other reason than your own entertainment.

 

[Scarborough Diver]

My intention was to post a trip report not to get trolled. To be honest, I don't believe that my actions stressed this fish out any more than if a barracuda swam by. My brother, who is an animal behaviour major, was right beside me and can attest to this. I did not touch, corner, harass or in any other way harm this animal. I swam at it slowly to take a picture. My wording "trying to annoy" was my attempt to inject humour into the trip report and apparently that humour was misinterpreted. I'd prefer if this thread stayed on topic which was the fantastic time that my family and I had diving. I don't appreciate anonymous people wagging their finger at me on an internet discussion board. I'm very conscious about how my actions affect the ecosystem that I am diving in.

 

[Angry Turtle]

My intention was to post a trip report not to get trolled. To be honest, I don't believe that my actions stressed this fish out any more than if a barracuda swam by. My brother, who is an animal behaviour major, was right beside me and can attest to this. I did not touch, corner, harass or in any other way harm this animal. I swam at it slowly to take a picture. My wording "trying to annoy" was my attempt to inject humour into the trip report and apparently that humour was misinterpreted. I'd prefer if this thread stayed on topic which was the fantastic time that my family and I had diving. I don't appreciate anonymous people wagging their finger at me on an internet discussion board. I'm very conscious about how my actions affect the ecosystem that I am diving in.

cool, just a misunderstanding.

Again thanks for the report, the DR is on my list of destinations since it is so close to Fl.

 

[Scarborough Diver]

cool, just a misunderstanding.

Again thanks for the report, the DR is on my list of destinations since it is so close to Fl.

No harm no foul. Cheers! I highly recommend the DR. I think it had a good supply of all types of diving. Lots of life. Happy diving!