Blog

Samaná Peninsula

Dec 11, 2023 Trips

The Samaná Peninsula in the northeast of the Dominican Republic is a beautiful stretch of land with hillsides dense with foilage, largely empty stretches of beach, and a lot of wildlife. In the winter, much like the tourists, humpback whales migrate there. We visited in late spring so missed the whales, but had no shortage of birds and lizards to watch, plus some tiny frogs who liked our bathroom.

Interestingly, the Dominican Republic has no large wildlife (minus those whales offshore) which was reassuring while walking around the jungle at night. And day. There was surprisingly little in terms of mosquitos, too, where we stayed, in part due to the bats eating them. It wasn’t for a lack of humidity, that’s for sure. 

It took a little more time to travel there with a longer car ride from the airport, but like many more remote places, the journey was worth it.

All photos from late spring 2023.

Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo, a species only found on the island of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti).
A Bananaquit eating the nectar of a banana plant while also using the said plant as an umbrella from the rain. Bananaquits are very acrobatic. Unlike hummingbirds, they cannot hover so they must land to feed.
A Hispaniolan Woodpecker returning with food to its nest.
El Barrancoli Chicui or Narrow-Billed Tody. Also endemic to the island of Hispaniola. Unlike the birds above that hunt in foilage, this bird often catches insects in flight and makes nests on the ground by excavating soil. 
Antillean Mango Hummingbird.
Dominican Graceful Anole getting ready to launch off on a Spiralflag Ginger.
Fisherman boats.
A not-so-crowded beach.
A walkway through the jungle at the Dominican Treehouse Village, where we stayed.
A rainy afternoon.

Sign up for my newsletter and never miss a post. Learn more and sign up here.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *