Vacation / Travel Supplement
Dominican Republic: Beauty abounds in this Caribbean island nation
A horse and its driver wait for a fare outside Capilla de los Remedios in the historic district of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The Spanish chapel, constructed between 1541 and 1554, has a Gothic interior with a “barrel vault” ceiling. It is still in active use as a Catholic church. (Submitted photo by Patricia Happel Cornwell) Click for a larger version.
By Patricia Happel Cornwell (Special to The Criterion)
SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC—In 1492, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus discovered America while on an expedition by the Spanish monarchy.
More precisely, Columbus found a Caribbean island that he named Española, which was home to the Taíno Indians.
Spanish conquistadors subsequently decimated the native race, and imported African slaves to work on their plantations and in their mines.
Home to the Dominican Republic and Haiti, the island is now known as Hispaniola.
The Dominican Republic is the second largest Caribbean nation, after Cuba, and 95 percent of its 10 million people are Catholic.
Half the size of Indiana, the country constitutes the eastern three-quarters of the island. Its versatile geography encompasses semi-desert land, fertile plains, swamps, rainforests and mountains.
My husband, John, and I visited our friends, Scott and Sandra, in the Dominican Republic in early January.
Our flight from Miami took us to Santo Domingo, the capital, then we drove for two hours north to La Vega Province in the mountainous center of the country.
We passed roadside vendors offering roasted cashews, sweet potatoes, and whole roast pigs and chickens on sticks, which are traditional foods for New Year’s Eve.
Women and girls walked by with large bunches of green, banana-like plantains balanced on their heads.
Motorbikes are used to carry all manner of cargo from entire families to chickens in cages.
As we threaded our way into the mountains, we passed brightly painted concrete block homes and small towns with central plazas.
All of the houses are made of concrete because hurricanes are a fact of life there. In 2010, after a deadly earthquake, Hurricane Tomás struck the island, especially devastating Haiti, where buildings are not as strongly constructed as those in the Dominican Republic.
Upon our arrival at Sandra’s mother’s home, we enjoyed a traditional New Year’s Eve supper. The centerpiece was sancocho, a hearty soup of pork, beef, chicken, sausage and vegetables that is seasoned with oregano and other spices then served with rice and avocado.
In rural areas, there is little hot water and not always electricity. Fortunately, the temperatures are moderate all year.
The next evening, we drove to a mountaintop called Jamaca de Dios, which means “Hammock of God.” After a jolting climb, we reached a fine restaurant to view the sunset over the valley and the city of Jarabacoa.
Military checkpoints are common in the provinces that border Haiti. Soldiers with rifles randomly wave cars to the side of the road to check for illegal immigrants.
We stopped in Bonao to admire the artwork on the plaza outside Museo Candido Bido. The gallery was closed, but a museum docent opened it for us. The pride of the museo is a collection of soulful, colorful works by revered painter Bido. The Fondación de Bonao Para La Cultura, which operates the gallery, offers painting, music and ballet classes for young people.
Driving in the Dominican Republic is definitely a challenge and an art.
The next day, we drove southwest to Barahona Province for a three-day stay at Casa Bonita, a small upscale hotel overlooking the Caribbean Sea. The resort offers spa treatments, zip line excursions and ecological tours.
While there, we drove to Villa Miriam, a popular waterfall. Families on holiday splashed and shouted in manmade pools beneath the waterfall. We climbed a stone staircase to the top and enjoyed our picnic in the midst of the roar and mist of rushing water surrounded by ferns and ancient gnarled trees.
At 5 a.m. on Jan. 5, two strong tremors shook Casa Bonita. A maid told us not to be afraid because, “It does this all the time.” It was a 5.3 earthquake on the Richter Scale and was felt on the entire island, but no damage was reported.
From Casa Bonita, we enjoyed a boat tour of Laguna Oviedo, a small island. In contrast to the blue of the Carribean Sea, the water of the island lagoon was green. We ate a picnic lunch on the “Island of the Iguanas,” where a dozen two-foot-long iguanas surrounded us—all hoping to share some of our lunch.
Afterward, we walked across the island, which is largely composed of volcanic rock that looks as though it has just bubbled up. While the rock looks frothy, it is hard to traverse. We leapt from one rock to the next, clinging to one another’s hands. We stopped at a small cave to admire petroglyphs, faded ancient drawings of faces, likely scratched there by one of the indigenous Taínos.
As we left Casa Bonita on Jan. 6, we stopped at the simple workshop of a family who makes jewelry from a rare blue stone called larimar, which is found only in the Dominican Republic. First discovered in 1916 by a Catholic priest, larimar was rediscovered in 1974 by a local man and a Peace Corps volunteer.
Columbus’s brother, Bartolomeo, founded Santo Domingo in 1496. Alcázar, the immense stone palace built by Columbus’s son, Diego, still stands. The city is home to the first fort and the first cathedral in the Americas. Its historic center, Ciudad Colonial, is a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site.
In 1697, Spain ceded to France the western portion of the island, which would become the nation of Haiti in 1804.
The Dominican Republic has been governed under seven flags and has three independence days. The date they celebrate is Feb. 27, 1844, when they were freed from Haitian domination.
We toured the 1503 Fortress of Santo Domingo and the National Pantheon, where the country’s heroes are buried.
Looking over the ancient city wall, we were startled to see a huge cruise ship discharging tourists from Puerto Rico for a day of sightseeing and shopping.
The Dominican Republic is the Caribbean’s largest tourist destination, no doubt because it is a beautiful place with beautiful people.
(Patricia Happel Cornwell is a member of St. Joseph Parish in Corydon.) †
