I rolled out of bed with the sunshine and made a hop-skip-and-a-jump to the beach. The early morning sun was already warming up the sand between my toes and causing the tops of the rippling waves to glitter like diamonds.
But I was on a mission. I was determined to make my way to Playa Frontón.
But I was on a mission. I was determined to make my way to Playa Frontón.
The beach in Las Galeras is fine. The water is nice and shallow and great for a dip, but the shoreline is a bit rocky and the sandy parts are mostly covered in washed up seaweed. The real attraction of Las Galeras are the surrounding beaches: Playa Rincon, Playa Fronton, Playa Madam, Playa de Amantes, among others. Many of these surrounding beaches, like Playa Fronton, are virtually virgin. Unlike the other beaches throughout the D.R., you won´t find any beach-side restaurants, lounge chairs, piña coladas, or vendors disturbing your peace to sell you sea shell bracelets and massages. Nope, these beaches are relatively untouched. In the case of Playa Fronton, you can´t even get there by car, you must rent a lancha (small boat) or hike your way through the jungla (jungle).
After chatting with some of the locals at the boat launch (there is always a gang of 8-10 guys hanging out at the beachfront waiting to take you wherever your heart desires), I was told that the next boat for Frontón would be leaving soon and it would cost me 800 pesos (20 dollars).
Do NOT pay that much.
I bargained down to 600 pesos, although a sharper bargainer than I (and maybe one that doesn´t look quite so American) could probably get the price even lower.
While waiting for the other passengers to arrive, I struck up a conversation with one of the boat guides to find out what was what at Playa Fronton. I asked him if I should be bringing along any food and water since I hadn´t packed any and hadn´t had breakfast.
The next thing I knew he was leading me through town and back behind a row of shacks to an abandoned lot with a mata de mangos. We scoured the ground for the good fruit and then climbed up on top of the roof of the decrepit cement building to pick even more. By the time we were finished I had a bag full of mangos to make it through the day and plenty to share.
After chatting with some of the locals at the boat launch (there is always a gang of 8-10 guys hanging out at the beachfront waiting to take you wherever your heart desires), I was told that the next boat for Frontón would be leaving soon and it would cost me 800 pesos (20 dollars).
Do NOT pay that much.
I bargained down to 600 pesos, although a sharper bargainer than I (and maybe one that doesn´t look quite so American) could probably get the price even lower.
While waiting for the other passengers to arrive, I struck up a conversation with one of the boat guides to find out what was what at Playa Fronton. I asked him if I should be bringing along any food and water since I hadn´t packed any and hadn´t had breakfast.
The next thing I knew he was leading me through town and back behind a row of shacks to an abandoned lot with a mata de mangos. We scoured the ground for the good fruit and then climbed up on top of the roof of the decrepit cement building to pick even more. By the time we were finished I had a bag full of mangos to make it through the day and plenty to share.
I rinsed two of the mangos in the sea and ate them right there, the juice sopping all down my chin and fingers. There´s just no way to eat a fresh mango without getting a little messy, but that´s the beauty of it.
Soon enough I was hopping into a boat and headed off for a jostling little ride on turquoise waves.
Soon enough I was hopping into a boat and headed off for a jostling little ride on turquoise waves.
And this is where I ended up.
What I loved most about this beach is how the mountains meet the shoreline. Simply stunning.
If you wander around behind the palm trees a little bit, you´ll find some stony ruins built alongside the cliffs.
If you wander around behind the palm trees a little bit, you´ll find some stony ruins built alongside the cliffs.
I was particularly lucky on this day because I found even more than that! I found a cliff-climbing couple from Spain scaling a vertical wall of rock with ropes and hooks. They were professional mountain climbers and took their gear with them wherever they went on vacation.
And they let me strap up and give it a go!!
Regretfully, I don´t have any pictures to document this little escapade....so since there´s no photographic evidence, you´ll have to trust me when I say I climbed to a frightening height. Once I couldn´t feel my arms any more from clinging to the cliffside like a terrified spider, I decided it was time to let go. I unpried my fingers from their death grip and rappelled down the mountain to safety, wondering the whole time what I had been so scared about.
After thanking my new friends for the adventure, I made my way back to the beach to cool off in the crystal water (mountain climbing is hard work!) and soak up the sun.
And they let me strap up and give it a go!!
