Dominican Republic - The Caribbean Coast

By Fe Lisa Bencosme

Starting just beyond the hustle and bustle of Santo Domingo, and continuing east almost all the way to the southeastern tip of the island, lies what most visitors come to the island for - a taste of the idyllic Caribbean. Referred to locally as the Costa

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hunter Publishing
• Release date: Feb 23, 2010
• ISBN: 9781588439352

Book preview

Dominican Republic - The Caribbean Coast

Fe Liza Bencosme & Clark Norton

HUNTER PUBLISHING, INC,

www.hunterpublishing.com

Ulysses Travel Publications

4176 Saint-Denis, Montréal, Québec

Canada H2W 2M5

514-843-9882, ext. 2232; fax [phone]

The Roundhouse Group

5 Castle End Park, Castle End Road

Ruscombe, Berkshire RG10 9XQ, England

01865-361122; fax [phone]

© 2010 Hunter Publishing, Inc.

This and other Hunter travel guides are also available as e-books

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

This guide focuses on recreational activities. As all such activities contain elements of risk, the publisher, author, affiliated individuals and companies disclaim responsibility for any injury, harm, or illness that may occur to anyone through, or by use of, the information in this book. Every effort was made to insure the accuracy of information in this book, but the publisher and author do not assume, and hereby disclaim, liability for any loss or damage caused by errors, omissions, misleading information or potential travel problems caused by this guide, even if such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause.

Maps by Kim André & Toni Wheeler © 2010 Hunter Publishing, Inc.

Preface

Introduction

History

Government & Economy

Government

Elections

Economy

Engines of the Economy

Geography

Diverse Terrain

The Mountains

The Lowlands

Climate

Altitude Variations

Seasonal Variations

Rainfall

Hurricanes & Tropical Storms

Flora & Fauna

Flora

Notable Trees

Fauna

Land Mammals

Sea Mammals

Humpback Whales

Manatees

Reptiles & Amphibians

American Crocodiles

Iguanas

Sea Turtles

Fish & Shellfish

Coral

Birds

Endemic (Unique) Species

Water Birds

Mountain Birds

Flying Mammals

Insects

National Parks & Reserves

Major National Parks

Armando Bermúdez & José del Carmen Ramírez National Parks

Parque Nacional del Este

Parque Nacional Isabela de Torres

Parque Nacional Isla Cabritos

Parque Nacional Jaragua

Parque Nacional La Isabela

Parque Nacional Los Haitises

Parque Nacional Montecristi

Parque Nacional Sierra Bahoruco

Parque Nacional Submarino La Caleta

Major Scientific Reserves & Sanctuaries

Laguna Rincón Reserve

Reserva Científica Valle Nuevo

Silver Bank Sanctuary (Santuario de Mamiferos Marinos)

For More Information

Culture & Customs

Language

Greetings & Manners

Dress

Music

Society

Responsible Tourism

Practical Information

Documents You'll Need

The Tourist Card

Embarkation/Disembarkation Cards

Extending Your Stay

Traveling with Children

Embassies & Consulates Abroad

United States

Canada

United Kingdom

What to Expect Upon Arrival

Immigration & Customs

Money Matters

Changing Money

Tipping

Bargaining

Pre-Trip Planning

When to Go

National Holidays

Events

Climate

How to Get There

Tourism Boards

United States

Canada

United Kingdom

Maps

Websites

Accommodations

All-Inclusive Chain Resorts

Independent Hotels

Apart-Hotels

Guest Houses & Pensións

Camping

Price Ranges

Our Selections

Eating & Drinking

Where to Eat Dominican Food

What to Eat

Must-Try Dominican Dishes

Dominican Fast Food

Beverages

Fruit Juices

Coffee

Alcoholic Beverages

Desserts

Service

Menu Prices

When to Eat

Our Selections

Getting Around

Domestic Flights

Taxis

Public Transportation

Inter-City Buses

Rental Cars

Health Concerns

Traveler's Medical Kit

Traveler's Health & Emergency Insurance

Staying in Touch

The Caribbean Coast - Boca Chica to Bayahibe

Festivals & Events

Getting Here & Getting Around

Information Sources

Tourist Offices

Adventures

Beaches

Isla Saona

On Water

Diving & Snorkeling

Riverboat Tours

Río Soco & Río Chavon

On Foot

On Horseback

Eco-Travel

Parque Nacional del Este

Golf

Historic Sites

Casa Ponce de León

Cuevas de las Maravillas

Bases for Exploration

Boca Chica

Orientation

Getting Here & Around

Places to Stay

Places to Eat

Nightlife & Entertainment

Juan Dolio

Orientation

Getting Here & Around

Places to Stay

Places to Eat

Nightlife & Entertainment

San Pedro de Macorís

Orientation

Places to Stay & Eat

La Romana

Orientation

Places to Stay & Eat

Bayahibe

Orientation

Getting Here & Around

Places to Stay

Playa Dominicus

Places to Eat

Nightlife & Entertainment

Appendix

Dominican Spanish Glossary

Pronunciation Guide

Useful Words & Phrases

The Basics

Greetings & Responses

Useful Terms

Expressions & Swear Words

Referring to Time & Place

Shopping

Numbers

Days of the Week

Getting Around

Accommodations

Eating & Drinking

Glossary

Preface

When I was age five and living in the Virgin Islands, my mother sent me to the Dominican Republic to spend a summer with my father's side of the family - a boisterous array of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and neighbors so close that they seemed like family. As an aunt told me many years later, my mother wanted me to know my people and culture.

