TREASURES

The name "Las Galeras", comes from the name of the first boarding sailing ships, "galleys", used by pirates.

Right off our beaches there are some wrecks.

                                                                  n.141 cm.101x125
                                                                semi-gloss on canvas

From the times when merchants and pirates sailed and were shipwrecked in the western Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas and Bermuda, you can still find treasures!

The galleons sunk, sometimes are found accidentally by fishermen, other times just by treasure hunters, after long studies of ancient ship registers, logbooks, insurance companies, etc ...
If someone is lucky enough to find a sunken ship, you need to use a team of specialist divers in wrecks, which will take months trying to recover the treasures.
The equipment needed are far from simple and not at all cheap! They include sonar equipment, hydraulic machinery for cutting metals, Extraction of sand and elevators of air able to "suck" water, waste and small objects on the surface.
And it's well-known that, generally, all the pirates squandered their fortunes on women and rum... except for William Kidd, navigator and pirate, who died in 1701, who used to hide them!

In 2008, in the Dominican Republic, at an undisclosed location, the wreck of the "Quedagn Merchant", sunk in 1699, was found.

By now everyone knows that from July to November, the Caribbean area is subject to possible  hurricanes.
Nowadays, they are monitored, but in the time of pirates it was not so easy to maneuver the galleons in the middle of a sudden hurricane!

On August 24, 1729, in the Bay of Samana, galleons "Conde de Tolosa" and "Nuesra Seniora de Guadalupe" shipwrecked.

With a strong hurricane, coming from the north-east towards Puerto Rico, the sailors sought protection in the Bay of Samana, but were driven by the stormy sea to the south of the bay, in the direction of the Miches town, where they were thrown against a rocky outcropping with depths between 3 and 10 meters.

From the 600 people, about half of them died. Some escaped, reaching the coast by swimming, others were clinging to wreckage waiting for help, the more adventurous were able to use the boats, dubbed Cabo Cabron heading for Haiti
In the 70s an American expedition managed to locate wrecks, recovering many everyday objects of the time, in addition to several million dollars of mercury.

And it's well-known that the pirates tried to leave no traces of their misdeeds, but the natural shape of the Bay of Samana makes us think that many other wrecks, with their treasures, are still in these waters.

It is said that about 500 years ago, Sir Francis Drake (pirate for the queen of England), attacked passing vessels, suddenly appearing and disappearing from sight, using a natural channel, known by few, that separated the peninsula of Samanà from the rest of the territory.

It seems that even Hitler in the '30s, used the Samana Bay as the strategic basis of submarines. Some elders claim that around Cabo Cabron one is sunk.

In 2011, a team of treasure hunters, led by Billy Rawson, discovered perhaps the oldest wreck sunk in the Dominican waters. It contained a hidden treasure of 700 silver coins, jade statues and a stone mirror that could be worth several million dollars!

....This is one more reason 

to come to Las Galeras and dream .... 

We're awaiting you!

                                                               

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THE WHALES

WHICH SHOW!

Also this year, humpback whales are coming from the cold North Sea, in the warm waters of Samana Bay to give birth and then mate again.
Towards April, pregnant females will share first, followed by individuals not yet adults and in the end by females with small born this year. When they reach the cold waters of Antarctica, rich in nutrients, remain united again, until the next migration.

The body length of these cetaceans varies from 11 to 16 meters! The females are generally longer than males and can weigh up to 40 000 kg
The small at birth are about 4 meters long and can reach 680 kg.
Their puff can reach 3 m high and can have different shapes.
The males produce a complex hand, to attract females, which lasts 10 to 20 minutes and is repeated for several hours. They make wonderful acrobatics, which may be manifestations of courtship or simple fun.

Sometimes they throw themselves into the air with his head forward falling into the water with a dive, at least emerge with about two-thirds of the body and their evolution ends falling on your stomach or side or on the back and generally is the only opportunity to see the whole animal.
Younger make jumps very high and often perform somersaults and twists complete before diving again.
Some slam on the water surface lepinne pectoral, which can reach a length equal to about one third of that of their body and which are the longest of all cetaceans.

             

                       

From Playa grande, the beach of Las Galeras, one can see in the distance their breaths,
or you can organize wonderful boat trips, perhaps to Playa Fronton, to see them up close.
Often they are the ones who approach curious, improvising the shows unique and truly exciting. They perform jumps and dips, that with their size make us feel small small!

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                                                                semi-gloss on canvas

PORT

n.9 cm.101x152

semi-gloss on canvas

This abstract painting is of the boats moored in a harbor, flowing with life everyday.
The shallow waters of the bay of Samana (barely 45 meters deep), are pericokose for large boats, but not for small or medium-sized.

Large cruise ships, are obliged to cast anchors offshore, near Cayo Levantado