Welcome to the Caribbean...#seavistours #puntacana #bayahibe #dominicanrepublic

Bayahibe Excursions

Welcome to the Caribbean...#seavistours #puntacana #bayahibe #dominicanrepublic

Arriving at our final stop of the day...Canto de la Playa, the last beach on Saona Island. #seavistours...

Excursions in Punta Cana

Arriving at our final stop of the day...Canto de la Playa, the last beach on Saona Island. #seavistours #puntacana #bayahibe #dominicanrepublic

The Red Cushion starfish found at the natural pool on our Saona Crusoe VIP excursion #seavistours #puntacana...

Bayahibe Tours

The Red Cushion starfish found at the natural pool on our Saona Crusoe VIP excursion #seavistours #puntacana #bayahibe #dominicanrepublic

Limoncillos, a small fruit that has a sweet and sour taste, have you tried? #seavistours #bayahibe #...

Punta Cana Excursions

Limoncillos, a small fruit that has a sweet and sour taste, have you tried? #seavistours #bayahibe #puntacana #dominicanrepublic

Lunch time on Catuano Beach, Saona Island. Rice, pasta, pork chops, bbq chicken, salads, bread and fresh...

Bayahibe Excursions

Lunch time on Catuano Beach, Saona Island. Rice, pasta, pork chops, bbq chicken, salads, bread and fresh fruit is on our menu! #seavistours #dominicanrepublic #bayahibe #puntacana

Papaya tropical fruit, always nice and sweet and always homegrown! #seavistours #dominicanrepublic #...

Punta Cana Excursions

Papaya tropical fruit, always nice and sweet and always homegrown! #seavistours #dominicanrepublic #bayahibe #puntacana

Catuano Beach, the first beach stop on our Saona Crusoe VIP excursion. Have you been there? #seavistours...

Saona Tours

Catuano Beach, the first beach stop on our Saona Crusoe VIP excursion. Have you been there? #seavistours #dominicanrepublic #bayahibe #puntacana

The Sea Turtle Conservation Project on Mano Juan, Saona Island is seeing an increase in the amount of...

Bayahibe Tours

The Sea Turtle Conservation Project on Mano Juan, Saona Island is seeing an increase in the amount of sea turtles this year! #seavistours #dominicanrepublic #bayahibe #puntacana

There are some beautiful birds living in the Chavon River valley! Join us on our Nature Complete Tour...

Punta Cana Tours

There are some beautiful birds living in the Chavon River valley! Join us on our Nature Complete Tour! #seavistours #dominicanrepublic #bayahibe #puntacana

Catuano beach on Saona Island, our daily lunch spot, have you had lunch there? #seavistours #dominicanrepublic...

Bayahibe Excursions

Catuano beach on Saona Island, our daily lunch spot, have you had lunch there? #seavistours #dominicanrepublic #bayahibe #puntacana

Beautiful Mano Juan village on Saona Island. #seavistours #dominicanrepublic #puntacana #bayahibe

Saona Ecursions

Beautiful Mano Juan village on Saona Island. #seavistours #dominicanrepublic #puntacana #bayahibe

Awesome snorkeling on our Nature Complete tour. #seavistours #dominicanrepublic #bayahibe #puntacana

Punta Cana Excursions

Awesome snorkeling on our Nature Complete tour. #seavistours #dominicanrepublic #bayahibe #puntacana

SeavisTours gives back, we collect school supplies, clothes and toys to hand out in small towns that...

Excursions in Punta Cana

SeavisTours gives back, we collect school supplies, clothes and toys to hand out in small towns that do not benefit directly from tourism. #seavistours #bayahibe #puntacana #dominicanrepublic

Empty streets of Mano Juan, Saona Island, this was taken during Siesta time when most people are taking...

Bayahibe Excursions

Empty streets of Mano Juan, Saona Island, this was taken during Siesta time when most people are taking an after lunch nap. #seavistours #bayahibe #puntacana #dominicanrepublic

7 Indigenous Taino Words You Probably Already Know – Part 8: Canoe

This is the last blog in our 8 blog series about 7 indigenous Taino words you might know. I hope you enjoyed the series. Check our blog to read the previous posts.

Canoe

The word "canoe" is the anglicized version of the Taino word phonetically spelled in Spanish as canoa. Early English spellings of this word varied considerably: cano, canow, canoa. However, by around 1600, canoe had come to be the most accepted spelling.

The word canoe is a good example of a "ghost word," which is a word whose meaning or origin is inaccurately recorded in an authoritative reference. It thus becomes widely accepted and it is difficult to correct the false perception once it has pervaded a society. For a long time, most people thought the word "canoe" originated from a word used by one of the native peoples of what is now the United States. However, this turns out to be false and was caused by a transcription error of a scribe in the late 15th century.

