Las Galeras, Camping at El Cabito, and Playa Madama

During the Semana Santa holiday (known as Easter weekend in the U.S.) we decided to drive all the way to the northeast tip of DR on the Samaná peninsula. Our first destination was the El Cabito restaurant and camp ground. El Cabito is not your average restaurant setting. It is a wooden platform perched precariously over sheer cliffs overlooking the crashing ocean waves. The restaurant seats only about 20 people, and the food is cooked in a small hut nearby. There are camping spaces for about 8 tents, and the place offers cold showers and restrooms for campers. We felt safe as the place is secluded, and the European owners have their house just a stone’s throw from the campground. You can also rent hammocks for the night, although they are in huts with a roof but not much in terms of walls. In other words, you don’t get any privacy from the other campers.

El Cabito is probably most famous as the place to watch sunsets, although we were not fortunate to have clear weather on the two nights we spent there. We had our own treat of beautiful tumultuous clouds and stormy seas, which was also charming. With the mist, cold wind, and green pastures, the place actually reminded us of Scotland. Not what you’d expect from the Caribbean!

The drive to El Cabito is somewhat of an experience. It’s safe to say you need a four-wheel drive vehicle to get there, as there are muddy sections and some steep climbs. We did see people walking, which I think would take about 20 minutes to half an hour. You can also take a motorcycle from town, but I can only imagine that the ride must leave the passenger feeling very sore. The unpaved road winds through farmland and empty lots, but with beautiful views of the surrounding countryside.

The food at El Cabito was very tasty. We ordered the fresh catch, and you can see the picture of how enormous the fish was! Our friend who recommended the place said the fish in coconut sauce is unbeatable.

By far the best experience we had from El Cabito was to hike to Playa Madama. The proprietor said the hike takes 30 minutes, but that’s only if you know the route! I took us about 2 hours, and the walk is through some dense jungle that has been roughly cleared by machete. You will need to remind yourself during this walk that DR has no poisonous snakes, because your legs will disappear beneath hedges and brush as you push through the trail. Definitely wear closed toe shoes and pants so as not to end up with scraped legs. Most of the walk, however, is through open paths that are quite comfortable. Someone has marked the trail with red flags, but they are intermittent so you need to use your inner Magellan to find the way. You will pass beautiful cliffs that are composed of a Martian-like porous rock. In the distance you can see lush mountains climbing out from the oceanside. It’s really breathtaking scenery.

And then you reach Playa Madama, which really takes your breath away. The inaccessibility of the beach keeps tourists away, so you have the place to yourselves. The snorkeling would be great here, or just enjoying the turquoise water. We didn’t make it to Playa Fronton, which is an additional walk, but the pictures online show that Playa Fronton is really the crown jewel of this area. If you’re in to hiking, I suggest researching how to continue the trek to Playa Fronton.

As for the town of Las Galeras itself, it has one main street with some restaurants and bars but is otherwise quiet. It is definitely not like Cabarete, Las Terrenas, or any of the larger seaside towns. We heard that Le Taino is the best restaurant in town. We opted instead for an Italian eatery run by an Italian couple. We ate there for lunch, and could not resist going back for dinner! It was some of the most deliciously authentic Italian food I’ve had outside of Italy. Food prices are not cheap here though, as food is generally expensive in DR. Expect to pay US$10 or so per entrée at a casual eatery.

There are two public beaches walkable from Las Galeras – the main public beach at the end of the main road, and La Playita about 20 minutes walk away. Both are decent, but are not spectacular compared to other beaches in the area.

 

The dirt road to El Cabito.

 

The dirt road to El Cabito.

 

The dirt road to El Cabito.

 

El Cabito restaurant, perched above the cliff.

 

El Cabito camping grounds.

 

Looking down toward the restaurant (under the thatched roof).

 

Camping at El Cabito.

 

The view over the bay.

 

 

 

 

Our fish dinner at El Cabito.

 

On a wet, gray day, the landscape kind of reminded us of Scotland!

 

You can see that the path to Playa Madama is not very clearly marked! It snakes through this brush.

 

The path to Playa Madama.

 

Passing beautiful cliffs on our way to Playa Madama.

 

 

 

 

Arrived! How beautiful is this secluded beach of Playa Madama?

 

 

 

Just past Playa Madama are some more beautiful scenes.

 

 

 

 

I forgot to mention that in Las Galeras town is a wonderful breakfast place called "Casa Por Qué No?" It is a B&B run by a French-Canadian couple who cook the breakfasts themselves and serve you. The breakfast was wonderful value. I recommend the salty pancake (really a version of a crepe) and the French Toast.

 

Fabric stores in Santo Domingo

I was searching around for a fabric store in Santo Domingo at which I could buy odds-and-ends fabric to add the finishing touches to our apartment. When I did a Google search, I wasn't very confident of the results because the descriptions seemed vague. Therefore I decided to compile this list of fabric stores in Santo Domingo:

Almacenes El Canal
I was happy to find Almacenes El Canal fabric store on the recommendation of a friend here. It is located on Avenida Luperon, just past Avenida Mejia. It's got a wide selection of fabrics, together with all of the materials you'd need to put a project together. I think it's fair to describe it as more "down-market," the kind of place where rolls of fabric are piled high on tables, the floors are dusty, and there is lots of commotion.

