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SANTO
DOMINGO
 Santo
Domingo is the capital of the Dominican Republic and the
first European city in the 'New World'. It is a vibrant,
exciting, and always interesting Caribbean city. Santo Domingo
boasts more colonial sites than you will
ever be able to see in just one visit. Do check out the Zona
Colonial, ground zero of the Spanish conquest of the
Americas, the point of disembarkation for settlers,
businesspeople and conquistedores, and an administrative
centre helmed by Christopher Columbus' son, Diego. The city
also boasts the oldest extant cathedral in the Americas,
Catedral Primada de América. The nearby Parque Colón not
only features a statue of the eponymous admiral, but is also
the meeting place for area residents and always
buzzes with activity.
Several museums
exhibit
everything from indigenous and colonial history to amber,
one of the country's most important products. Gardens, zoos
and parks keep the city green. Once you have
experienced the cultural side of the city, there are plenty of discos and
nightclubs that are sure to keep you up all night. Add to
this a fairly good restaurant scene, and you have a recipe
for a fantastic visit.
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AMBER
COAST
The northern coast of the Dominican Republic gets its
name from the world's richest deposits of amber which are found in
the hills nearby. Its reputation is squarely based on the
120km (75mi) string of beautiful beaches stretching east of
Puerto Plata. The Amber Coast is the most developed stretch of the
island. There are several small towns where the laid-back
atmosphere of palm-thatched restaurants and local
guesthouses still prevail. For those vacationers
wishing an all-inclusive resort, there are many to choose
from.
Puerto Plata, the main hub of the coast, has it's share of
local street life, gingerbread architecture and tree-lined
plazas. Away from it's beaches, you will have fun promenading
the Malecón or taking the funicular to the 780m (2600ft)
peak of Mt. Isabel de Torres, which towers over the town.
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CABARETE
This is the serious vacationer's destination.
Cabarete has an
enormous, beautiful bay, considered one of the best in the
world for windsurfing. The lovely, white-sand beaches are
postcard perfect.. If you need a suite
with a hot tub where room service will deliver a lobster
dinner and bottle of champagne, stat, Cabarete is your town.
Do not miss the bars and discos where live music is
served fresh nightly to hundreds of well-dressed party
people.
The
windsurfing attracts people from all over the world. You can
rent all the equipment you will need and sign-up for a
few lessons from any of several operators located on the
beach. If surfing is more your speed, visit Playa Encuentro
where some of the DR's
best waves for surfing break. Playa Encuentro is
located to the west of Cabarete,
where the surf breaks over coral reefs worth exploring in their own right. You can
rent surfboards and boogie boards in Cabarete.
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SAMANA
In many ways, Samaná is just another tranquil, tropical
town with jellybean-coloured houses clinging to the verdant
hillsides and swaying coconut trees. There are a couple of
places to have a drink and admire the bay, once considered
so strategically important that the USA occupied it for
eight years. There are a few tourist compounds to the north,
but that's not the reason to come (you'd do better in
Cabarete with that sort of thing, anyhow). No, Mother Nature
has blessed this area with special care, making Samaná the
perfect base for exploring the Dominican Republic's finest
treasures.
To the south, idyllic Cayo Levantado has dense forests
and three spectacular beaches that are usually deserted,
until the busloads of tourists fill them up around midday.
Hiking trails and lovely views are among the island's other
charms. To the west, Parque Nacional Los Haïtises offers
scores of jungle-covered islands and thick mangrove forests,
perfect for exploring by boat. The greatest show of all,
however, takes place right in the bay, during January and
February. Perhaps 80% of the world's humpback whales mate
and bear young in the waters off the Dominican Republic, and
you can see them at their lovesick best. To show off for the
ladies, male humpbacks hurl their 40-ton bodies into the
air, breaching with a big splash. (The gals do this, too,
but refrain from flying quite as high, so as to protect the
males' fragile egos.) Area captains will take you out into
the bay for a fee.
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SANTIAGO
The
Dominican Republic's second city officially goes by the
grandiose name of Santiago de los Caballeros (Santiago of
the Gentlemen). And, Santiago is indeed an aristocratic, if
somewhat provincial, city. It is the commercial hub of the
Valle del Cibao, the nation's breadbasket, and factories
here process raw sugar and tobacco into fine rum and cigars.
Santiago boasts a thriving industrial sector and one of the
finest universities in the country.
Santiago's leisurely, refined tempo is a pleasant
surprise to the few travelers who make their way here. It
doesn't offer much in the way of impressive monuments or an
exciting nightlife, but there are some nice restaurants and
museums to while away a relaxing day. Possibly the most
popular activity in town is taking a stroll on Calle del
Sol, Santiago's main street and a pleasant shopping
district. The residents of the city have a rather regal air,
and many spend their Sundays surveying the central park from
horse-drawn carriages. It's a nice tribute to tradition in a
rapidly changing city.
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SOSUA
Sosúa is more than just another perfect beach town,
still in the early stages of development yet impossibly rich
in wide sandy shores and coconut trees. Sure, there are
scores of sunbathers there, taking advantage of the pleasant
restaurant scene and lively nightlife, but many of them
don't know this community's interesting history.
The entire area was owned by United Fruit until the late
1920s, when dictator Rafael Trujillo bought the land up
cheaply and sold it at a profit to Jewish organizations in
the USA. These groups were trying to secure land for Jews
fleeing an increasingly anti-Semitic central Europe. In
1940, some 350 Jewish families moved onto the land, and
tried for several years to develop an agricultural product
that could thrive in the tropical climate and survive long
overland treks to Santo Domingo. They raised livestock for
milk, cheese, sausages and other products, then used the
profit to build a successful distribution system. Everything
ran smoothly until the 1960s, when peasants began squatting
on the farmland, rendering it useless for grazing. The
police refused to help the Jewish community, and most
eventually emigrated to the USA or Israel. Though only a few
Jewish families remain today, the Jewish Community Museum
offers a peek at their fascinating history. Why not drop by,
before or after sunning your hangover away next to the
clear, sparkling waters (where there are some fantastic
diving opportunities, by the way).
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