Canoe adventure Chavon River

Both our Junge Eco Tour and our Tanama river day include canoeing on the Chavon river. You can participate in our canoe adventure to a little side river of the Rio Chavon. We go deeper into the jungle and have to navigate through hanging lians and around fallen trees. We might see the fresh water turtles here.

To conclude the series

So there you have it, 7 common words in English that you have probably been using most of your life: potato, barbeque, cannibal, hammock, manatee, hurricane, and canoe. It is heart-warming to think that the words of a language that has been declared extinct live on as everyday words spoken by so many. Every time you speak these 7 Taino words, you honor the Taino people who were forbidden to speak their own language as a tool to conquer them.

7 Indigenous Taino Words You Probably Already Know – Part 7: Hurricane

Today is the 15th of September, traditionally the day that has seen the most hurricanes throughout history. This word doesn't need further introduction.

Hurricane

Like the manatee, described in the previous post, Columbus and the other Spaniards had never seen anything like a hurricane. In fact, they missed seeing a hurricane on their first voyage to the New World where they enjoyed near perfect weather. However, on their second and third voyages to the New World, strong hurricanes hit. In fact, the new settlement, Isabella, that Columbus had recently established was completely wiped out. Needless to say, these Caribbean hurricanes made a lasting impression.

Because they had never seen any weather pattern like a hurricane before, they adopted the Taino word for it and spelled it phonetically as, "hurakan." Of course the anglicized version of this is "hurricane." The Taino word hurakan was used not only to describe the actual weather event but also the path of destruction it left in its wake like downed trees and other devastated landscape. I like this concept and tend to think of hurricanes this way too. In the Arawakan tradition, the Taino called their storm God hurakan and both feared and revered him.

The Atlantic Hurricane Season

Hurricane season in the Dominican Republic and in the rest of the Caribbean begins in June and ends in November. Historically, September is the most active month followed by August. The peak of the season usually falls somewhere between late August and early September. However, you should remember that some of the deadliest Category 4 and Category 5 hurricanes have manifested themselves earlier in the season. In other words, it is impossible to predict for certain when the biggest hurricanes of the season will hit.

Storms on our excursions

Tropical storms can be predicted and when there is a risk we don't go out. However thunder storms and heavy shpwers can develop rapidly in the Caribbean. We sometimes get caught by a short heavy storm and have to rev the motors of the speedboats to escape. Have a look at the pic from Loes, make in 2012. To keep up to date about storms check our hurricane watch page.

7 Indigenous Taino Words You Probably Already Know – Part 6: Manatee

You might have heard of the word, but you might not know what it is. This is one of the lesser known words we adopted from the Taino language and is part 6 of our 8 serie blog. See the previous post about these subjects.

Manatee

Columbus had never seen a manatee before when he arrived in the New World so he did not have a name for it. This is why the Spaniards almost immediately adopted the Taino word for manatee, "manati." This often happens when someone from a different culture encounters something new for the first time. "Manatee" is the anglicized version of "manati."

The manatee must have looked like a strange creature indeed. At first, in fact, Columbus mistook the manatee for a mermaid, half woman and half fish. In fact, in his journals after seeing the manatees he wrote that mermaids weren't as beautiful as they had been made out to be! Manati means "breast" in the Taino language because manatees have mammary glands that resemble those on female humans. The idea that the word manati is a corruption of the Spanish word for hand, "mano," because the manatee's front flippers look like hands has been shown to be false and the similarity is a mere coincidence.

Manatees in Bayahibe.

We occassionaly see Manatees here. They graze the submerged grasses around the Piscina Natiral. Have a look at the video below. Carlos, our Spanish guide swimming with Manatees in front of Dominicus.

 

 

As said we don't see them often, but that makes our Saona Excursion not less interesting. Check this excursion here.

 

 

 

 

7 Indigenous Taino Words You Probably Already Know – Part 5: Hammock

Of course everybody knows the word 'Hammock', after you barbequed the bachata it is the favorite place to relax. The previous post about the Taino words we all know was about the word 'Cannibal. Check this post.

 

Hammock

 

Upon seeing how the Taino lived on his first voyage to the New World, Columbus wrote in his journal, "..for beds, they had nets of cotton, extended between two posts." Later in his journal he wrote, "...a great many Indians in canoes came to the ship today for the purpose of bartering their cotton and hamacas or nets in which they sleep." There is little dispute that the English word "hammock" is an anglicized version of the Taino word, "hamacas," as the Spaniards phonetically spelled it in Spanish.

 

Before Columbus' arrival in the New World, cotton was little known. It is thought that seeing how strong and durable the hammocks were that woven out of cotton twine sparked their interest in cotton for clothing and other goods that soon followed.

Fancy Hammocks

This is what we made of it:

 

 

 

7 Indigenous Taino Words You Probably Already Know – Part 4: Cannibal

The past two blog where about eating, this one is about 'being eaten'. This is the third word we all know which stems from the Taino language. The previous post was about “barbeque' .