Diamantex
In contrast to Alamacenes El Canal, there is also Diamantex fabrics located on Av. Lope de Vega #18, Ensanche Piantini, Santo Domingo. It's just a stone's throw north of the intersection of Ave. Abraham Lincoln and Lope de Vega, across from the Banco Santa Cruz. Their phone number is (809) 562-2230. This is much more of a boutique, high-end fabric store. There are maybe 100 or so fabric choices total, all arranged neatly on rolls in the showroom. The clientele looks to be mostly interior designers, and the prices are higher than at El Canal. The quality definitely looks to be higher though.

Merceria Dume
This smallish store most closely resembles a Michael's craft store in the U.S. It has a range of craft products, including sewing and fabric supplies. I would say in fact that its sewing section is the most comprehensive I've seen here. The fabric selection is limited, so I wouldn't make this a destination for fabrics. They also have lots of beads, buttons, ribbons, and many other fabric accents. The address is Ave Defillo 21, near the intersection of Defillo and 27 de Febrero (about a block south of 27 de Febrero in the Bella Vista neighborhood).

Whale Watching in Samaná / Relaxing on Cayo Levantado

This weekend we decided to head up north to Samaná peninsula, and specifically to the town of Samaná itself. Our ultimate purpose was to participate in the whale watching tour led by Kim Beddall. Her Whale Samaná company had come highly recommended to us by friends. For US$53, you get a tour of several hours on a nice boat to watch the humpback whales frolick in Samaná bay. The whales only come to the bay in January through March of each year to breed. The boat leaves from the main dock in Samaná and the experience was wonderful. We decided to pay the US$5 extra to be dropped off on Cayo Levantado as the boat makes its way back to port. This turned out to be a wonderful side-trip as we enjoyed a nice lunch and 3 hours of relaxation on this beautiful island. 

The highway from Santo Domingo to the Samaná peninsula covers some of the most beatiful inland territory we've seen in the Dominican Republic so far. Vast fields of rice and other crops are lined with banana trees, as livestock lazily graze by the roadside. The trip all the way to Samaná took only about 2.5 hours, and passed through many quaint villages

In Samaná we stayed at the China Hotel, which was a great place given its location just a stone's throw from the waterfront. The hotel rooms are simple, but modern and comfortable. Perhaps best of all, the hotel has communal sitting areas that enjoy a great hill-top view over the city. We ate one night in the Chinese restaurant in the hotel and it was quite good.

The scenery on the road up to Samaná is really beautiful.

We decided to take a detour and head up the newly constructed highway 133, also called Boulevard Turístico del Atlantico. There is a toll of about US$11, but the views were well worth it. The highway takes you right to Las Terrenas.

A view of the water from the Boulevard Turistico del Atlantico.

We stopped in El Limon to ride the horses to the famous waterfall of El Limon (Salto del Limon). There are many places to pick up these horse tours, and some look more established than others. We opted to stop at a house on the side of the road that simply had two horses and two guides ready for the taking. They charged us 300 pesos each, and then we tipped the guides. There is also a 50 peso charge to enter the park.

There are a lot of tourists, although we had long stretches of the trail to ourselves.

On the path to the waterfall. The guide walks next to you and helps guide the horse, so the path is walkable. But it is muddy during the rainy season, and because of the all of the horses there is a lot of horse manure on the path. I would not recommend walking to the falls.

We reached the falls after about 30 minutes of riding, together with some walking down a path. They were absolutely beautiful and you can swim in the pond beneath.

After the falls, we made it to Samaná. This is the view from our hotel.

The view from China Hotel.

Samaná, Dominican Republic.

Samaná, Dominican Republic.

Samaná, Dominican Republic.

Samaná, Dominican Republic.

The harbor as we leave on the Pura Mia vessel with Kim Beddall.

Pulling away from Samaná.

To the left you can see a bridge leading to an island. The bridge is definitely worth visiting, as the view of the town is beautiful. Also, you can see around the peninsula to the beautiful bay. I would not recommend crossing onto the second and last island as we found it abandoned and it seemed potentially unsafe.

Beautiful Samaná bay.

Our first humpback whale! They come to the surface for a bit, then dive for about 20 minutes.

The markings on the tail of a humpback whale are unique to each animal.

We're heading back to port now, and on the way back the ship makes a stop at Cayo Levantado.

Cayo Levantado has excellent beaches, and the view of the surrounding bay is amazing. There is a hotel on the right side of the island, but the left side of the island is open to the public. There are many open air restaurants on the island, serving Dominican food priced at about US$10 per entree.

You can rent a beach chair for 100 pesos per day.

Our lunch, served on the beach! Total cost was about US$20.

That's the Pura Mia returning to the bay for the second voyage of the day (the 1 p.m. departure). We were scheduled to leave Cayo Levantado at 3:45 p.m. after having been dropped off at about noon. We took another, local boat home using our ticket from Kim Beddall's tour.

The ride home. You can sit on the bow.

Sunset over Samaná. There is no better way to end the day!