Or is it the beginning?
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The dirt, bumpy, pot holed, road NE of Samana passes through the tiny fishing village of Las Galeras, then abruptly ends smack on the beach. How bumpy was it? So bumpy we had a flat tire for a few miles and didn't even feel it. (We only pulled over then because people along the road kept waving and pointing at the tire.) So bumpy a lovely Canadian woman, (Hello Helen!) told me she had previously had back problems, but after hitting a few especially teeth rattlin' holes on the way there, something just 'clicked" into place during the ride and her back hadn't felt so good in years! (Don't try this at home kids.)
Las Galeras is a tight knit community numbering less than two thousand with many living on small farms throughout the lush countryside. Time slows down here. It doesn't run past like a scared rabbit. A few times I think it might have actually stopped. . The people make a living fishing of course, but also make a bit of money from the tourists who make the extra effort to arrive here.
When you hit the end of the road, you'll be right on the beach. If you need any boat transportation Ambiori (left)is the guy you need to look for.
Just yell his name and he'll find you. He was very helpful in arranging boat trips for me during my stay and on a SUPER lazy Sunday when I may have been the only gringa in town, he taught me La Bachata, the preferred dance of the "campo". Well, he tried anyway.
The area boasts one of the top ten most beautiful beaches in the world...Playa Rincon.
For now, Rincon is a pristine, white sand beach, with crystal clear water, and coconuts swaying in the tropical breeze as far as your eye can see... This is probably everyone's idea of the Caribbean beach they thought only existed in glossy travel ads, or Corona beer commercials. The beaches are public, but there is a rumor that Julio Iglesias is buying up the land behind it for a mega resort. That means all the people from the resort will flood the beach. Of course the rumor could be completely unfounded as they so often are, but someone, someday, WILL buy the land. Time's a wasting! Make those travel plans now, before they cut all the coconut trees down so they can build swimming pools, bars, kiddie playgrounds, shuffle board courts, mini golf courses, well, you get the idea.
Has a dishwasher
Add a few of the
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As beautiful as the beaches are, the people who live here are what make the area so attractive. Their warmth, dignity, humor, and generosity, are boundless. They are poor in the monetary sense, but rich beyond compare with a sense of community, the bountiful harvests from the sea, and the calming assurance that their lives will be as stress free and unhurried "manana" as it was today. No medication required.
The easiest, most memorable way to arrive here is by boat. More hair raising, bumpy, out of your seat transportation! (Theme parks should try to replicate this.) Crashing out into the surf in a small, light weight boat from the beach at Las Galeras, heading out to sea, and then riding the waves back in to the beach at Playa Rincon, is a real adrenaline booster. Yeeee-haaaa! Trust your boat captain and enjoy the ride. He knows what he's doing. Don't be nervous when you realize there are no life jackets.
Jesus, my captain that day, told me he had been fishing and boating on these waters for twenty years and only lost one person overboard...his own grandfather..and it was at night...but they found him, fished him out, and all was well.
Jesus, my captain that day, told me he had been fishing and boating on these waters for twenty years and only lost one person overboard...his own grandfather..and it was at night...but they found him, fished him out, and all was well.
(For someone with twenty years of experience
he looked to be about, oh, 30 years old?)
For now, Rincon is a pristine, white sand beach, with crystal clear water, and coconuts swaying in the tropical breeze as far as your eye can see... This is probably everyone's idea of the Caribbean beach they thought only existed in glossy travel ads, or Corona beer commercials. The beaches are public, but there is a rumor that Julio Iglesias is buying up the land behind it for a mega resort. That means all the people from the resort will flood the beach. Of course the rumor could be completely unfounded as they so often are, but someone, someday, WILL buy the land. Time's a wasting! Make those travel plans now, before they cut all the coconut trees down so they can build swimming pools, bars, kiddie playgrounds, shuffle board courts, mini golf courses, well, you get the idea.
I spent a pleasant, peaceful day there.
A family had a makeshift eating area
set up under a palapa and I snacked
on fresh caught, charcoal broiled
lobster. The most succulent, tasty
lobster I've ever eaten.
Here's the kitchen area.
Here's the kitchen area.
Fresh fish on the barbie!
Has a dishwasher
ever had a better view?
Add a few of thelocal Presidente
beers (grande please!)
and paradise found!
Noooo, I didn't drink all of those
dead soldiers in the picture,
but I did add a few bottles to the pile.....
At the end of the day, the boat trip back to Las Galeras seemed even more exhilarating than the ride in... Life jackets? We don't need no stinking life jackets!
There are other stunning beaches in the area too. Playa Madame and Playa Fronton to name a few.
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As beautiful as the beaches are, the people who live here are what make the area so attractive. Their warmth, dignity, humor, and generosity, are boundless. They are poor in the monetary sense, but rich beyond compare with a sense of community, the bountiful harvests from the sea, and the calming assurance that their lives will be as stress free and unhurried "manana" as it was today. No medication required.
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