Cannibal

When Columbus arrived in the New World in 1492, the Taino were being attacked by another Arawakan people, now referred to as the Carib. The Taino told Columbus and the other Spaniards about another group of people who mostly lived on the Lesser Antilles who were fierce and had captured and eaten them. They referred to these people as caribal which loosely meant fierce and brave. The Spanish corrupted this into "Canibales" which was later anglicized into "cannibals." The Taino may have pronounced "caribal" more like "cannibal" too because in Arawakan languages the consonants of l, n, and r are sometimes interchangeable. It should be noted that the Carib people called themselves something closer to "Kalinago."

Many historians have discovered that Columbus had little to no evidence that the Carib were actually cannibals - most assuredly not anywhere near to the extend he depicted them to be. The Caribs were fierce warriors who put up far more resistance to European conquerors. It is thought by some scholars that Columbus used the word "cannibals" as a pejorative term to paint them as monsters and to discredit them thus making it easier for his men to conquer them. Unlike the Taino, there are a few full-blooded Carib still alive today - but very few.

Pirates of Caribbean:

The film company Disney added to this dilemma when it made the most recent sequel of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest by portraying Dominica’s Island-Caribs as cannibals. Prior to filming, despite protests from Native American groups, Disney continued with its project. The sequel was a commercial success. These misleading movie images may be forever burned into the minds of future generations. The National Garifuna Council of Dominica criticized the movie for “portraying the Carib people as cannibals”.

Whatever the truth is, it makes a nice story to share with friends when barbeque-ing a potato.

 

7 Indigenous Taino Words You Probably Already Know – Part 3: Barbeque

Here the next blog about the Taino words we all know and use. The previous blog was about the potato. Let's stick with food for a minute and this blog is about one of the favorite Sunday afternoon past times in the Western world: the barbeque.

The origin of the term "barbeque," which is often spelled in various ways in American English, is controversial with passionate opposing viewpoints. However, the majority of linguistic scholars seem to agree that the term, or one very similar to it, originated from the Taino language.

According to Peter Guanikeyu Torres, President and Council Chief of the Taino Indigenous Nation of the Caribbean and Florida, the Taino word "barabicu" meant "the sacred fire pit." This is likely where the American English word "barbeque" is derived from. It describes a structure for cooking animal flesh very slowly, which traditionally consisted of a wooden platform resting on green pimento tree branches and leaves.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6969009

 

Local Recipe

The origin of the word Barbeque is in what is now the Dominican Republic. This might have led to an unusual local recipe, try it if you dare...

Beer Can Chicken:  “Who wants to insert a half-drunk beer into the bottom of a chicken?”

This is a great way to cook a chicken! As the liquid evaporates inside the chicken, the flesh is kept wonderfully moist; while the outside dry-roasts and crisps the skin perfectly. Rub olive oil, salt and pepper with some fresh thyme onto the skin to bring out the flavour.

Recipe:

Open the beer and pour off (or drink) half the contents.

• Set the can on a flat surface and slide the chicken over the top so the can fits inside the cavity.


• Place the chicken on the grill – keeping upright, using the legs for balance. Roast for up to 1 1/2 hours.


• Remove the chicken, (taking care not to spill the contents of the can which will be hot). Let the chicken rest for about ten minutes then lift from the can and discard the beer.

Have fun barbe'guy'ing!!! And toast on the Taino for bringing the word to our world.

On all our excursions we serve a traditional barbeque, with some real Taino dishes.

7 Indigenous Taino Words You Probably Already Know – Part 2: Potatoes

This blog is part of a series of 8 post describing 7 Taino words we use today (in English). This is part is about the word 'potato'.

Potato

Meat and potatoes is home cookin' American dinner faire, right? Wrong! The word "potato" comes directly from the Taino language. When the Spaniards arrived in the New World they had never seen or eaten a potato. The Taino were accomplished farmers and they shared their sweet potato, which they called "batata," with the Spaniards.

Columbus himself presented the "batata" to Queen Isabella after his first voyage. In subsequent voyages, Columbus and his men discovered the white potato in Peru called "papa" by the indigenous people. Somehow the "p" from "papa" got added to the "batata" and the Spanish word for potato became "patata" with the anglicized version becoming "potato." Well, the rest is history as they say because we all know how prevalent the potato is today.

For a long time, the white potato took a back seat to the sweet potato in Europe. In fact, the white potato was called the "bastard potato" for a long time. Anyway, the next time you order mashed potatoes or pop a big potato into the microwave for a quick meal, remember the Taino. Instead of calling your fries "freedom fries" maybe you can instead call them "Taino fries" out of respect for those who lost their freedom.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6969009

Now-a-days the potato is the staple food for people living in temperate climates.

Some facts:

• The potato is the most universally grown crop in the world.


• Despite health concerns, potato chips are one of the most common snack foods in the world with billions of packets being consumed every year.