Regretfully, I don´t have any pictures to document this little escapade....so since there´s no photographic evidence, you´ll have to trust me when I say I climbed to a frightening height. Once I couldn´t feel my arms any more from clinging to the cliffside like a terrified spider, I decided it was time to let go. I unpried my fingers from their death grip and rappelled down the mountain to safety, wondering the whole time what I had been so scared about.
After thanking my new friends for the adventure, I made my way back to the beach to cool off in the crystal water (mountain climbing is hard work!) and soak up the sun.
One can only do so much soaking though, and soon I was ready for another adventure. One of the boat guides, Daniel, mentioned he was going to hike back to Las Galeras on foot. Seeing a chance for a little exercise and a nice trek through the jungla, I opted to join him.
I´m glad I did! It was a sweaty up and down climb, and Daniel wasn´t one to wait up for slackers, but it was fun trying to keep up. He really was an excellent guide though, and every time we passed a mango tree, which was a lot, he stopped to tell me the variety and point out the differences between one type of mango and another. And I tried them all! Big ones, little ones, round golf ball sized ones, flat football shaped ones, greenish blue, greenish pink, yellow, and sunset colored. The forest floor was littered with them. Each and every one delicious.
Is there anything more beautiful than a mata de mangos?
I ate nothing but mangos the entire day and have never been so happy in my life.
I ate nothing but mangos the entire day and have never been so happy in my life.
After about an hour the path diverged into two, and we had the option of heading up to the top of one of the tallest mountains in the area, or down to Las Galeras.
Of course I chose to go up.
Of course I chose to go up.
The view was worth every step.
I made it back to Las Galeras, tired to the bone and happy to the soul, just in time to see the sun sink beneath the sea.
Soon, I myself was also doing some sinking...into the soft sheets of my bed, where visions of mango juice danced in my head.
Soon, I myself was also doing some sinking...into the soft sheets of my bed, where visions of mango juice danced in my head.
The next morning I sprung out of bed like a grasshopper at 6:30 a.m. I had spent part of my long trek home the day before arranging the details for my next quest.....
Harpoon fishing!!!
After rounding up the gear and ironing out some details (like going to the house of our sleeping harpooner to wake him up), I found myself in a pair of flippers walking backwards into the sea through the shallow coral and trying not to step on any sea urchins.
Jónaton (pronounced Joan-ah-tone), my guide, and I spent nearly 3 hours snorkeling and navigating our way through the coral reefs hidden below the glassy surface of el mar.
Jonaton probably took me farther than a half mile from the shore line and we covered at least several miles of water in our journey. Surprisingly enough, I never got tired as the sea water was salty enough to keep me bouyant on the surface without too much effort.
I wish I could put into words how absolutely amazing this experience was. I felt like the Little Mermaid. Except I was a little mermaid on a mission: to find and kill Nemo. Ok, that sounds pretty gruesome, but in all fairness, harpoon fishing is a pretty fair sport. The fishies have as much chance to escape capture as the harpooner has to catch them...knowing where they are and anticipating their movements is a practiced skill. Which is why I didn´t actually do any harpooning myself; I wanted to avoid any possible scenario in which I had to explain to my parents that I had accidentally harpooned my own leg. Maybe the next trip. For now, I left the tough stuff to Jonaton, who was an expert. Shy and sweet on land, he turned into a barracuda under the water. I trailed behind him, taking in the scenery and keeping a lookout for sharks (I don´t actually think there are any sharks in that water...but when you are in the middle of the ocean you can´t help thinking about it). The scenery, by the way, was breathtaking and I learned a few new vocab words along the way too. For example, the two giant sting rays sailing beneath me like kites I came to find out are called Manta Rayas...or in slang Cholos. The striped eel was appropriately nicknamed a pez machete. I also saw an inky black octopus, a blue crab the size of my hand feeding himself with his crabby claws, a vibrant orange star fish bigger than my head, tons of tiny jellyfish which lit up like they had live wires for veins and which I vigorously tried to avoid, and fish in every color imaginable, including the bright red pez cotorra (parrot fish) that Jonaton was stalking through the deep.
In the end we ended up with 5 nice little red fish, a giant conch shell, and a lobster. Not a bad little catch.
Jónaton (pronounced Joan-ah-tone), my guide, and I spent nearly 3 hours snorkeling and navigating our way through the coral reefs hidden below the glassy surface of el mar.
