Wednesday, February 18, 2009

New Highway For Whales

With the new highway cutting travel time to two hours from SD to Samana, you may want to consider the following while you are visiting.

These are whale-watching days in the Samana area. Thousands of humpback whales from the North Atlantic migrate to the waters of the Dominican Republic each winter to mate and give birth. Their most popular winter rendezvous is Silver Bank, the 3,000-square-kilometer reef system approximately 70 miles north east of Puerto Plata. But from there many circulate to other popular areas. One of these gathering places is Samana Bay. It is estimated that more than 1,500 humpbacks visit the bay, with as many as 300 present at any given time during mating season. The World Wildlife Fund considers Samana Bay one of the best places in the world to watch whales. It offers something for everyone-the outer bay is where you might find aggressive males competing for the favors of willing females, and the sheltered inner bay is one of the most important humpback nurseries in the world. See http://www.dr1.com/directories/hotels/paraiso_cano_hondo.shtml

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