• One of the main causes of the Great Famine in Ireland between 1845 and 1852 was a potato disease known as potato blight. The shortage of potatoes led to the death of around 1 million people who were dependent on them as a food source.


• Potatoes were the first food to be grown in space. In 1996, potato plants were taken into space with the space shuttle Columbia.

So, every time you eat a potato, you honor the Taino people who were forbidden to speak their own language as a tool to conquer them.

 

Do You Speak Taino? 7 Indigenous Taino Words You Probably Already Know.

The Taino people were a peaceful people with a complex society who lived on the Greater Antilles Islands of Hispaniola (modern day Dominican Republic and Haiti), Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica. The Taino language was a soft sweet melodious language lacking harsh gutturals. It flowed rapidly and contained many vowel sounds. The Taino language is part of the Arawakan language family that was very widespread throughout South America, the Caribbean, and parts of Florida.

Other Arawakan languages are still spoken today, but most scholars agree that no one alive today is fluent in the Taino language. Therefore, it is considered an extinct language. However, there are those who are trying to resurrect it. At least one professor is teaching the "extinct" Taino language to his students! More power to him!

The Taino people, including their language and culture, were the first to be decimated by the Spaniards who arrived in the New World beginning in 1492. Their methods of conquest were often cruel. As such, they would not allow the Taino to speak their native language.

Well, you know how they say "a good thing never really dies!" This is certainly true of the Taino language. Many Taino words were adopted by the Spaniards and other Europeans. These adopted words are called "loan words" in linguistic circles and many are in very common usage in English, Spanish, and French. There are many English words, especially American English, that are anglicized versions of the Spanish or French versions of Taino words they incorporated phonetically into their own language as the Taino had no written language.

There are 7 indigenous Taino words that are so common in the English language now I bet you use them all the time. This post will have 7 follow up posts each highlighting one of the words. Check this blog in a few days for the first word.

For an real authentic experience in the Dominican Republic, check our Punta Cana Excursions.

Exactly how did Punta Cana get so popular?

With lots of well-liked tourist locations, it would be challenging to pin-point one specific thing that made the region rise in appeal. Not so with Punta Cana. On the Punta Cana shore, which stretches for about 39 miles from Bavaro in the north to Cap Cana in the south, there is one easily recognizable event that happened in 1984 that transformed literally everything and totally transformed this region into the mega-popular vacation paradise it is today.

Do I have your curiosity stimulated yet? Keep reading ...

Punta Cana is absolutely gorgeous. It provides expansive sleek white sandy beaches with a warm shimmering blue sea lapping along its coastline. It is so welcoming it calls you in - some say it even "seduces" you. When you include in this the thick grove of coconut palm trees persuading in the tropical breeze along the entire shore in this region, you have the famous Caribbean haven printed on post-cards sent to those back home who just weren't lucky enough to embark on the travel.

Nonetheless, prior to 1984 only a handful of people actually found out about this tropical gem. It stayed mostly unexplored by most world vacationers till the building of the Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ). In Spanish, the main language of the Dominican Republic, this international airport is called, "Aeropuerto Internacional de Punta Cana."

You see, no matter exactly how incredible an area is, if you have no hassle-free and fairly valued means to reach the area, it won't be seen by many individuals. Prior to the Punta Cana International Airport was constructed, the tiny air strip that had been around 1971 could not deal with the large size jet airplanes.

Moreover, in order to get there from an oveseas nation, you needed to fly into Santa Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, and afterwards endure a 4 hour rugged bus or taxi trip to Punta Cana. The unpaved road was slim and filled with enormous gaps. The road would also wash out in hefty rains and motorized vehicles were sometimes delayed by horse traffic, making the speed unpleasant for fatigued vacationers wanting to get to their resort.

The air traffic of the PUJ has grown by leaps and bounds and is on course this year (2014) to serve more than 4.5 million people! It now obtains far more traffic than the next busiest airport in the capital of Santo Dominigo. There is no other independently financed airport in the world that also resembles this degree of business success.

Visitors visit Punta Cana from around the world now. International airline companies that offer the Punta Cana Airport are Air Canada, AirTran, American Airlines, British Airways, Continental, Delta, JetBlue, KLM, Spirit, United, US Airways, and Westjet. Canadian charter airline companies to the Punta Cana consist of Air Transat, Sunwig, Skyservice, and Canjet. They run throughout the cool bleak Canadian winter seasons.

So, an area that started with very simple beginnings about 4 decades earlier, now commonly offers beds for more than 70,000 people at one time. Punta Cana has most definitely developed itself as one of the leading areas vacationers think of going.

To get the most out of a visit join the Punta cana excursions of SeavisTours.

And ... there's no end in sight for the growth of this detination. The around 39 mile Punta Cana shore has basically been a "gold rush" for the significant resort firms, especially the Spanish owned ones, since the area was opened up by the international airport terminal. Classy high hotels, flawlessly sited to make use of the view, have actually emerged almost over night. The infrastructure has likewise vastly enhanced as money for large projects has gathered.

