Two years in the Dominican Republic 95'

Moving to the Dominican Republic - Heidi and Tom – 1995’ Two years living on the beach, windsurfing, lifting weights and adventure traveling round the Island by motorcycle.

2009-10-18T11:01:33Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Moving to the Dominican Republic - Heidi and Tom – 1995’ Two years living on the beach, windsurfing, lifting weights and adventure traveling round the Island by motorcycle.

On our first date, Heidi told me I was not the man for her. She said she wanted someone that would take her to live on an island! I said "you stick with me for a few years baby and I'll sail ...

2009-10-18T11:04:07Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
On our first date, Heidi told me I was not the man for her. She said she wanted someone that would take her to live on an island! I said "you stick with me for a few years baby and I'll sail ...

Before boarding the plane bound for the Dominican Republic we only had reservations for one night. Hotel El Paraiso, in the heart of the tourest village Sosua and all the action. I mean that ...

2009-10-18T11:06:54Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Before boarding the plane bound for the Dominican Republic we only had reservations for one night. Hotel El Paraiso, in the heart of the tourest village Sosua and all the action. I mean that ...

We planned on staying for two years so for sure the first task after securing a place to live was to buy a used motorcycle. There were motorcycle rental shops all over. The first week I test ...

2009-02-21T15:42:55Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
We planned on staying for two years so for sure the first task after securing a place to live was to buy a used motorcycle. There were motorcycle rental shops all over. The first week I test ...

I pick out a Yamaha DT125 enduro. It had a few scrapes and bent parts but it popped a wheelie with ease and felt strong. $1500 and we are set to explore the island in style.

2009-10-18T11:08:08Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
I pick out a Yamaha DT125 enduro. It had a few scrapes and bent parts but it popped a wheelie with ease and felt strong. $1500 and we are set to explore the island in style.

The village of Cabarete beach is 7 miles away from Sosua, where we were staying. Cabarete beach quickly became our favorite destination for a day outing on the motorcycle. We knew we had to ...

2009-10-18T11:09:28Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
The village of Cabarete beach is 7 miles away from Sosua, where we were staying. Cabarete beach quickly became our favorite destination for a day outing on the motorcycle. We knew we had to ...

Tropic Breeze, right on the beach in the village of Cabarete, Dominican Republic. This is where we stayed next. We found it by just walking along the beach one day.

2009-10-18T11:10:21Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Tropic Breeze, right on the beach in the village of Cabarete, Dominican Republic. This is where we stayed next. We found it by just walking along the beach one day.

View from our patio, Cabarete bay.

2009-10-18T11:10:34Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
View from our patio, Cabarete bay.

Cabarete bay is rated as the 3rd best windsurfing spot in the world. We felt we could have lived here forever. In fact we talked about buying it when we found out it was for sale. Well.... ...

2009-10-18T11:11:57Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Cabarete bay is rated as the 3rd best windsurfing spot in the world. We felt we could have lived here forever. In fact we talked about buying it when we found out it was for sale. Well.... ...

We found an even better place, La Punta hotel apartments. We needed to wait a month for the room to be vacant though. We stayed for the month here, at Caribe Surf. A hot plate and ice cooler ...

2009-10-18T11:14:26Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
We found an even better place, La Punta hotel apartments. We needed to wait a month for the room to be vacant though. We stayed for the month here, at Caribe Surf. A hot plate and ice cooler ...

Caribe Surf, view from our room. Beautiful location. The building to the right is where we are move next :) :)

2009-07-06T12:42:12Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Caribe Surf, view from our room. Beautiful location. The building to the right is where we are move next :) :)

We fell in love with the beach village, Cabarete. This is where we lived the last year, La Punta Apartamentos, $500 US / month with maids 6 days a week, a pool and right on the beach. We had ...

2009-02-22T04:39:18Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
We fell in love with the beach village, Cabarete. This is where we lived the last year, La Punta Apartamentos, $500 US / month with maids 6 days a week, a pool and right on the beach. We had ...

Great location

2009-07-06T10:57:24Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Great location

La Punta beach.

2009-02-22T04:39:06Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
La Punta beach.

Top notch health club in Sosua, Golden Park Gym, about 7 miles from Cabarete. The wind usually didn't come up until about 2:00 PM so hitting the Gym sometime before noon was perfect. Hei ...

2009-06-03T17:40:12Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Top notch health club in Sosua, Golden Park Gym, about 7 miles from Cabarete. The wind usually didn't come up until about 2:00 PM so hitting the Gym sometime before noon was perfect. Hei ...

Heidi and I liked to take overnight motorcycle trips to different parts of the island. This photo is from a motorcycle Trip to Samana Bay, the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic.

2009-07-06T12:45:07Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Heidi and I liked to take overnight motorcycle trips to different parts of the island. This photo is from a motorcycle Trip to Samana Bay, the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic.

Tour boat trying to get off the reef, Samana Bay, Dominican Republic

2009-07-06T19:24:24Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Tour boat trying to get off the reef, Samana Bay, Dominican Republic

Exploring the mountains near Cabarete Beach. The ranches up here have no electricity.

2009-07-06T19:32:44Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Exploring the mountains near Cabarete Beach. The ranches up here have no electricity.

Yikes!!!

2009-07-06T19:54:26Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Yikes!!!

I was out dirt biking in the jungle and I got caught in a downpour. This village had a banana leaf shelter on the road so I hung out with a bunch of others. The woman in the photo is raking ...

2009-07-06T19:26:06Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
I was out dirt biking in the jungle and I got caught in a downpour. This village had a banana leaf shelter on the road so I hung out with a bunch of others. The woman in the photo is raking ...

Marketplace in Samana, Republica Dominicana.

2009-07-06T19:47:05Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Marketplace in Samana, Republica Dominicana.

Exploring the beaches on the bike.

2009-02-23T01:56:06Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Exploring the beaches on the bike.

Heidi stopping to shop while we're exploring the island. I painted the bike yellow and black after we had it stolen by the police then had to buy the motorcycle back from them! This was ...

2009-07-06T19:25:10Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Heidi stopping to shop while we're exploring the island. I painted the bike yellow and black after we had it stolen by the police then had to buy the motorcycle back from them! This was ...

Public transportation (gua gua). Heid is in the bottom right hand corner. The goal is to get as many people in the mini van as possible!

2009-02-22T21:26:28Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Public transportation (gua gua). Heid is in the bottom right hand corner. The goal is to get as many people in the mini van as possible!

That's Heidi's helmet on the left. She's telling me to get the H out of there! On the right is our favorite food stand where we would get a full course traditional Dominican dinner and a c ...

2009-07-06T19:06:08Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
That's Heidi's helmet on the left. She's telling me to get the H out of there! On the right is our favorite food stand where we would get a full course traditional Dominican dinner and a c ...

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)'s photo

2009-06-05T19:17:12Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)'s photo

2009-06-05T12:17:45Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)

Hitting the discos in Santo Domingo, about a 5 hour bus ride from Cabarete beach. This was on Valentine's Day. I picked out Heidi's outfit at the biggest mall in the Caribbean! Santo Domingo ...

2009-07-21T17:51:28Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Hitting the discos in Santo Domingo, about a 5 hour bus ride from Cabarete beach. This was on Valentine's Day. I picked out Heidi's outfit at the biggest mall in the Caribbean! Santo Domingo ...

Cabarete Beach, Republica Dominicana. All the windsurf rental shops had great used gear for sale. We bought a used rig and made good friends with the rental shop owners and workers.

2009-07-06T07:01:36Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Cabarete Beach, Republica Dominicana. All the windsurf rental shops had great used gear for sale. We bought a used rig and made good friends with the rental shop owners and workers.

Enjoying a day on the beach.

2009-02-22T04:41:05Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Enjoying a day on the beach.

Cabarete Beach Village

2009-02-22T04:42:19Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Cabarete Beach Village

On the malecon in Puerto Plata. A large city 23 miles from Cabarete beach. Another of our favorite day or overnight destinations. The malecon always had lots of food vendors and music...Fun! ...

2009-10-18T06:44:42Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
On the malecon in Puerto Plata. A large city 23 miles from Cabarete beach. Another of our favorite day or overnight destinations. The malecon always had lots of food vendors and music...Fun! ...

Our favorite place for breakfast in Puerto Plata was Sam's. We could always count on meeting someone interesting there!

2009-02-22T03:58:09Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Our favorite place for breakfast in Puerto Plata was Sam's. We could always count on meeting someone interesting there!

New Wave, an open air bar on the beach in Cabarete. We met people from all over the world here and made many good friends.

2009-02-22T04:42:25Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
New Wave, an open air bar on the beach in Cabarete. We met people from all over the world here and made many good friends.

Dominican kids playing baseball on the beach. They used a palm branch for the bat, a bottle cap from a big jug for the ball and a piece of cardboard with a slit in it for the catchers mitt.

2009-06-03T07:00:11Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Dominican kids playing baseball on the beach. They used a palm branch for the bat, a bottle cap from a big jug for the ball and a piece of cardboard with a slit in it for the catchers mitt.

Encuentro, This is the wave surfing beach about 2 miles out of town from Cabarete. Every year there is a freestyle windsurfing competition here. A lot of fun, with live music and food on the ...

2009-02-22T04:37:28Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Encuentro, This is the wave surfing beach about 2 miles out of town from Cabarete. Every year there is a freestyle windsurfing competition here. A lot of fun, with live music and food on the ...

Encuentro beach compition with some good friends we meet who are from Canada. Very interesting and fun people, I could fill chapters.

2009-02-21T15:39:31Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Encuentro beach compition with some good friends we meet who are from Canada. Very interesting and fun people, I could fill chapters.

Encuentro beach

2009-02-22T04:43:13Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Encuentro beach

Our good friends Tim and Connie getting married right on Cabarete beach, how great is that! Dominican Republic.

2009-02-22T03:56:43Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Our good friends Tim and Connie getting married right on Cabarete beach, how great is that! Dominican Republic.

The happy couple!

2009-06-03T04:20:59Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
The happy couple!

The more people we meet the more destinations we discovered, many were difficult to find and sometimes we wouldn’t. We found shell beach though and this was the place to collect large shel ...

2009-10-18T10:15:25Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
The more people we meet the more destinations we discovered, many were difficult to find and sometimes we wouldn’t. We found shell beach though and this was the place to collect large shel ...

We talked about living on that small island behind us.

2009-10-18T10:16:37Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
We talked about living on that small island behind us.

Heidi chilling on an awesome beach we found while circling the island. The snorkeling was great here.

2009-10-18T10:07:10Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Heidi chilling on an awesome beach we found while circling the island. The snorkeling was great here.

February 27 is Dia Independencia (Independence Day). Puerto Plata Dominican Republic.

2009-10-18T10:19:08Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
February 27 is Dia Independencia (Independence Day). Puerto Plata Dominican Republic.

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)'s photo

2009-10-18T10:19:40Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)

The Dia Independencia Parade

2009-06-02T23:12:18Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
The Dia Independencia Parade

More costumes worn on Dia Independencia.

2009-10-18T10:24:03Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
More costumes worn on Dia Independencia.

Parade

2009-02-22T03:54:03Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Parade

The costumes here have something to do with the darker skin of Haitian’s, voodoo and chasing away evil spirits. This tradition goes way back we are told from locals.

2009-10-18T10:23:30Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
The costumes here have something to do with the darker skin of Haitian’s, voodoo and chasing away evil spirits. This tradition goes way back we are told from locals.

Dia Independencia in Puerto Plata. 1995

2009-02-22T03:59:03Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Dia Independencia in Puerto Plata. 1995

Dia Independencia in Puerto Plata. 1996 With some more friends we meet.

2009-02-22T03:56:51Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Dia Independencia in Puerto Plata. 1996 With some more friends we meet.

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)'s photo

2009-02-21T15:38:09Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)

Inflated cow intestines used for wacking people on Dia Independencia

2009-06-05T15:11:18Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Inflated cow intestines used for wacking people on Dia Independencia

Guess who gets wacked!

2009-06-05T19:19:54Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Guess who gets wacked!

Catamaran in Cabarete Bay.

2009-02-22T03:51:46Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Catamaran in Cabarete Bay.

Christmas in the Caribbean. 1996

2009-10-18T10:26:16Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Christmas in the Caribbean. 1996

Hurricane passing by the island. Gave us monster waves!

2009-02-22T04:41:04Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Hurricane passing by the island. Gave us monster waves!

Hurricane morning after party. The village was a buzz and the waves were washing far up onto the beach. A lot of new palm trees were washed out to sea but not much else, lucky.

2009-06-05T14:59:15Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Hurricane morning after party. The village was a buzz and the waves were washing far up onto the beach. A lot of new palm trees were washed out to sea but not much else, lucky.

Our neighborhood.

2009-06-04T10:02:09Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Our neighborhood.

La Punta Apartamentos

2009-02-22T21:25:25Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
La Punta Apartamentos

We met and partied with people from all over the world. La Punta was an apartment hotel that had long-term renters, like us, and vacationers who were there to windsurf.

2009-10-18T10:34:44Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
We met and partied with people from all over the world. La Punta was an apartment hotel that had long-term renters, like us, and vacationers who were there to windsurf.

Another party on the beach that was rained out, we continued in the hallways.

2009-10-18T10:37:34Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Another party on the beach that was rained out, we continued in the hallways.

Welcome to Cabarete

2009-10-18T10:38:13Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Welcome to Cabarete

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)'s photo

2009-02-21T15:41:59Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)'s photo

2009-02-21T15:36:57Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)

Now, it’s been over twelve years and we still have a hard time not thinking about moving back. The Dominican Republic.

2009-10-18T10:59:13Z

Tom Junkans (cavebiker)
Now, it’s been over twelve years and we still have a hard time not thinking about moving back. The Dominican Republic.