Boca Chica, Juan Dolio, Guayacanes, La Romana, Parque Nacional del Este, Isla Saona

The Costa Caribe (Caribbean Coast) still moves to the rhythms of its early colonial past, when life revolved around the closest fishing village or sugar plantation. Visitors here can get an authentic feel for Dominican island life in towns established long before the advent of the island’s tourism boom. Hotels are smaller and fewer in between. Long empty streets are sometimes as sandy as the wide flat beaches they border. And local men still wake before dawn to troll the shallow waters offshore for seafood in small boats for dorado and snapper. Their weathered arms and callused hands pull on long rope nets much like their great grandfathers did generations before them.

There exists a certain order to life here along the Caribbean Coast, a calm and purposeful way of going about your day. Domino and chess games last for hours. Baseball ranks up there with Catholicism, and many flock here on the weekends from Santo Domingo. A Friday night in Boca Chica might just be the most fun part of your vacation.

Perhaps it has to do with the land and the sea. The warm Caribbean waters are generally calmer than the active Atlantic surf. Also, the topography in the southeast is more subdued and devoid of the massive mountain ranges found in the north and to the west. Unlike the larger cities with city blocks designed around traditional urban plazas, the layout of towns like Boca Chica, Juan Dolio and Guayacanes is a little more haphazard. Almost everything of interest is buttressed against the undulating slope of the beaches, and one can’t wander far without feeling the salty trade winds brushing softly against the skin.

La Romana
Anchoring the region, the thriving city of La Romana is still a sugar producing juggernaut and home to the world-famous resort community of Casa de Campo (house in the country). The ultra luxurious tropical environs pay homage to the genteel plantation eras of the 17th and 18th centuries, and the hotel is widely considered to be the genesis for North American tourism to this island paradise. For golfers, the 7,000-acre property is home to three public golf courses—one of which is the venerable Teeth of the Dog.

Pack your camera into your golf bag because this masterful course designed by Pete Dye has almost half of its holes skirting the Caribbean Sea. Mr. Dye is quoted as saying that God is mostly responsible for the award-winning layout, exemplified by the signature #7 Hole, which is worth the greens fee alone. Other active pursuits include polo, skeet shooting, equestrian rentals, tennis and deep-sea fishing.

Headlining the mammoth facility is Altos de Chavon, a kind of “Thinking Man’s Disney World” dedicated to the cultural arts, both Dominican and otherwise. The re-created 16th-century Mediterranean Village was built in 1976 and designed by cinematographer Roberto Copa, who used skilled local artisans to construct the weathered limestone, wood and iron buildings by hand. The end result is simply mesmerizing. The village square sits perched atop a towering cliff overlooking the sinuous Chavon River below. Within the attraction, tourists can patronize upscale restaurants and casual bistros or visit the fine-art gallery, nightclub, the 5,000-seat open-air amphitheater or the Church of St. Stanislaus that anchors the square. There is also a huge Romanesque outdoor amphitheater that has hosted concerts for the likes of Placido Domingo and local resident Julio Iglesias.

A Life At Sea
Every morning from Boca Chica to Bayahibe, fishermen and merchants talk business over the day’s catch, while mothers and their children walk barefoot through the gentle surf. For visitors, much of their time is also spent around the water, whether they’re swimming, sunbathing, horseback riding, sailing, snorkeling or scuba diving.

Some of the most memorable beaches and diving in the West Indies can be found along the southeast corner of the island just south of Bayahibe in the Parque Nacional del Este (National Park of the East). This protected land is operated by The Nature Conservancy and consists of three distinctly different topographies: the expansive southeastern peninsula from Bayahibe to the Caribbean Sea; the Gilligan’s Island-like environs of Isla Saona, about a 45-minute boat ride offshore; and the canal that separates them. There are literally hundreds of beachcombing tourists who motor over to Saona daily, but the tropical island is big enough for all to find their own patch of paradise to wile away the day on these idyllic shores.

MUSTS:

• Already a golfing mecca, the Costa Caribe welcomed two brand new golf courses recently. They are, the Guavaberry Golf & Country Club designed by Gary Player at the Coral Hotel in Juan Dolio, and a third Pete Dye course at Casa de Campo.
• Watch hundreds of boys and young men play baseball in San Pedro de Macoris on the same fields professional big leaguers like Sammy Sosa and Alex Rodriguez once played.
• The Costa Caribe features a surprising wealth of shops and stalls selling energetically painted Haitian Art. Many of the street-side vendors offer better values and variety than those found in the large resorts.
• Play Robinson Crusoe and spend a day on the pretty shores of Isla Saona.
• Have lunch or dinner at Altos de Chavon after browsing through the galleries and shops. Sometimes you can find the Caribbean’s best cheesecake here.

Photos Courtesy of The Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism

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