An unusual possibility to see one of the most stunning and rarest flowers around the world!

Bayahibe is a port town of around 3000 citizens on the extreme southeast corner of the Dominican Republic. For years, Bayahibe existed as a fishing and farming area essentially unspotted by vacationers. Nevertheless, in the last years or so, vacationers are more and more drawn to this enchanting seaside town. This is specifically true for vacationers looking for a much more real encounter compared to the all-inclusive resort scene. Bayahibe has much to show for to the tourist, boosting tourist attractions that have actually not been totally uncovered yet, at least not by the masses.

One tourist attraction of Bayahibe is the rare opportunity to see one of the most lovely and rarest flowers on the planet! This vividly pink floral belongs to a cactus variety that is now noted as seriously endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The scientific name is Pereskia quisqueyana and there is a little grove of 17 Pereskia quisqueyana "trees" behind the regional college. This cactus generally flowers from April through September.

I wish to point out just how ultra rare this lovely cactus is now and exactly what an unusual possibility it is to see this flower. It is just found at Bayahibe and as a result has actually been nicknamed the "Bayahibe Rose." Researchers believe that the Bayahibe Rose once had much broader distribution throughout the Caribbean. The residents have actually really taken up the cause o the Bayahibe Rose and numerous have actually begun growing them in their yards. Nevertheless, the best and most regular location to see it is still at the point behind the school.

For more info: http://www.seavisbayahibe.com

The Dominican Government recognizes the relevance of its Bayahibe Rose and has actually taken actions to safeguard this variety. In addition, it has actually now been named the National Flower and the Reserve bank of the Dominican Republic will start printing paper money in 2014 that will consist of a photo of it. This is absolutely something to look for in future travels to the Dominican Repubic.

 

The Parque Nacional del Este In the Dominican Republic is a wonderland for the eco vacationer

The "Parque Nacional del Este" In the Dominican Republic is also known by its English name, "East National Park" or "National Park of the East." This huge park is found in the southeastern corner of the Dominican Republic in the province of La Altagracia, less than an hour from the Punta Cana airportcoast. The location makes it a simple target for visitors staying in Punta Cana resorts. They could go there in the morning, have a rewarding day of exploration, and afterwards return to at night for dinner and leisure. For many, actually, these Punta Cana journeys to the park end up being the highlight of their trip to the Dominican Republic.

The Parque Nacional del Este was established on September 16, 1975. Within its borders, more than 190267 acres of environmentally and culturally significant land were maintained. The East National Park consists of a lowland with tropical moist broadleaf woodlands,  salt water lagoons, mangroves, and grassy seasides. The biodiversity of the park is incredible with more than 570 species living there. It is the home of numerous endangered species consisting of 4 species of sea turtles and numerous threatened bird varieties. The marine part of the park includes Saona Island, Catalinita Island, Catalina Island, and numerous smaller sized offshore islands.

The Parque Nacional del Este is also riddled with cave systems carved out of limestone, sinkholes, and underground lakes. The caverns consist of many Taino artefacts and there are unspoiled instances of Taino art work on the wall surfaces of the caverns. The Taino indians were the indigenous people who prospered in the region prior to 1492 when Christopher Columbus and other Europeans arrived. They were a fairly peaceful people and had a complicated society. There are still numerous Taino archaelogical remains to be discovered in the caverns and elsewhere within the Parque Nacional del Este.

Of course, the Parque Nacional del Este has a special appeal for eco-tourism and the very best journeys into the park are led by eco-tour operators who have an important affinity for the nature and culture within and a special passion and ability in passing on these treasures to their tour group.

One such eco-tour driver in the Dominican Republic is Seavis Tours. As a matter of fact, their Saona Island tour is ranked # 1 in the country. They also have numerous other Punta Cana journeys into the Parque Nacional del Este consisting of a new tour to the inside of the park. Select the link to find out even more.

Bayahibe is the location of the oldest settlement in the whole Caribbean

From the late 1800's, Bayahibe has been a beachfront community of hands on hard working fishermen and farmers. The Dominicans in Bayahibe work hard and play hard. They know how to live off the land and they have a certain vision for how they desire their town to grow (and not to grow).

Bayahibe was founded by Puerto Rican fishermen in 1874 but there is solid archaeological evidence that people occupied this stunning area as early as 2000 BC. In fact, present day Bayahibe is the earliest human settlement that has been found in the Caribbean. Consider this: 2000 BC is 2400 years prior to the indigenous Taino individuals arrived! Archeologists, chroniclers, and others are still attempting to resolve the secrets regarding the surges of earlier individuals that occupied the area, their culture, how long they stayed, and why they left. It is also believed that Christopher Columbus arrived in among the protected Bayahibe bays in Sept 14 - 15, 1494 and might have sent out guys ashore for fresh products.

Bayahibe could be a truly fun place to simply hang out. There are beachfront coffee shops and bars where you could wile away the hours by the gleaming sea seeing the speedboats come in and go out and people watch certainly. The majority of the houses are wooden and coated in dynamic colours that truly stand apart in the tropical environment. If you walk around the town, you'll also observe conch shells and chickens in numerous of the yards. Besides being snuggled on not one but two beach bays, there are fresh water lagoons in the center of town that act as social gathering locations. Great place to mingle with the residents!

The Bayahibe harbor is an area with lots of buzz and an encounter all unto itself. You could see the menagerie of boats parading in and out each day and what an unique spectacle it is! You'll view everything from fishermen working with old typical fishing boats, called jolas, with their paint peeling right along side contemporary fiberglass dual hulled catamarans whisking tourists to Saona and other overseas islands. You'll view some Dominicans using upgraded motor boats for fishing along side regal cruising boats. Some tourists to Bayahibe get a bang out of making a special factor of seeing all the boats leave in the early morning and come back at night. While the Bayahibe harbor is a contemporary one, it is also typical to view the jolas tied to the base of a hand tree!

Diving and snorkeling are still preferred activities around Bayahibe. The water around Bayahibe is calmer than what you'll find on both the north coast and east coast of the Dominican Republic. This is due to the fact that Bayahibe remains on the Caribbean Sea whereas the Dominican north coast and east coast remains on the Atlantic Ocean. The Caribbean Sea is much calmer than the Atlantic Ocean and you'll also locate the beaches to have finer whiter sand. 

Don't hestitate, pay a visit to this beautiful village. Check the excursions of SeavisTours.

Punta Cana is a growing Economy Dependant on Tourism.

The most popular destination for a short break from the United States is the Caribbean.     Tourists flock en masse to the Dominican Republic.     This is partly due to how popular it has become as a tourist destination.  And with reason!.     The agricultural sector of the Dominican Republic is going strong but probably the segment of the economy that is most responsible for the for the prospering economy is the tourism sector.     In the last 10-15 years, investors have come into this country and improved virtually every aspect of the tourism industry.     The cluster of resorts that you'll find on the east coast in Punta Cana and Bavaro are top rate resorts with many amenities that will make anyone smile.     Of course there is also Sosua and Puerto Plata.     On the Caribbean south coast you have growing tourist areas like Bayahibe which serves as the gateway to Saona Island.

For the top resorts and accommodations in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, click on the link.     To me, this makes these resorts the best resorts in the world.     Of course, there are other advantages to staying in Punta Cana too.     Some of the resorts in this region are all adult resorts.     There are other resorts that cater to families and have special activities planned for the kids that are supervised so the parents can get a break and some alone time.     There are also additional seafood restaurants right on the beach.     Still other resorts target families with kids.     Some of these activities are loved by the kids such as when they camp out in tents on the beach.

The very best beach getaway on the globe

Our previous post outlined several beaches in Punta Cana, here we have  a couple more:

Uvero Alto: Our favorite but a bit out of the way to get to. The area outside of the resorts and hotels is relatively undeveloped and with nowhere else to eat or shop. The beach is very wide, with lush green coconut forest leaning onto it. With the exception of a couple of folks on horseback riding tour, you may be the only people on this long, wide, beautiful beach.

Declared by UNESCO as one of the best in the Caribbean, Macao Beach is a public beach located 20 to 30 minutes away from most hotels. Surfing classes are available if the conditions are appropriate and various beach shacks serving refreshments and food can be found along the beach.

Cabeza de Toro: Playa Cabeza de Toro is the perfect place if you want to be surrounded by the natural beautiful forests and wildlife of Punta Cana. If you like you can take a horseback riding excursion through the forests at the Natura Park Eco-Resort.  South of the Barceló Bavaro golf course, along the Bulevar Turistico del Este, you will see a road with a sign toward Cabeza de Toro.  At the end of the road, you will pass through a military area and then come to a parking lot.   Walk north pass the Dream Palm Beach Resort to get to the more secluded and natural area.

Punta Cana is recognized for its beaches and we can produce numerous different articles about this subject.

The Perfect Storm - How Africa cares for the South American Rainforests

A desolate area on the southerly side of the Sahara Desert supplies 45 million tons of dust that naturally feeds the Amazon rainforest yearly. Experts have just discovered how such a remarkable quantity of dust arises.

An impressive combo of geography and climate makes the Bodélé depressions in north Chad the globe's dustiest place. Uncommon jet winds moving close to the ground are the engine behind this perfect dust machine.

The Bodélé depression is now a dry, remote desert, but long back was a big lakebed. Left is a ground cover of diatomite, the silica and mineral left overs of algae that long ago inhabited the lake. This is the perfect plant food.

Each 'perfect storm' picks up over 700,000 tons of dust, consisting of the diatomite, and forms a discrete cloud traveling westward. The dust clouds typical 370 by 700 kilometres (230 x 435 miles) in size, extensive enough to show up plainly on satellite photos. Most of this continues across the Atlantic Ocean on westward trade winds.

