Dominican Republic: Road trip to Las Galeras

Beachfront street in Las Terrenas

On a rainy day- our third- in Las Terrenas, we decided to take a little day trip in the rental car. Our destination was the tiny town of Las Galeras at the most eastern tip of the Samaná Peninsula. If you asked Scotty what the drive was like he would probably tell you it was fine, no big deal. For me, it was a bit more of a nail-biter. Open man-holes abounded, and the road was barely wide enough for two cars to pass. There were also the usual obstacles and creative local means of transportation to contend with.

Passing through Samaná town we got stuck behind this truck for a while

At one point we saw the aftermath of a horrific wreck (the second really bad one I've seen on our travels) where a small bus had run off the road, missed a bridge, and toppled over into a stream bed. The demolished vehicle was surrounded by people, but no one seemed to be still inside. I wondered if the driver had made it. (On our return to Las Terrenas, the vehicle had already been removed.)

Cemetery in Samaná

The route led us through the larger and more populated town of Samaná. Despite seeing plenty of advertisements for whale-watching and other tours like scuba diving, it appeared a very non-touristy place. There weren't any fancy hotels that we could see and we didn't see a single tourist. Perhaps the town is a day trip for tourists coming from Punta Cana by boat or a stop. Either way, it wasn't quite the season yet for whale watching which runs from January 15 through March 25.

The drive got a little tamer and even pretty towards the end. And by that time, the storm began to break.

It really was beautiful, especially as we neared the end of the road.

Eventually the road dead-ended in Las Galeras at a beach. There were a few others cars parked and an adjacent restaurant with a separate bar cabana where we stopped for ice-cold Presidentes before making the return drive to Las Terrenas.

Several locals sipped beers and chatted, and as usual, we were of no interest to them. I don't blame them for wanting to avoid an awkward Spanish lesson (note to self: must improve on this!).

The trip had taken close to two hours and we would need to return on the same road, as there was no other. With all our recent long drives, I'm beginning to think Scotty and I would've had made great long-road truckers. (Perhaps we should consider that as a retirement plan?)

I'll be back very soon with the best of the rest of our adventures in Dominican Republic!