Jonaton probably took me farther than a half mile from the shore line and we covered at least several miles of water in our journey. Surprisingly enough, I never got tired as the sea water was salty enough to keep me bouyant on the surface without too much effort.
I wish I could put into words how absolutely amazing this experience was. I felt like the Little Mermaid. Except I was a little mermaid on a mission: to find and kill Nemo. Ok, that sounds pretty gruesome, but in all fairness, harpoon fishing is a pretty fair sport. The fishies have as much chance to escape capture as the harpooner has to catch them...knowing where they are and anticipating their movements is a practiced skill. Which is why I didn´t actually do any harpooning myself; I wanted to avoid any possible scenario in which I had to explain to my parents that I had accidentally harpooned my own leg. Maybe the next trip. For now, I left the tough stuff to Jonaton, who was an expert. Shy and sweet on land, he turned into a barracuda under the water. I trailed behind him, taking in the scenery and keeping a lookout for sharks (I don´t actually think there are any sharks in that water...but when you are in the middle of the ocean you can´t help thinking about it). The scenery, by the way, was breathtaking and I learned a few new vocab words along the way too. For example, the two giant sting rays sailing beneath me like kites I came to find out are called Manta Rayas...or in slang Cholos. The striped eel was appropriately nicknamed a pez machete. I also saw an inky black octopus, a blue crab the size of my hand feeding himself with his crabby claws, a vibrant orange star fish bigger than my head, tons of tiny jellyfish which lit up like they had live wires for veins and which I vigorously tried to avoid, and fish in every color imaginable, including the bright red pez cotorra (parrot fish) that Jonaton was stalking through the deep.
In the end we ended up with 5 nice little red fish, a giant conch shell, and a lobster. Not a bad little catch.
"Pero tu ´sta peligroso!"
"Wow, you´re dangerous!" That´s what the onlookers said to Jonaton as as we walked back along the beach to the boat launch with our prizes. Sweet, shy Jonaton just smiled, and I couldn´t stop smiling either.
"Wow, you´re dangerous!" That´s what the onlookers said to Jonaton as as we walked back along the beach to the boat launch with our prizes. Sweet, shy Jonaton just smiled, and I couldn´t stop smiling either.
Look closely, you can still the scuba mask outline on my forehead. I know this because a little Dominican boy made fun of me for it when I was coming out of the water.
One of Jonaton´s friends at the boat launch cleaned the conch shell for me as a souvenir and removed the critter (lambí in Spanish) still inside so we could cook him up with the rest of the catch.
We gave the catch to the señoras at Restaurante Modesta, an authentic little thatch-roofed Dominican joint right on the beach, and run by a smiling, wrinkly Señora Modesta herself. They had everything cooked up in a matter of minutes and served it with tostones, arroz, and ensalada. Since Jonaton and I clearly did not need 5 fish to ourselves, we shared with the rest of the boys on the beach and made sure nothing went to waste.
This was my first time trying real lobster! And nothing tastes better than the lobster you caught yourself.
Ok, I didn´t actually "catch" it myself, don´t get so technical on me, mister. But I did make sure no sharks ate Jonaton while he was harpooning and that was an important job. Definitely worthy of a lobster
I would love to tell you exaclty how to go about finding your own harpooning expedition at Las Galeras, but all you really have to do is ask around. Find Jonaton if you can. The whole 3 hour excursion, including full rights to whatever we caught, only cost me 700 pesos. (plus I gave 200 to the ladies at El Restaurante Modesta for cooking the catch). If you went out to any restaurant and ordered lobster, it would probably cost you about that much, and you wouldn´t get the 3 hours of fun and the extra 5 fish and conch shell souvenir to boot).
Best experience ever!
Ok, I didn´t actually "catch" it myself, don´t get so technical on me, mister. But I did make sure no sharks ate Jonaton while he was harpooning and that was an important job. Definitely worthy of a lobster
I would love to tell you exaclty how to go about finding your own harpooning expedition at Las Galeras, but all you really have to do is ask around. Find Jonaton if you can. The whole 3 hour excursion, including full rights to whatever we caught, only cost me 700 pesos. (plus I gave 200 to the ladies at El Restaurante Modesta for cooking the catch). If you went out to any restaurant and ordered lobster, it would probably cost you about that much, and you wouldn´t get the 3 hours of fun and the extra 5 fish and conch shell souvenir to boot).
Best experience ever!
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