Once the cloud arrives in South America the diatomite dust rains down on the Amazon and the surrounding rainforests. The rain contains the nutrients that feed the abundant rainforest ecosystems. Therefore, the relatively small area northeast of Lake Chad is a big plant food factory for the Amazon's lush greenery.

This is just one of the 25 outstanding facts you will certainly hear when signing up with the Nature Complete Tour of SeavisTours in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

The most stunning beaches of Punta Cana

Punta Cana has a bunch of unique beaches, most of them wide and all providing clean white or gold yellow sands. And you don't need to trouble regarding the water quality. Most beaches are rated high by the Blue Flag company. The DR, on the whole, has much more Blue Flag beaches compared to other Caribbean island. Here we sum up some of the prominent beaches. These beaches edge the Atlantic and in some cases the seas can be rough. Yet most of the year you can swim in tranquil waters. Nevertheless don't count on very good scuba diving conditions, recurring hurricanes have damaged the coral reefs close to the coast. Water temperature levels achieve a winter season low of in the upper 70s and rise to a summer high of in the top 80s. Listed below we provide our choices:

The beaches on Saona Island are some of the most lovely white sand beaches in the Caribbean. Saona Island is a preferred area of the National Park of the East and is home to 112 species of birds, in the surrounding waters sea turtles, bottle-nose dolphins, whales and manatees have been observed. Most beaches on Saona have tourist facilities such as restrooms, showers and shaded picnic tables for tourists ... ... The beaches of Saona can only be reached per organized excursions.

Macao Beach:
An undeveloped, virgin beach around 20 to half a hour drive north of Bavaro. Driving there you pass through the small town of El Macao, and as you get to the crest of the hill you will see the lovely view of Macao Beach spread out before you. There is Macao Surf Camp, where you can rent out or join surfing lessons, and there are pick nic facilities on the beach. Macao Beaach is popular with local Dominicans (especially at holidays), and acts as a stop off point for a cooling swim for the many safari vehicle excursions and the ATV/buggy excursions

Juanillo:
Juanillo is a stunning remote beach towards the south end of Punta Cana, in the Cap Cana region. It is found right alongside the Sanctuary Cap Cana Resort. There is a stunning beach restaurant  with cabanas and beach lounge couches. The food is a little bit pricy, but the area is elegant and lovely. We have enjoyed an afternoon here, eating lunch, playing frisbee, as well as got fish from local fisherman. The vivid Volkswagen alongside the restaurant produces an excellent photo. To get there, take the roadway towards Cap Cana. You will then arroive at a gated area. Simply state you are visiting Juanillo and hand over your ID, motorist certificate, or passport.

We might add a whole lot more beaches, they are all lovely. Come and check it on your own!

Wreck Diving in the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic has an extraordinary quantity of history in its waters. Columbus discovered the Dominican Republic in 1492. Several of the ships now exist as scattered shipwrecks on the ocean floor. It is believed that more than 400 shipwrecks have actually not been discovered along the South Coast of the Dominican Republic alone.

 

Wrecks typically make terrific dive sites, each with their own fascinating story of course.

 

Atlantic Princess is a shipwreck simply outside of the Bayahibe harbor. Originally a tourist mover that was to be sunk as a synthetic reef off the coastline of Bayahibe, but sunk unintentionally right facing Dreams hotel. This was a good thing in disguise given that it now lies in shallow waters supplying any type of diver the opportunity to see the wreck.

 

St George is one of the well-known wreckswreckages on the South East coastline of the Dominican Republic. A 73 meter freighter sitting in a maximum depth of 40 meters, the top goes to 15 meters. It is intact for penetration and fish have actually moved in making this wreck terrific for picture possibilities.

 

In La Caleta the “Don Quiko" lies at a depth ranging from 50 meters to 60 meters and not to forget the wall which starts at 60 meters to ends at ... who knows.

 

The Quedagh Merchant, an Indian merchant craft captured on 30 January 1696 by William Kidd, which relabelled it the Adventure Prize. Soon just before he was detained for piracy, Kidd delegated the ship to hired merchants, which sold most of the goods, set fire to the ship, and left. The wreck was discovered in 2007 off the coastline of Catalina Island.

 

The Dominican Republic is the perfect place to finish your Technical Scuba diver, Wreck Diver, Normoxic Trimix Diver and Trimix Diver Courses. Uwescuba offers it all.

Some Background Details on Saona Island

Saona Island is thought about by several to be the crown gem of the Dominican Republic. Actually, it is just one of one of the most well-liked tourist destinations in the whole Caribbean, attracting  thousands of visitors each year. Luckily, it is also a simple day trip from Punta Cana, one of the most well-liked destination in the Dominican Republic.

