When heavy rains made the road almost impassable on my way from the little Dominican town of Higuey to the beaches of Punta Cana, I thought I might have gotten myself—and my friends—into a problem. But the rains let up just as we arrived and we walked onto the beach in almost perfect weather. To my left and right were picturesque yellow sand, palm tree-lined beaches and in front of me waves of blue ocean lapped at the hull of the boats that would take us deep sea fishing. Stepping off the sand into a small wood boat with people from at least three countries, I knew I was in for an adventure. That boat took us further out to our vessel, where we climbed to the upper deck and began our trek to the deep water where we hoped to catch one of the giant fish of the Caribbean. The ride out was not comfortable—it was bumpy and long. Yet it was beautiful. The vastness of the ocean revealed itself before us, while the further away from the land we got, the more I appreciated its sight on the horizon, green mountains rising up from behind what I had only seen as beach. The palm trees—so tall and majestic on the beach—were now just specks in the distance. The bumpy, uncomfortable ride was worth the trip by itself. But this excursion was for more than just sight-seeing. As the boat made a wide turn, the captain and first made began to yell back and forth. My friend pointed, but I couldn’t see what the fuss was about. Finally, I spotted it—a big, blue fish trailing the boat. The long ride turned into a thrilling chase as the fish caught on a line. One of the passengers jumped up and took the reel from the first made, trying to bring in the giant on a tight line. He turned and turned the reel, the rest of us fearing the line might break under the weight and effort of the fish on the other side. Then he learned from the experts that catching a fish in deep sea is not like reeling in a trout—you have to pull on the line, bringing the fish ever closer to the boat, then quickly lower the pole and reel in the slack. It took dozens of rounds of pulling then reeling, under great effort—our tension building with each up and down of the man’s back—before we again saw the big blue dorado, so close to the boat yet so many pulls away. Finally, as the fish thrashed up out of the water, the first mate caught it with a big hook and pulled it aboard. For someone who makes a living with too many hours in front of a computer, it was thrilling to see the process of something real, the success of labor. I thought briefly—but sincerely—about becoming a fisherman myself.
I had a great time with the people of First Class Fishing, and my excursion, a tourist attraction though it was, opened up a world to me I had never seen before.
Other Comments:
It was great fishing trip.
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