The alarm went off this morning at 6:15AM and I promptly ignored it until it went off again at 6:20AM. I heard Nóirín getting up, so I decided to stay in bed a while longer. I eventually got up around 6:30AM, and got ready for our day trip to Saona Island. The cruise we booked was Called Caribbean Cruising and we booked it through our Thomson holiday rep.
We walked across to the Palace reception where we were due to be picked up at 7AM. The HotelBeds bus turned up at 6:50AM and us and one other couple boarded. The bus had already been to several other hotels at that point, so we were among the last to get on. The bus left our hotel at about 6:55AM and head out of the resort. On the way, it stopped at the Bavaro resort reception to pick up a few more couples, then we were on our way to Bayahibe, where the boat would leave for Saona Island.
Our tour guides name was Kevin, and he was very knowledgeable about the Island, its population, education system and employment rates. He told us the number one industry on the Island was tourism, and that there was 0% unemployment in the Punta Cana region because of it, compared with 14% in the rest of the country. He also told us the minimum wage which most of the people in the resorts were on was €250 per month. He also told us about the sugar cane which was growing on the way. Every year, thousands of Haitians come down to help harvest the crop, as they only cut it, they don't dig it up. It grows like a grass so they leave it growing for 8 to 9 years, before burning it, and leaving the field empty for a year.
Just before we entered the back road down towards Bayahibe, the bus stopped to pick up another guy. I can't remember his name, but he was introduced to us as our personal paparazzi for the day. He would be taking videos and photos of us a memento's we could buy at the end of the trip.
It took about an hour and 20 minutes to get to Bayahibe village, with a stop on the way at the HotelBeds building for 5 minutes (we didn't get off the bus). It was about 8:20AM when the bus pulled up and let us off. We followed Kevin down to the water, where there was a large twin hulled motorboat waiting for us. I was expecting a single hull speed boat. Some of the tours do use the single hull, but I was quite pleased as I read these can be unconfortable, even though they are faster. I read we would be bothered by loads of merchants when we got to Bayahibe, but there was not a single merchant there when we arrived.
We climbed up a ladder at the back of the boat to board, and found a seat in the middle under the awning. After a short while, everyone had boarded and the boat set off, fairly slowly out of the harbour. We had only gone about 5 minutes, before one of the crew picked up the anchor at the front of the boat, and threw it in. This was where we were going to do the scuba diving section of the tour. Looking over the side of the boat, I could see there were loads of fish. Another crewman started throwing bits of bread over the side of the boat, and the fish were grabbing it really quickly, almost making the water churn.
We were given masks and snorkels, and went down the back of the boat again into the water, which was very calm, very warm and very salty. It's easy to float in the water here, no effort is required. Nóirín didn't come in, as she cannot swim, but I did. Immediately I put my head in the water, I noticed hundreds of fish. It was like I was part of the shoal, none of them shying away from us, I almost had to push them out of the way to move about. At one stage, I just lay in the water with my arms outstretched to the side. After a few seconds, I felt something bite my finger, it must have thought my finger was a piece of bread. Quite a shock. The tour guide when we booked said to take a banana along and break it in half and the fish would eat it out of your hand. I can believe that, but I forgot to take the banana in with me,
The scuba diving lasted about 30 minutes, and 2 other boats also pulled up to do the same thing. No problem really as there was plenty of sea to be able to share. Once everyone was back on board, the anchor was pulled up, and the boat got underway. This time, the captain opened up the throttle and we took off in the direction of Saona Island which is to the South East of the Dominican Republic. Just before we started heading away, the crew brought round a Dominican Breakfast - which consisted of Rum and Coke. Once underway, there was a lot of spray, and we did get very wet, but it was refreshing at the same time, and still very warm. I'm glad I was wearing my sunglasses to protect my eyes from the salty water.
I'm not sure how long we were speeding along for, I'd say probably around 20 to 30 minutes along the coast, before we arrived at the "Natural Pool". This is an area of water which is very shallow, quite a long way out from the shore. Our Paperazzi guy jumped in before the boat had stopped, and went looking for the Starfish we were going to see. As the boat was moving, we could see the Stafish on the bottom. Eventually the boat anchored up again, and we all got off the boat at the back.
The water was so calm, and so warm. We were able to swim and walk around away from the boat for quite a while, looking for Starfish, before the Paperazzi guy started asking people (couples at a time) to come over to him where he had 3 Starfish for people to hold, while he filmed them. At the same time, all the crew joined us in the water with the "Open Bar" which consisted of lots of Rum and Coke (not that I'm complaining). Eventually it was our turn to have our video clips, and we were arranged in a couple of poses, and asked to kiss each other a few times, and to wave at the camera.
This went on for quite a while while everyone had a chance to hold the Starfish. Towards the end they brought everyone together in a group (with more drinks) for a group video clip. Slightly cheesy, but still good fun. We had to repeat some phrases in Spanish, basically saying "To everyone back home, we're here having a great time" or something along those lines.
While we were here, several other boats joined us, but they all spaced out a lot, so no group was on top of another group. The sand bar is huge, so there was no problem, even though there were several trips doing the same thing.