More than 35 years later, I still recall that visit with the vivid clarity of the Caribbean's crystalline waters. I remember my grandparents' bohio, a typical rural Dominican home where I lived in the village of Juan López in Moca in the Cibao Valley - and where every other resident, it seemed, shared my otherwise unusual last name (Bencosme). I remember the Spanish-language romantic ballads that wailed incessantly from the neighbors' radios, the acres of plantain and yucca fields that served as my makeshift playgrounds, and the excitement that erupted at the dinner table over who would be among the lucky few to savor the con-con: burned rice scraped from the bottom of the pot, a much-treasured delicacy of Dominican cuisine.

The Dominican Republic of my early childhood was a largely rustic, burgeoning nation emerging from a turbulent political past. Then, the primary mode of transport for a family of four was typically a motoconcho, a motorbike in which the dad might steer with one child nestled in front of him and the mom might hang on behind with another child and a bag of groceries on her lap. And, while this scene remains a common sight in rural areas across the country, today you might see the same family cruising around in a late-model luxury four-wheel drive - a result of one of the fastest growing economies in the Western Hemisphere, including an explosion in tourism, which rocked the country during the late 1990s. (Meanwhile, many of those new tourists now prefer motoconchos to more comfortable rental cars as their own choice for getting around - a fact that arouses sheer bewilderment among many Dominicans.)

In the subsequent years, as I have made frequent pilgrimages to my second home, I have witnessed exponential - and sometimes unsettling - growth on the island (called Hispaniola, which the Dominican Republic shares with the much poorer Republic of Haiti). In Cabarete, a seaside resort along the country's north coast, where I went on holiday with my family in 1991, I could count on one hand the number of hotels that stretched along the lonely highway. Today, there are perhaps two dozen and twice as many restaurants, souvenir shops, tour operators, and other travel-related services and businesses - to the point where you can no longer see the beach from the roadside. Cabarete is now a center for 24-hour fun, where a mostly young, international crowd takes to windsurfing all day and partying all night.

Introduction

History

The Dominican Republic has a long and turbulent history, with enough milestones to make for a crowded holiday calendar and enough firsts to fill a page in an almanac. (Among them is having the first European settlements in the New World, established by Christopher Columbus and his brother Bartholomew.) The island has played a pivotal role in the development of the Caribbean for more than five centuries, with ample amounts of blood and treasure spilled along the way. The Dominican national character has been shaped by centuries of colonialism, political and economic turmoil, outside invasions, civil wars, and racial divisions. Remarkably, the Dominican Republic has now entered a phase of comparative stability.

Historical Timeline

1000-500 BC.         First Amer-Indians arrive in what is now Hispaniola, probably from modern-day Mexico

0 BC.            Arawaks begin to arrive via the northern areas of South America

600-800AD. Tainos (an Arawak group) arrive and become dominant group on the island

1000 AD.     Caribs begin to arrive from Lesser Antilles

1492            Columbus arrives along northern coast; he names island Hispaniola and establishes settlement at La Navidad, in present-day Haiti

1493-94   Columbus returns to find original settlers dead; founds new settlement, La Isabela, off northern coast

1498         After La Isabela folds, Bartholomew Columbus

(Christopher's brother) founds Santo Domingo

on south coast

1500        Columbus is led back to Spain in shackles

1502         Nicolás de Ovando appointed governor of

colony, founds Puerto Plata on north coast

1503        First city walls rise in Santo Domingo and first

African slaves arrive on island

1504        Azua de Compostela founded

1506        Christopher Columbus dies

1508        Explorer Ponce de León constructs house in

southeastern part of island

1509        Columbus' son Diego named governor of

colony

early 1560s             Earthquakes damage Santo Domingo and Santiago

1586                       Francis Drake pillages Santo Domingo

1605        Spain torches north coast settlements of Puerto

Plata and Montecristi

1655        English force led by William Penn invades

Santo Domingo

1697        In Treaty of Ryswick, Spain cedes western

one-third of Hispaniola (modern-day Haiti)

to France

1737        Spanish import Canary Islanders to resettle

Puerto Plata

1756        Santa Barbara de Samaná founded, also with

Canary Islanders

1780s      150,000 settlers now populate colony

1791        Slave uprising in French Saint-Domingue (Haiti)

led by Toussaint L'Ouverture

1794        France abolishes slavery in Saint-Domingue

1801        L'Ouverture takes Santo Domingo, mostly

unopposed; frees slaves in Spanish colony

1802        Spain cedes territory to France and France

drives Haitians back into west

1804        L'Ouverture declares Haitian independence

1809        Eastern colony reincorporates with Spain,

reinstates slavery

1822        Haiti again invades Spanish colony, abolishes

slavery, rules for next 22 years

1820s      Freed American slaves settle Samaná

1844        Juan Pablo Duarte and Trinitarians revolt

against Haitians, establish independent

Dominican Republic on February 27 (national

Independence Day); first constitution signed

1861        General Pedro Santana invites Spanish to

annex the country

1863        Rebellion against Spain leads to civil war

1865        Independence restored in War of Restoration

1870        U.S. Senate defeats plan of President Grant to

annex the country

1882        General Ulises Heureux overthrows government

1899        General Heureux assassinated

1916-1924               U.S Marines occupy DR

1930        Rafael