S
SuperDave
Guest
Most people wouldn't go to the North Coast of the Dominican Republic to scuba dive in the middle of a Caribbean winter, but if you're already there anyway, then why not! Sosua is where most diving activity takes place and the most (only?) reputable diving company is Northern Coast Aquasports (NCA) who have been operating for over ten years. NCA has an international assortment of instructors and support personnel - one from nearly every European country - and our divemaster was a bright young Nederlander named Gregor van Laake. SeaPro Divers is based in Puerto Plata and Hippocampo Divers is based in Cabarete, but when the ocean gets rough they both have to load/unload their boats in Sosua's protected bay. There are also several other smaller outfits along the beach in Sosua who cater to the large numbers of German divers, and the standard international rates seem to apply - US$35 for one tank, US$249 for ten tanks - but those are negotiable and probably keep down the rates for the more established firms.
Loading the small uncovered fibreglass dive boats from the steeply-sloping sand beach is exciting, especially when the ocean is rough. But most of the dive sites are located only a few minutes away - many of them within the small harbour - so there isn't much time spent in travel. Diving staff hook up your BCD and regulator for each dive, and all equipment can be left
on board if you're doing a second dive that day. Distances being so short, the mid-morning surface interval is spent ashore, having a cold drink at an outdoor restaurant. And after the second dive for the day, everybody pitches in to unload the tanks and gear in the crashing surf before strolling up the hill to the NCA shop to rinse the equipment off and hang it up for tomorrow.
Short but frequent storms are the bane of winter diving all over the Caribbean. And once the fine, sandy bottom of Bahia de Sosua has been stirred up, decent visibility all but disappears for the next couple of days. Divemasters with navigational skills are a necessity in finding the
next coral head and keeping their small dive party (3-6 divers) close together for the traverse.
Never have I seen so many different types of hamlets - barred hamlet, butter hamlet, indigo hamlet, shy hamlet, black hamlet - and many examples of each during the same dive. Every soft coral and sea fan seems to have its own resident trumpet fish, nose down and swaying in the surge. Spotted moray eels must be active during the daytime because we found several of them trying frantically to find an opening back into the coral reef upon our approach. And the stretches of sandy bottom are alive with blue-spotted flounder and schools of three-spotted goatfish.
The tourista population around Sosua is European - mostly German, but with Swedes, Dutch, Finns, Danes, and Swiss thrown in to the mix - who arrive on daily Condor charters from Frankfurt. Most of the Canadians and Americans who arrive are promptly swallowed up by the "all inclusive" resorts scattered along the coastline east of Sosua and rarely seen outside their enclave, where they endure the +30C sunny days without having to leave the shade.
Please remember that for most tourists to the Dominicana Republica, "Puerto Plata" is the name of an airport. Period. Those who venture westward and visit the actual city of Puerto Plata should be ready for an old, run-down collection of mostly Caribbean-style wood buildings, where the sewage system discharges into the ocean right in front of the garbage covered main beach and rats can be seen crossing the Plaza Centro in mid-day. However, we thoroughly enjoyed our two days at the downtown Hotel Victoriano ($200RD pesos double; private bath; CDN$1 = $10RD & US$= $16RD), felt safe in walking around the unlit streets at night (albeit in a group of four), toured the Amber Museum and the old Spanish-era Castillo de San Felipe that guards the harbour, got used to frequent power failures and having the sound of diesel generators lull us to sleep at night, and appreciated the glimpse it gave us of this struggling and developing country.
Transportation in the DR is an adventure. You have less chance of being ripped off with the "publico" (the mini-buses) than a tourist taxi, but then everybody has to make a living. The 45-minute publico between PuertoPlata/Sosua and Sosua/Cabarete costs $10RD per person, but if you don't believe that 25 adults can fit into a mini-bus then think again or maybe try a tourist taxi. In the DR you will always arrive at a destination; it may not be where you asked to go, or for the price you originally agreed to pay, but.....
Cabarete has a lovely beach for walking, and beach chairs are rented for $30RD per day, but Sosua is the place to stay. Clean, friendly, and reasonably priced. We stayed at El Colibri Resort ($300RD double, private bath) about 1-1/2 km from the centre of town, large room, beautifully landscaped grounds, access to the swimming pool where NCA does its resort course in the afternoons, and only a $10RD motorcycle taxi ride into town (yes, two passengers can fit on the back seat!). Our friends, Cliff and Shirley, stayed downtown at the Hotel Nuevo Amanecer ($400RD studio, kitchenette), a short stroll from the beach, in the block between the NCA shop and the supermercado. Rocky's Bar (breakfast) and the Brittania Pub (lunch) have excellent food at good prices, and fresh vegetables/salads are available. Sosua streets get very quiet around dusk when the coloured armband wearers head back to their "all inclusive" hotel cafeterias, but shortly afterwards the sidewalk bars begin to fill and the Presidente beer begins to flow again. My, how those German tourists do love their beer!