A few more minutes after the group (we were probably there 30 to 40 minutes) we all boarded the boat again. Not so easy as the boat was moving round quite a bit, we had to go chasing the ladder, but it was still pretty easy. Once all were on board, we set off again at speed. It only took about 10 minutes before we arrived near the island. We were told that we would be heading round to the back of the island and 10 minutes after that, the boat anchored off the shore. A smaller speedboat pulled up alongside which we had to get into. This was a little dicey, the larger boat didn't move around much in the waves, but the smaller one did, so you had to time it right to get across. Nóirín hurt her shoulder by twisting her arm a little as the crew helped her aboard.A few others had minor knocks too, but nothing to spoil the day.
Once all were on the small boat, we went into the shore. We all got off the back of the boat onto the beach, and the tour guide Kevin told us our barbeque lunch would be in about an hour, and we were free to do whatever we liked on the beach for that time, but not to wander away too far.
The beach was beautiful, and only one other group of people on that section of the island. It did briefly start to rain while we were there, but that soon went over. Our Paperazzi guy was talking to couples about buying the DVD he was going to produce for the days trip, but we decided that we would go swimming for a bit. Not long after we were called to have lunch.
Lunch consisted of Pasta Salad, Aubergine Salad, Fish, and Bread for starter. There was also a choice of Beer, Wine (red and white) and Rum and Coke to drink. Once these were finished, we had a short wait for the Grill to be ready, so we were chatting to the others in our group. We were then invited up to collect our meat from the Grill. The choice was Lobster, Chicken and Pork, and you could choose more than one. We were also served rice, potatoes and a pesto type sauce. The food was very nice, except there didn't seem to be much meat on the chicken. Neither of us had the Lobster, but others were saying it was nice.
After lunch we went for another dip in the sea. It was very shallow quite a long way out. 100 meters out (approx) and we were only waist deep maximum. It was also very calm, with hardly any waves. When we came back in, we spoke to the Paperazzi guy about the DVD. He said there would be 1 hour of highlights from the day, and 45 minutes of music, and scenes and information about the Dominican Republic, and that the DVD would cost $40 USD. We decided to buy one, and he told us it would be available to collect from our hotel reception the day after the next, after 6PM.
We were on the island for around 1 and a half to 2 hours all in. Then the boat came back to sure to collect us and take us out to the Catamaran back to Bayahibe. We all piled aboard and head out slowly to the Catamaran. Again, it was a little dicey getting onto the Catamaran, but all made it ok with no injuries this time. The Catamaran was quite large, easily enough space for everyone, with nets at the front for some to lay on, and a covered deck area at the back of the boat. We set off, with more Rum and Coke being given to everyone. The crew put up the sails and away we went back towards Bayahibe.
Music was playing, the sun was shining, people were dancing, and the drink was flowing. It was beautiful. Then the sky got very dark, the heavens opened and there was a downpour, and when I say downpour, it was like a cloudburst. It threw it down. With only a small covered area at the back of the boat, everyone crowded together, and threw towels round each other. Water was rolling around the deck within a few minutes, the rain was that heavy. Thankfully the bag with my camera in had a protective waterproof cover, but the other bag got quite wet. Everyone was still laughing, and they poured more drinks for everyone and tried to keep the party mood going.
The crew were running around, trying to get the sails down as quickly as possible. You couldn't see very far in front or to the sides of the boat because the rain was so hard. This went on for about 10 minutes, which all things considered wasn't bad. I'd have been annoyed had it been like that all the way back to the port. Then, the sun came out again. It probably only took about 10 minutes for the boat to be dry, and everyone went back to their sunbathing and dancing.
Myself and Nóirín went to sit at the front of the boat for a while, enjoying the sunshine. It is probably around this time that I burnt my shoulders to a crisp. I didn't notice it at the time (as no one ever does) but this is the only time I can remember, apart from when we were swimming on the beach, that I wasn't wearing my T-Shirt. We had loads of sunscreen on, but we both managed to burn a bit. Oh well, no more farmers tan at least.
The trip on the Catamaran lasted 2 - 2 and a half hours, before we neared the port. The crew were all really friendly and fun. When we got back to the port, and the Catermaran tied up onto its mooring, we had to transfer again into another smaller speedboat to take us back to shore. Again this was a little dicey, but not too bad. The smaller boat took about 5 minutes to get us back to the shore at Bayahibe. We all climbed off the boat again, and made our way back to the bus, to take us back to the resorts, which took another 1 and a half hours. We were back in our hotel around 6:30PM. All in all I loved the trip, and would recommend it to anyone.
We got back and got ready for dinner. This is when we noticed the sunburn, so we loaded up heavily on moisturizer and went out to eat. We tried the Brazillian first, but that was booked up, so we tried the Fish Restaurant, Mare Nostrum, but that too had a waiting list, so we decided just to go into the Buffet. It was oriental night, and the food was pretty good. The Beef in the Tepanyaki was a little tough, but I liked the Chicken Chow Mein. The prawn crackers were also really good.
We went back to the room for around 8:30PM, and we were so tired, I don't think either of us lasted past 9:30PM before we were asleep. That was the end of Day 9 and it was a VERY enjoyable day.
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