The first thing you should know about the Dominican Republic is that it's hot. As in, a blast of Hades to the face hot. I don't care how many times you've been to the Caribbean before or how in shape you are, a mile-long beach walk in the midday Dominican sun will suck the life out of you quicker than the torture machine from The Princess Bride. Thank god for Willis Haviland Carrier, the man who invented air conditioning.
The second thing you should know about the Dominican Republic is that the drivers there are frickin' insane. Have you ever stepped on a huge anthill and watched the chaos that ensued as the little buggers scurried over, around and through each other in their haste to escape? Multiply that mayhem by 100, place it on pothole-laden roads barely wide enough to accommodate two cars, add a gazillion motorcycle-driving madmen with a death wish and a complete disregard for the concept of "lanes" and you have my personal vision of traffic hell. Thank god for Gottlieb Daimler, inventor of the taxi cab.
The third thing you should know about the Dominican Republic is that it's HUGE– the second largest country in the Caribbean (after Cuba)– with 10 million people spread across 18,704 square miles on the island of Hispaniola (which it shares with Haiti). There are more than 3 million residents in the capitol city of Santo Domingo alone, with more than 70% of the population a multiracial mix of European, African and native Taíno indian ancestry. Thank god for our contact at the DR Board Of Tourism, who steered us towards the relatively tiny town of Puerto Plata (pop. 277,000).
Founded in the early 1500s, Puerto Plata sits on the country's northern coast, bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the 800-meter high mountain known as Pico Isabel de Torres on the other. Once best known as the city where English privateer Sir John Hawkins brought 400 slaves he had abducted from Sierra Leone (launching Britain's involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade), Puerto Plata is now increasingly popular among tourists seeking eco-friendly adventures, offering a less crowded alternative to hotspots such as Santo Domingo and Punta Cana.
The second thing you should know about the Dominican Republic is that the drivers there are frickin' insane. Have you ever stepped on a huge anthill and watched the chaos that ensued as the little buggers scurried over, around and through each other in their haste to escape? Multiply that mayhem by 100, place it on pothole-laden roads barely wide enough to accommodate two cars, add a gazillion motorcycle-driving madmen with a death wish and a complete disregard for the concept of "lanes" and you have my personal vision of traffic hell. Thank god for Gottlieb Daimler, inventor of the taxi cab.
The third thing you should know about the Dominican Republic is that it's HUGE– the second largest country in the Caribbean (after Cuba)– with 10 million people spread across 18,704 square miles on the island of Hispaniola (which it shares with Haiti). There are more than 3 million residents in the capitol city of Santo Domingo alone, with more than 70% of the population a multiracial mix of European, African and native Taíno indian ancestry. Thank god for our contact at the DR Board Of Tourism, who steered us towards the relatively tiny town of Puerto Plata (pop. 277,000).
Founded in the early 1500s, Puerto Plata sits on the country's northern coast, bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the 800-meter high mountain known as Pico Isabel de Torres on the other. Once best known as the city where English privateer Sir John Hawkins brought 400 slaves he had abducted from Sierra Leone (launching Britain's involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade), Puerto Plata is now increasingly popular among tourists seeking eco-friendly adventures, offering a less crowded alternative to hotspots such as Santo Domingo and Punta Cana.
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