#85 Saona

We have been to the Caribbean three times. I have seen some beautiful places, like Tulum, Mexico, and done some really fun things, like sailing on a catamaran in Barbados. Saturday February 9 was the best day I have had in the Caribbean. Everything about the day was good: the transportation, the things we did and the places we went - the small island of Saona off the coast of the Dominican Republic.

We started in the morning with a short 10 minute taxi ride to the village of Bayahibe where we boarded a small motorboat that took us to a beautiful catamaran anchored in the bay. The catamaran was waiting just for us, the other ten or so passengers were already aboard. Bonus number one: few passengers.

It was a gorgeous day. The sky was blue with just a few clouds. The water was calm. T and I took a seat on the trampoline at the front of the boat and watched the beach go by. The crew offered us drinks and fruit and told us about where we were going. (There was one guy in particular, Roberto. He was the trip's videographer. His job was to record the fun we were all having. He was hella nice.) We passed by the beach of our hotel. God, it looked gorgeous even from the sea!

We sailed for about an hour. During that time, the crew was handing out drinks, even rummy ones. MT had a glass of a Dominican favorite, Mama Juana. Mama Juana is basically rum that has been additionally flavored with what looks like sticks and leaves and to which unprocessed sugar is added. (MT bought these ingredients during the buggy ride excursion that he took. We'll be making it someday. I'll invite you over to try it!) I don't think he liked it very much. Maybe it was the early hour, around 10 a.m., or maybe it just didn't taste very good. He finished it though and then switched to beer. There is a very tasty beer from the DR, El Presidente, that tastes a lot like Corona but you don't need the lime.

In addition to the drinks, there was dancing. I think I mentioned in a previous post that the Dominicans love to meringue. MT danced with a cute Domicana, then I was invited to dance by Jordi, a cute Dominicano who I think was gay. No matter, he was adorable and had tight little buns that I slapped while he wriggled them in my area. It was all in good fun! I think I surprised him. I don't think he expected the chubby American mommy to slap his ass, but I did! It was a little difficult to dance on the sailboat, but I did it anyway and it was really fun.

Before we knew it, we had reached the island. The beach was too shallow to pull the sailboat in, so we got on a little speedboat to get to shore. When we jumped out, the water was just over my ankles and CLEAR. The island was all white, powdery sand and palm trees. As I mentioned, there were only about a dozen vacationers in our party, and we mostly had the beach to ourselves. Another group did come later, but it was small too.

The water was warm and shallow. We could walk quite a way out and the water only came up to our belly. We walked out to some seaweed patches. It was cool. We could even see fish in the water, just by looking down. It was just unbelievably clear. We all spent a lot of time playing in the water. When we tired of that, we lounged in the provided chairs, took pictures, had something to drink, and played in the water. Lunch was also provided. After lunch the music came on and there was more dancing or lounging or swimming. It was heavenly!

We were there for several hours, but it seemed very soon that they were loading us back onto the speedboat. No catamaran for our return trip though. We were going to "The National Swimming Pool," a sandbar about half a mile or so off the coast. They dropped anchor and gave us 3 rules: Everyone gets out of the boat. No diving. Everyone has a drink.

MT was the first one out of the boat. He jumped out into crystal clear warm water that came up to the bottom of his swimming trunks! We were out in the middle of the sea, the land in sight, but too far to swim, and the water is only up to mid-thigh! There are a couple of starfish who live in the area, so we looked at them. T was the most apprehensive of the group. The water didn't even come up to his belly-button, so it wasn't that he was worried about drowning. I don't really know what his deal was, actually. It was absolutely just the coolest thing I've ever done; the coolest place I've ever been. At one point, we saw a small manta ray swimming by. It didn't come too near us, but it was very clear and easy to see. How cool is that?!

Again, way too soon we had to leave the Pool. The speedboat ride was lots of fun. The water was calm and it was just gorgeous out there. Instead of taking us back to Bayahibe to get a cab, the boat dropped us off right at the beach of our hotel. Awesome!! That was the only tricky part of the day. As we were getting ready to disembark, a small wave crashed into us and I got pretty wet. It was funny, though. It was all good.

Oh, there was one bad thing, I guess. Getting into the boat at Saona, I misjudged my footing and knocked my left foot against the boat. When I got in I remember thinking that my toe hurt a bit, but I was getting my life jacket on and making sure T was secure, so I forgot about it. Didn't think about in the Pool or getting off the boat. When I was walking on the beach to get back to our room, though, the third toe on my left foot began hurting. When I washed the sand off my feet, I discovered that my poor toe was swollen and an ungodly purple color. Yep, it was broken. Good thing I didn't have much walking to do!

Anyway, if you ever get to the Dominican Republic, please try to get to Isla Saona. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, and the place where I had my best day of vacation EVER!