DominicanRepublic:Chapbook99

Northern Coast Aqua Sports, March 1998, Dan & Tammara Kammerer, Sioux Falls, SD. Hotels dump their garbage in the ocean, which has destroyed the coral. Few fish and small critters. Vis: 50-60 ft. Water: 76 degrees. Dive restrictions: follow a dive leader, 40 min. max even with computers. Lots of boat traffic in the dive areas, but the dive leader instructed divers to ascend alone if they were out of air before 40 minutes and with no buoy line to aid them.

Northern Coast Diving/Ariaal Ashlie, June 1998. Five star PADI dive center, in Sosua on the North Coast. Mark Goldsmith, the Director of Diving, is charming and knows his stuff. They run a top notch outfit. Weather sunny, very hot and humid. Water choppy with very little current, 80 degrees, visibility was between 50 to 80 feet. Let me dive my own profile, sending up other divers when they were low on air. We encountered no big marine life, not even a turtle. Best diving was night diving off the shore. Huge basket stars with wonderful different colours, spotted morays, free-swimming crinoids, corallimorphs, schools of squid, arrow crabs, hermit Crabs, lobster. During the day it looks like an underwater desert due to the locals fishing out everything. Zingara Wreck is 115 feet, a bounce dive really. Some dive sites prettier than others. (Ph: 809-571-1028, Fax: 809-571-3883, e-mail: northern@codetel.net.do)

Neptuno/Treasure Divers/Colonia Tropical, September 1997, Mary Nolfo, Livonia, MI. Took instructor course at this PADI center, in Juan Dollo, east of Santo Domingo. Affiliated resort, Colonia Tropical, is vIlla-style, set around a lovely small pool, with waterfall. My room opened onto garden area full of hibiscus, bird of paradise, other colorful fragrant foliage. Room spotlessly clean, spacious, richly colored matching linen and draperies, partial kitchen. . . . people at Neptuno (Ewa, the boss, Sally, Martina, Krista, and everyone) and hotel were ever thoughtful to anticipate my every need. After long day of classes, they brought a meal as I was too tired to come to the restaurant. Everyone, right down to the cleaning and kitchen staff, went out of their way; warm and wonderful people. . . . Diving on the south southeast side of the Island; some days, the surface was rough, with 4-6 ft swells, while other days, it was flat-calm. Always fair to strong surge. Did not explore more renowned sites, like the islands of Saona and Catalina. . . . Couple of fine adventures with Peter Lorenz of Treasure Divers. The wreck, Hickory, sits upright at sixty feet; spectacular. Healthy reefs with large barrel sponges and many varieties of fans. The wreck is a lovely artificial reef, with large schools of black-bar soldier fish, trumpet fish, sergeant majors, banded coral shrimp. Fish not as abundant as other areas of Caribbean. 70 ft of visibility, a good day there. . . . Local coral caves filled with water after the Ice Age. Depth 25 ft; labyrinth interior, surfaced inside. Very thrilling. They provided someone to carry gear through the jungle. Prices were modest compared with similar adventures elsewhere. . . . Guests of Colonia Tropical may use plush facilities of the Hotel Talanquera, across the street on the beach. Pool area is sumptuous, with live music and great entertainment. Off-the-beaten-track hospitality with a European flair. (Ph: 809-526-1473, Fax: 809-526-1441)

Treasure Divers/Don Juan, July 1998, Hugh Connolly, Miami FL. Vis to 60 ft, water 78-80. Don Juan is all inclusive nondive resort. Of 800-1000 people (mostly Germans), 3 of us were the only divers. Nice a/c rooms, good service. Food plentiful, not very good. Buffet. Hassled by locals on the beach and turned down for a tour as they only cater to Germans. Diving from the beach a 2-3 minute walk; divemaster nice but was busy with friends and students, so allowed us to be on our own. He couldn't find the wreck so we wasted a deep dive looking for it. Boat slow and uncomfortable. Took 4-5 hours for morning dives. He allowed my nondiving wife to come along and snorkel for no charge. (Ph: 809523-4819-532)

Coconut Palms/Northern Coast Aquasports, February 1998, Martin B. Reiter, East Haddam, CT. Diving fun but not exceptional. Island beautiful, great beaches, friendly polite people, very helpful. Whales seen on nondiving excursion to Samana Bay, saw a dozen humpbacks, some as close as 20 feet (Jan.-March only). Hard corals in Sosua Bay almost nonexistent, more live coral farther away. Boat rides short, access directly from beach into open boat. Dive operation well organized and well run, all staff friendly, helpful and accommodating. Rinsing, showers, gear storage available at shop. Vis: 40-65 ft. Water: 75 degrees. Restrictions enforced for diving were time, depth, dive profile set by divemaster.

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