Dominican Republic: Gateway to the New World

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When Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492, he landed in Santo Domingo and established the first permanent settlement in the New World. This country is now home to 10 million people with influences from their Spanish colonizers, Haitian neighbors, Taino natives, and even American occupiers during the 1920s. While the cheapest route from the U.S. is usually flying into the capital of this island nation, we arrived at POP airport in Puerto Plata at the northern coast. We had originally planned to attend a friend's wedding in Samana a few hours east of Puerto Plata. However, the long drive on undeveloped roads with poor signage deterred us from going there, so we instead chose to stay in the city.

We arrived in town around midday and rather than taking the shuttles from the airport to the hotel strip, we went the more "authentic" route and waved down a guagua about a quarter mile outside of the terminal. It may be intimidating piling into a rusty minivan with a dozen people and no A/C on a sultry summer day, but if budgeting is a priority and you want to really experience the local customs, taking a guagua is a must. Be aware that gone are the days of 5 people to a sedan and 8 to a minivan. The guideline around here is that if your lap is free, a seat is still open, so be prepared to have plenty of intimate contact. Luckily, we were still intact when we arrived at the hotel, an all-inclusive resort in Costa Dorada at the eastern end of the strip called BeLive Grand Marien. This property was located in between the mountains and the ocean, offering a 360 degree view of endless beauty. The food at the buffet--while repetitive--was good, but if you can make a reservation at one of the three on-site restaurants, you will be pleasantly surprised by the quality. As for the cleanliness of the rooms, we received a free upgrade to one of the renovated buildings so it may be an inaccurate assessment of the entire resort, but our room was spacious, well kept, and beyond our expectations.

For our first excursion in D.R., we took a guagua to the beachtown of Sosua about 20 minutes east. We exited the minivan off the main road to walk up a steep hill to Castillo Mundo King ($15 admission), a strange castle-like building housing alien artifacts and extraterrestrial artwork. A guide will take you around the museum and lead you to the top where you can steal an awesome glimpse of the entire town. Then make your way back towards the main road and onto the boardwalk on Pedro Clisante street, although "boardwalk" is a liberal use of the word. This is where you begin to realize how impoverished this country really is. Behind every corner is trash, a stray dog, or an odd odor, but what did you expect? It's not elegant like Europe or exotic like southeast Asia, but this country still has much to offer visitors. In this region, it's the beach that attracts people, so that's exactly where we went. Casa Marina beach is found along the shoreline and is best seen near sundown. When you peek back towards Puerto Plata from the marina, the pink skies lit by the setting sun above the Isabel de Torres mountain fill the background, resembling the volcanic backdrop of Hawaii. A half hour later it was nightfall so we caught a guagua to return to our hotel and end our day.

For our second excursion we went to the most popular attraction in Puerto Plata, 27 Falls. This is a series of waterfalls discovered decades ago by a man named Dieter Klapperich (who we would meet later in our trip), but the government took control and established a tourist center there to regulate and ensure the safety of visitors. To get here from our hotel, flag down a guagua to take you into the city center where you take a taxi for 350 pesos for 30 minutes into Imbert where the falls are located. You can also take the green Javilla Tours bus, but we failed to find the station so used a taxi instead. They will drop you off the main road where you need to walk a quarter mile into camp where you pay $12 per person to enter, which includes a guide, life jacket, and helmet. We were lucky and received our own guide, so we began the 45 minute hike (longer if your group is larger) up the mountain. When you reach the summit, the guide will direct you to slide, wade, swim, and jump your way through one fall after another. La Tinajita is one of the highest waterslides at 20 feet long; the Corkscrew is a spiraling slide that twists and plunges you to the water below; the Cave is a domed enclosure through which the water rushes; the Crystal is the clearest of all the falls; the Jaiba is a pool where crabs reside inside the rock walls; and the Hammock is one where you can swing on a large vine and splash into the water. You'll be drenched and 10 pounds heavier by the end, so dry up and take the Javilla Tours bus from the main road back to Puerto Plata.

Have the bus drop you off in Parque Central by Iglesia San Felipe. You will encounter "guides" who claim they work for the Tourism Office and offer you free service, but they are merely hired by local businesses to attract unsuspecting visitors to come into their stores and buy souvenirs, so avoid these guys unless you want to spend all day shopping for needless merchandise. Places you should visit here are the Amber Museum (61 Duarte Street) and the San Felipe Fort at the west end of the Malecon, which is the waterfront road along the northern coast. The Amber Museum ($2 admission) is full of ancient relics containing fossilized creatures and was the inspiration for the 1993 Steven Spielberg film, Jurassic Park. While worth a visit because you learn how amber is formed and how to differentiate real stones from fake ones, this museum is no Louvre so don't anticipate seeing any Mona Lisa's here. As for the San Felipe Fort, the $1 admission includes an audio guide, but simply walking the barracks to overlook the bay is sufficient. Afterwards, continue down the Malecon and stroll through town to see how locals live. You will find churches, marketplaces, cigar shops, and more than necessary souvenir shops. When we were no longer fond of walking, Kristina and I took a guagua back to the hotel and relaxed by the pool with an endless supply of pina colada. For dinner, we ate at the resort's buffet, but the day before we had eaten at the Brazilian cuisine restaurant on-site and it was amazing. It's almost impossible to make a reservation at these restaurants but we luckily walked by and asked the hostess who allowed us in because a couple failed to show up. We then retreated to our rooms full, tired, and excited for the second half of our D.R. trip. Next on the itinerary: Paradise Island and CountryWorld Adventure Park.

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Photos

BeLive Grand Marien resort
The easternmost resort on the hotel strip in Costa Dorada.

Castillo Mundo King
A housing of alien artifacts and extraterrestrial art in Sosua.

Casa Marina beach
Pink skies and the Isabel de Torres mountain provide the backdrop for this sunset in Sosua.

27 Falls
The bridge into the mountains

27 Falls
The mini waterfall.

27 Falls
The 45-minute hike to the mountain top

27 Falls
The crystal clear pool.

27 Falls
The spiraling waterslide