Out front of the resort at 7:30 AM for an excursion to the Island of Saona in Parque Nacionale del Este. This trip included a bus, catamaran and speed boat along with plenty of food and drink. As I recall, it was $90 US for each of us for the day. We'd been watching boats on the water all week from our waterside position at Bavaro Beach and I think were anxious to get aboard.

The tours to Saona Island depart from the once tiny fishing village of Bayahibe. Our guide, Fausto #1, rolled things along nicely and we quickly found ourselves on the hour bus drive to the catamaran launch. I'm guessing we were on the water shortly after 9:00 am, for the 2 hour sail to Saona. Lovely breeze, beautiful Caribbean blue water, palm trees, and lots of refreshment. Excellent trip out with lots of boats on the water. The air was refreshing and we caught seats under the canopy to help stay out of the direct sunlight.

We came to rest in a sheltered cove specifically set up for the catamaran cruises. Beautiful place to spend the afternoon. Swimming in the tropical blue water, buffet style lunch at picnic tables on the beach, open bar serving cold drinks for kids and adults, and chairs to lounge in along the sandy shoreline. The sea water is incredibly salty... I floated around like a cork! Monica held us in the water as long as she could, and finally relinquished to play with a very young girl from Russia in the sand. Peter initiated a great conversation with some visitors from Quebec who we shared lunch with. I did a whole lot of holding down the beach cot!

After about three hours on "fantasy island" we boarded speed boats to ferry everyone back. These boats moved quickly over the water and there was a lot of noise and spray as we made our way back to Bayahibe. The area we were exploring is basically the division between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Couple of stops though... One to an area where the guys moved into an old docking space and threw out bread. Lots of brightly colored tropical fish nipping at the bread crumbs. Then to an area described as the "natural swimming pool" in the middle of the bay. Everyone hopped out of the boat into waist deep water, at what seemed like 1/2 km from shore. Starfish were popular and people were picking them up for photo-ops before dropping them back to the bottom.

Then, a raucous trip home! The captain opened the accelerator, turned up the Bob Marley, and we were off to the races. We were bounced and showered with the roll of the afternoon seas but made great time. Janie was sitting close to the front and had quite the trip. We arrived back at port, were located on a new bus, and had a very quiet journey back, all hands played out from the water and sunshine. Lots of vendors pushing everything under the sun in the Bayahibe parking lot... One last reminder how our two countries are so far apart in terms of economy.

We got cleaned and headed back for the last evening of supper. A variety of main courses, drink, dessert, fruits, salad, cheeses... Really whatever you wanted! When we got back to the suite, we started to gather all the items scattered about and sort out the details for check out. Then hoped in the jacuzzi for 1/2 an hour and off to bed.