Hi everybody! I want to tell you about my exciting journey to Dominican Republic. I were there for two weeks and stoped in Punta-Kana at the Riu Naiboa hotel. Punta-Kana is one of a few places with unique beaches and white coral sand.
After recieving the sun bath and swimming in the ocean we decided to take offroaders and to go to the hinterland. On the road, we had a unique opportunity to observe the life of locals. Dominicans themselves are amazing people. Their whole life is spent in dancing and songs. No matter how hard their job, they will always find a moment for fun.
On the reed fields mostly work residents of Haiti. For processing a ton of sugarcane they get just a few dollars.
About delicacies! Dominicans jerks meat in very interesting way. They just hang pieces of meat in the sun and let the heat and insects do their job. Many of them consider it a delicacy.
The village hospitable guys welcomed us and treated with natural coffee and cocoa. They cultivating it here. There are ready ready-to-serve coffee beans and raw cocoa fruit on the picture. I never thought that kakao may look like this.
The first time in my life I saw how pineapple grows and learned what cockfight is. Dominicans are very fond of this violent entertainment IMHO. They bet on their "fighters" and rooting for them very passionately.
Fortunately, not all birds have to work so hard. This colorful wild parrot just arrived at our dinner with hope to eat some fruit.
Barahona - one of the most beautiful places in the Dominican Republic, located in the south-west of the country with the perfect white sandy beach, stretching 8 km. And in the Caribbean sea a couple of kilometers from the coast there are amazing shoals. They look like a sandy overturned plates in the middle of the sea. The water barely gets your knees.
Flying to the island of Saona was full of surprises. First of all, having supplied rubber boots we were asked to cross on horseback across the river and up into the mountains. Climbing the hill through the jungle opened to us a view of the beautiful waterfall.
Walk around the island provided an opportunity to enjoy the sights of nature, but also to learn how people earn a living.
The young man rolling the most genuine Dominican cigars. The process is very interesting because everything is done by hand. Here produce more than 100 kinds of cigars. And its price range is very diverse.
Mamajuana - a drink of passion! Is somebody familiar with this amazing drink? Its magical properties are endless. Its structure consists of various plant origin components: pieces of wood, bark, leaves, herbs and spices. For its manufacture are used rum, red wine and honey. The most known quality of Mama Juana is its ability to be an aphrodisiac and to improve male potency.
Also, the Dominicans are very creative people. They paint and sell many paintings of landscapes. I think they chose such theme because of beautiful views around.
Cave Los Tres Ojos in Santo Domingo. Very interesting place. Once upon a time there were male and female saunas. The chemical composition of the lakes in the cave is different, so the colour of water in all the lakes is different (clear, blue, green). There are many stalactites and stalagmites in the cave. You can also find small fishes and turtles there.
You also can find my verification in this post.
More photos of my travel:
Is the Dominican Republic still the quite dangerous place like it used to be? I have some unpleasant memories how criminals and the police worked hand in hand to rip off tourists, but the island is really pretty.
I think it is. You must be aware not to get in troubles. If you're looking for troubles, you will get it=)
Great post. Those beaches look incredible. Were the locals friendly towards foreigners?
What do you mean?
In some countries the local people aren't very welcoming towards tourists in the sense that they can be quite rude in conversation and not very understanding, for example, if they don't speak the local language. In other counties (Thailand is a great example) the locals can be extremely friendly and welcoming to tourists.
Basicly those who works in tourism industry are pretty friendly and nice. Others not always.
I agree
Great article, @lyubovnam! The pictures look wonderful.
thank you)