This page provides additional information:

Recognizing the importance of Saona Island's vast natural resources, the Dominican Republic government decided in 1975 to preserve it along with a section of the southeast peninsula of the Dominican mainland as protected nature park. The park is called Parque Nacional del Este and it is also known as the East National Park. No development is allowed in the park, although a village of about 400 people who live off the land have been grandfathered in. There are strict rules that must be followed when accessing the park designed to protect the park and preserve it for future generations. To emphasize the importance of Saona Island to the Dominican Republic, approximately 95% of all those who visit the park, visit Saona Island. It is also the most popular tourist attraction in the entire country.

For the complete post check this page: Saona Island - One of the most Attractive Place On Planet

Whatever you personally determine to call Saona Island, I am certain the adventure of going there will affect you profoundly. The landscapes of the island and the people of Mano Juan will mesmerize your soul and fill your mind with memories that will live in your heart permanently.

 

The Sea Turtles Of Saona Island Dominican Republic

Four varieties of sea turtles are nesting on Saona Island, Dominican Republic. All 4 varieties are detailed as threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN). In fact, both the hawksbill turtle and the leatherback turtle are listed as seriously threatened which makes them among the most endangered animals on Earth. Certainly, this makes seeing one even more priceless.

Preservationists are working hard to try to save these beautiful animals. One of the most intense preservation efforts on Saona Island are for the hawksbill turtle. Hawksbill turtles travel hundreds of miles and if any part of their quest takes them to a location where they are killed or injured, this could imply the species will not endure. To this end, experts have to recognize far better where these turtles pursue after they lay their eggs on Saona Island. To track them, they temporarily restrain some of the female hawksbills in a wooden corral after they lay their eggs and glue a satellite transmitter to her shell. This does not hurt the turtle but it does enable experts to track where she goes.

The regional individuals have participated the sea turtle preservation activity also. There is a little town of 300 - 400 individuals on the southwestern shore of Saona Island. The school children of the town and some of the adults have come to be involved in the project and it is partly funded by a regional eco-tour operator (view listed below) that runs the most well-liked Punta Cana excursion to Saona Island. If you go on this excursion, you will view exactly how the sea turtle preservation project runs, meet some of the children involved, and if you are actually lucky you will view some of the baby sea turtles that are only 1-3 days aged. These baby turtles are so cute you may have the urge to pick them up and nuzzle them like kittycats. They will definitely make you grin each time you think about them.

Read the full article here.

 

Check this blog post regarding Saona ISland, it is part of the article area of our web site.

Did you understand that we have a short article area on our website, with articles concerning the Dominican Replublic as a whole. We live on this island from 2008 and still have to find a whole lot. The Dominican Republic has a great deal of variety. From the white beaches of Saona Island to the highest mountains in the Carebbean. These are more then 3000 meters high. But read it on your own.

 From: Saona Island - The Crown Jewel Of the Dominican Republic

Saona Island is considered by many to be the crown jewel of the Dominican Republic. In fact, it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the entire Caribbean, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Fortunately, it is also an easy day trip from Punta Cana, the most popular vacation spot in the Dominican Republic.

Saona Island cannot be accessed by car, but boat excursions are offered daily by tour operators and others. The quality of these organized tours varies greatly so you are advised to do some research before choosing the one to go on - or get a solid recommendation from someone who has been on the tour you considering going on.

Read the full Article: http://www.seavisbayahibe.com/articles/Saona-Island-The-Crown-Jewel-Of-the-Dominican-Republic.htm

I wish you taken pleasure in the short article. And return for more, since we will keep publishing.

 

 

New report shows that visitors do not have to hesistate to book a trip to the Dominican Republic during typhoon season.

SeavisTours revealed a new post today on Hurricanes in the Dominican Republic. This post reveals that tourists seeing the Dominican Republic during hurricane season really have little risk to experience one.

The Dominican Republic hinges on the center of the Storm Belt and is prone to cyclones during the Atlantic Storm Period. The Atlantic Storm Period starts in June and ends in November. Typically, the Dominican Republic obtains a direct favorite by a significant hurricane concerning every 23 years. Nonetheless, close telephone calls are much more constant. The nation obtains cleaned by at least the outer bands of a significant hurricane concerning every 5 years.

Furthermore, it is fairly common for the Dominican Republic to experience hurricanes during the hurricane season. This is why numerous tourists preparing a travel to the Dominican Republic during hurricane season are worried concerning the climate.

SeavisTours owner Alexander Tilanus says that he is approached frequently by vacationers asking about the risk of experiencing a cyclone during their getaway. Many people are searching for more details to establish these threats. This post offers insights concerning cyclones and reveals the record of cyclones that have actually hit the Dominican Republic in the past 50 years.

The post is released at http://www.seavisbayahibe.com/articles/Hurricanes-in%20the%20Dominican-Republic.htm

About SeavisTours
SeavisTours was established in 1979 and offers the Trip market. It is recognized for Tours and Tours in the Dominican Republic.