We welcomed the New Year at Rocky's Bar, Cliff and Shirley won two bottles of magic elixir as the magic hour approached, so it's been a firm handshake and "Felicidades Ano Nuevo" ever since.
SuperDave
Loading the small uncovered fibreglass dive boats from the steeply-sloping sand beach is exciting, especially when the ocean is rough. But most of the dive sites are located only a few minutes away - many of them within the small harbour - so there isn't much time spent in travel. Diving staff hook up your BCD and regulator for each dive, and all equipment can be left
on board if you're doing a second dive that day. Distances being so short, the mid-morning surface interval is spent ashore, having a cold drink at an outdoor restaurant. And after the second dive for the day, everybody pitches in to unload the tanks and gear in the crashing surf before strolling up the hill to the NCA shop to rinse the equipment off and hang it up for tomorrow.
Short but frequent storms are the bane of winter diving all over the Caribbean. And once the fine, sandy bottom of Bahia de Sosua has been stirred up, decent visibility all but disappears for the next couple of days. Divemasters with navigational skills are a necessity in finding the
next coral head and keeping their small dive party (3-6 divers) close together for the traverse.
Never have I seen so many different types of hamlets - barred hamlet, butter hamlet, indigo hamlet, shy hamlet, black hamlet - and many examples of each during the same dive. Every soft coral and sea fan seems to have its own resident trumpet fish, nose down and swaying in the surge. Spotted moray eels must be active during the daytime because we found several of them trying frantically to find an opening back into the coral reef upon our approach. And the stretches of sandy bottom are alive with blue-spotted flounder and schools of three-spotted goatfish.
The tourista population around Sosua is European - mostly German, but with Swedes, Dutch, Finns, Danes, and Swiss thrown in to the mix - who arrive on daily Condor charters from Frankfurt. Most of the Canadians and Americans who arrive are promptly swallowed up by the "all inclusive" resorts scattered along the coastline east of Sosua and rarely seen outside their enclave, where they endure the +30C sunny days without having to leave the shade.
Please remember that for most tourists to the Dominicana Republica, "Puerto Plata" is the name of an airport. Period. Those who venture westward and visit the actual city of Puerto Plata should be ready for an old, run-down collection of mostly Caribbean-style wood buildings, where the sewage system discharges into the ocean right in front of the garbage covered main beach and rats can be seen crossing the Plaza Centro in mid-day. However, we thoroughly enjoyed our two days at the downtown Hotel Victoriano ($200RD pesos double; private bath; CDN$1 = $10RD & US$= $16RD), felt safe in walking around the unlit streets at night (albeit in a group of four), toured the Amber Museum and the old Spanish-era Castillo de San Felipe that guards the harbour, got used to frequent power failures and having the sound of diesel generators lull us to sleep at night, and appreciated the glimpse it gave us of this struggling and developing country.
Transportation in the DR is an adventure. You have less chance of being ripped off with the "publico" (the mini-buses) than a tourist taxi, but then everybody has to make a living. The 45-minute publico between PuertoPlata/Sosua and Sosua/Cabarete costs $10RD per person, but if you don't believe that 25 adults can fit into a mini-bus then think again or maybe try a tourist taxi. In the DR you will always arrive at a destination; it may not be where you asked to go, or for the price you originally agreed to pay, but.....
Cabarete has a lovely beach for walking, and beach chairs are rented for $30RD per day, but Sosua is the place to stay. Clean, friendly, and reasonably priced. We stayed at El Colibri Resort ($300RD double, private bath) about 1-1/2 km from the centre of town, large room, beautifully landscaped grounds, access to the swimming pool where NCA does its resort course in the afternoons, and only a $10RD motorcycle taxi ride into town (yes, two passengers can fit on the back seat!). Our friends, Cliff and Shirley, stayed downtown at the Hotel Nuevo Amanecer ($400RD studio, kitchenette), a short stroll from the beach, in the block between the NCA shop and the supermercado. Rocky's Bar (breakfast) and the Brittania Pub (lunch) have excellent food at good prices, and fresh vegetables/salads are available. Sosua streets get very quiet around dusk when the coloured armband wearers head back to their "all inclusive" hotel cafeterias, but shortly afterwards the sidewalk bars begin to fill and the Presidente beer begins to flow again. My, how those German tourists do love their beer!
We welcomed the New Year at Rocky's Bar, Cliff and Shirley won two bottles of magic elixir as the magic hour approached, so it's been a firm handshake and "Felicidades Ano Nuevo" ever since.
SuperDave