My trip to the Dominican Republic Republic was definitely unexpected Although I am not a huge beach person, I had wanted to go here so that I could add it to my country count. I didn’t really take much time to research what was available or what I should do yet life always has a way of taking you by the hand. When when I wasn’t sure where to go from Brazil, I found that Dominican Republic was one of the few places that would accept me so I booked a flight to Santo Domingo.
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo is a beautiful colonial city that has been very well preserved. I was lucky enough to spend three days there and spent my afternoons wandering up and down the streets of the historic center, marveling at the 500 year old buildings. It is an important historical place and they claim that it is one of the longest settled areas in the Americas.
You can find a number of charming little cafes scattered around the historic center as well as a delicious vegetarian restaurant things in Santa Domingo were a lot more expensive than I expected so rather than staying there longer, I decided to high tail it out of the city and head to my next destination. I hoped that I would have the time to come back later in the trip when I came back to catch a flight out but instead I ended up flying out of Punta Cana.
Sosua
My trip was definitely disorganized to say the least. I had no idea where I was going or what I should do so like I’ve done many times before I started chatting with the people in the hotel. I asked them what they thought the best places were to visit in the Dominican Republic. One older German guy told me that Sosua (located on the north coast) was a great place for nightlife and even though I didn’t really want to be out drinking or I’m going to nightclub, I decide to go there based on HIS description of it.
I figured it would be worth checking out and since it was just a few hours away from Santo Domingo, I hopped on a bus there. Less than 4 hours later, I was in a brand new place. The hotel I stayed in was bit off the beaten track and was owned by a lovely family so I spent my first evening just listening to the sounds of little children watching television and then was able to fall asleep with only of the sound of a fan in the background. If you have traveled a lot to Latin America you know how impossible it is to find anywhere silent so I was in heaven.
The next morning I went for a walk along the beach and as I was walking, I noticed that most of the restaurants were full of large groups of German, American and British men and a few women scattered about. As I got to the main town area, it started to dawn on me that I had come to a destination that was extremely popular for and reliant on prostitution. I was even asked what I was doing there by an incredulous American man He immediately followed the question with another question asking if I was a lesbian because he couldn’t understand why a single woman would travel so unless they wanted a Dominican prostitute.
Regardless of the highly-secualized atmosphere, I decided to stay a few more nights because my hotel was just that perfect. I spent my days working and my evenings relaxing on the beach.
Las Terrenas
I knew little about Las Terrenas before I visited except that it was really beautiful and not very touristy. After spending a few days in a place full of creepy white men and bored-looking Dominican women, I decided that the less touristy it was, the better.
Faced with the prospect of spending hours on a tiny bus to get there or transiting back through Santo Domingo on the other side of the country, I decided to take a guided tour part way which also allowed me to check out one of the Dominican Republic’s cenotes and some of the north coast beaches. It definitely wasn’t worth the hefty price tag that came along with it but they did give free shots of rum on the tour bus!
When I got to Las Terrenas, I was salty, sandy, and very relaxed. My journey was relatively uneventful and although it required being squashed onto a few tiny buses, I managed to make it there unscathed thanks to the help of the friendly locals.
When I got there, I was extremely surprised to arrive and find out that the city is overloaded with expats. There are people from all over the world there as well as a wide variety of restaurants bars and shops. It is a charming place but what made it really amazing was the hotel that I stayed at. (More on that later!)
The beaches near Las Terranas were stunning and I sometimes had to ask myself if I was really just sitting in a bathtub imaging that I was on a Caribbean Island. The water was crystal-clear and it was easy to spot f8su as they swirled around me.
I happily spent seven days there getting caught up on work, going for long walks, and chatting with the other guests at my guest house. Set up more like a mini village than a guest house, Fata Morgana came complete with resident dogs, including a disabled chihuahua that had its own wheelchair and donkeys who unabashedly begged for food. Many of the other guests were staying long term and the Dutch owner made everyone feel like they were part of the family (at least as much as Dutch people can). It was a fantastic stay but I sadly had to say goodbye and head to Punta Cana where I was catching my next flight.
Punta Cana
The trip to Punta Cana was way more eventful than any other part of the trip and included two motorbikes, a ferry, and countless buses. I eventually made it to my hotel and was begrudgingly blamed for them not having my booking. After what felt like an eternity but was probably only like 20 minutes, I was finally able to check into my room. While I had visions of myself spending the day drinking pina coladas by the poolside, in reality, I got there late in the evening, went for a quick swim, had dinner, and then hit the sack.
The next morning, I headed to the airport to catch my flight to Madrid to start the next leg of my journey. While the Dominican Republic proved to be a wonderful spot to “cleanse” myself after my trip to Brazil, I am not sure if it is a place I would rush back to. While the people were somewhat friendly, customer service was majorly lacking and it didn’t feel like the same warm vibe that I had come to adore in Mexico.
