Samana Peninsula

Cesar arrived at 8 am to Infinity Blu to start our adventure to Las Terrenas, then off to Hispianola Sol to pick up the rest of the gang. Roxy sat between Rick and Barb in the middle seat; cuddled up nice and close for the ride. We arrived to Las Terrenas in 4 hours, after a couple of stops along the way.

The north coast road towards the Samana Peninsula was littered with little towns in-between fields of coconut orchards, banana plantations and rice paddies. Most of the road travels beside the ocean until it reaches Sanchez. It is at this point that you turn north and head over the mountain range to go to Las Terrenas. The road winds up and up over the mountain range before it drops down into Las Terrenas. If you turn right at Sanchez and head south it will take you to the south coast; to the town of Santa Barbara de Samaná and Las Galleras (on the end of the peninsula). The town of Samaná is an important tourism destination in Dominican Republic and is the main center for whale-watching tours in the Caribbean region.

The town of Santa Barbara of Samaná sits on the Samaná Peninsula which came first into written history on 13 January 1493, when Christopher Columbus made here the last stop of his first voyage to the New World. He landed on what today is known as the Rincón Beach, where he met the Ciguayos who presented him with the only violent resistance he faced during this visit to the Americas.

The Cigüayos had refused to trade their bows and arrows that Columbus's pathfinders wanted. In the ensuing clash, two Amerindians were wounded. Because of the Ciguayos' use of arrows, the Admiral called the inlet the Bay of Arrows (or Gulf of Arrows). Columbus took on board four natives to show in Spain, but only one survived. For most of the colonial period, the Spanish did not settle here, opening the place for runaways and privateers.

In 1756, under the direction of Spanish governor Francisco Rubio y Peñaranda, families from the Canary Islands founded the village and named it, Santa Bárbara de Samaná. It was named Santa Bárbara after the Queen Bárbara de Braganza, wife of King Ferdinand VI of Spain.

In 1807, a small force from the British Royal Navy raided Samaná and turned it back to the Spanish creoles who were fighting against the last French bastion on the island. In 1822, after the Haitians had occupied the entire island, a French vessel threatened a renewal of the French-Haitian hostilities. After a small encounter, named "the Samaná Affair," the French retired taking with them various families that had resettled here after the Haitian Revolution.

Arriving early into Las Terrenas we decided to stop briefly at Villa Serenella to drop off our bags before heading off to explore the area. We found a nice little lunch place on the beach that served up fresh fish, ceviche, and chicken dishes. It came with family styled side dishes : salad, fried plantains, rice, french fries. Sitting on the beach, listening to the waves and enjoying lunch with friends is simply hard to beat.

Then it was off to explore the town a bit before we could check in at 230 pm. We came across fresh fish (Tuna) being filleted from the local fisherman - direct off the boat. One of the little boys was so cute - walking around with a fish in one hand and a candy in the other - not a care in the world.

The hurricanes have affected all aspects of the north coast. Road widths are reduced, beaches are washed away and there seems to be debris everywhere. Without the expansive beaches to bring the tourists down to the beaches to rent cots and have lunch has changed the culture in the area. Previously the locals would hustle down to the beaches and rake the sand, pick up the garbage and help in reinforce and protect with shore line. The tourists are still present but with a limited beach and the inability in getting into the ocean has resulted in the locals stopped taking care of the water's edges and streets in town, increasing the litter and garbage in the area.

Villa Serenella was an eclectic little place, hidden down Ave Espana in Las Terrenas. It was 20-30 mins walk into town at a leisurely pace - a bit farther than expected. It had 2 bedrooms on the lower floor and one up in the loft space. Each room had its own bathroom making it nice for each couple. However, the upper bedroom only had a double bed with a makeshift bathroom beside the bed. Barley enough room to sit on the throne; the shower water sprayed out into the room and onto the floor - no door or significant walls on the washroom. Quaint little place, but a bit more rustic than what the internet let on. However, the best part was being with everyone and having a nice yard space for Roxy. The resident dog Milla was lovely and Roxy could come and go out of the villa with any concerns. We only had to put up with the rustic type environment for only 3 days and most of us can live with anything for 3 days time.

In Las Terrenas we had some wonderful dinners out as a group. On our last night Rick and I went out to find a chicken dinner to bring back for a nice dinner night in. Many of the pizza places have large forno (or Porno depending on how you heard it) for pizzas. It heats up to a high temperature and cooks the pizza in 2 mins. Great coffee shops and wonderful French Pastry shops in town. It is a good thing that we were staying a bit out of the downtown and needed to walk a lot to get anywhere. There is a few great shopping places in town for jewelry, swim suits, clothing and of course a few nick-necks.
A nice place to go and visit but what we have found is that for the price, beaches and eclectic mix of people Sosua is pretty hard place to beat!