Swimming with Whales at the Silver Bank | Go Dominican Republic

To me, this is one of this hemisphere's last oceanic frontiers. As soon as you get onto the Silver Bank, it's like a curtain opens up and you start seeing blows and breaching and fin slapping. And you might have 20-30 whales around you within 2-3 miles at one time. We introduce people to an amazing marine mammal, but it's more than that. People that come out here, I see people at their best. Everybody is in a good mood and we always exceed their expectations. We can put you in the water snorkeling, but you're not swimming after the whale, you're not free diving after the whale. You're allowing the whale to come to you on their terms. We call it PEEWEEDS, Passive In-Water Whale Encounters. And we allow the whale to come to us on their terms. We have guidelines. The guidelines are, you have to respect them. If you don't respect them, they're going to run from you. And the last thing I want to do is harass the whales. Because the bottom line is, it's about the whales. It's not about us. The two largest mating and calving grounds in the Caribbean are Samana Bay and the Silver Bank. They estimate between 5,000 and 7,000 whales will come. The primary reason for them to come here is for mating and calving. The first time I came through the Silver Bank, from when I started 29 years ago, I saw whales for the first time. And I was just like, wow, holy mackerel. You just, you feel so good about it. I mean, it's, like I said, people leave here with a love for the whales and for the ocean. And for the Dominican Republic. I mean, it's an amazing place. If this doesn't help and make you more conscientious about the environment, nothing's going to. Watching films and documentaries and movies and seeing images is one thing. Experience it one-on-one is a totally different ballgame. And they leave here wanting to help whales and help keep our oceans alive. It's such an experience that you're never going to forget it.