Travelers flock to the sublime beach resorts of the Caribbean but do they really ever see the interior of these unique islands or rich cultures? If you are one of those tourists, I’ll share with you what there is when you venture off the resort grounds….FIrst, peruse the resort websites which often provide links to local tourism. Contacting the hotel/resort concierge is also a recommended way to inquire about vetted excursions.

If you book the Dominican Experience tour through your hotel website or vacation planners, you will embark on a safe ecosafari vehicle journey into tiny villages an hour or so away from the beach resort. There, you will encounter agricultural and ecological treasures. You’ll see the landscape; tropical, lush and native…..and not just the resort architecture.

Backing up, let’s look at Dominican Republic’s history. It’s located on the island of Hispaniola which it shares with Haiti. “D.R.” is the second largest Caribbean nation; Cuba is the largest. The Taino people inhabited Dominican Republic when Columbus arrived there in 1492. Reportedly, the first permanent European settlement in the Americas is Santo Domingo which has continued to be the oldest inhabited city. It is believed that there are still people who are indirectly descended from the indigenous Taino!

On our tour, we became hands-on with the sumptuous tropical fruit and foods which make up the agricultural exports and main cash crops of the island. Coffee, cacao, rice, tomatoes, veggies, bananas, tropical fruits and sorghum are part of that group.

We picked bulbs of cocoa creme out of the fruit, stirred coffee beans roasting in a kettle, sampled guava and tropical fruits from and tried chocolate tea. It was earthy, rustic and extremely relaxing to linger where horses trotted by with bags of bananas on their backs.

Visiting a one room schoolhouse was inspirational. In the isolated areas, children have limited access to education and therefore, it is not compulsory for them as it is for most elementary to middle school aged children.

Most of the Dominicans still inhabit the rural areas. Like other Caribbean nations, the influential Hispanic heritage merged with the African traditions due to the slave-plantation society during its colonial years. Although Dominican Republic shares the musical and dance stylings of salsa and merengue with other islands in the area, they have a local cocktail which is distinctly Dominican—the Mama Juana (wine, rum, honey and herbs). Its potency is said to have medicinal value as well as being rumored to be an aphrodisiac. It originated as an herbal tea of the Tainos but alcohol was added after Columbus’s arrival. Oh, those Europeans! haha…..I think it enhances a trip to know some trivia beforehand. This is my usual method, however, this time, I learned the factoids afterwards. The latter enhances my reflections on the photos taken. Now, I see these cultural nuances in the trees, in the eyes of the people, in the hills…..

“D.R.” is the oldest country of the Americas and the first stop reached by Columbus. (although I’ve heard that about that general area of the Caribbean.) It’s the second most populated country in the Caribbean and Santo Domingo is the oldest city of the Americas with reportedly the oldest cathedral. The highest peak and the lowest elevation of the Caribbean are in Dominican Republic. The national flag is the only one to have an image of the Holy Bible on it. Two endemic stones are found here–the Dominican Amber and the Larimar. The amber is considered some of the finest in the world because of the high concentration of fossils and the Larimar stone is a blue variety of the silicate mineral pectolite. I love the history of the Larimar name— It was discovered in 1974 by a man named Miguel Mendez who named the stone after his daughter. He took the first three letters of her name, “Larissa” (Lar) and the local word for “the sea” which is “Mar”. The combination of the two words makes the word “Larimar”.Buy some larimar jewelry, Dominican cigars, coffee bean and maybe even the Mama Juana liquor. Take home some of the Dominican flavor and spirit of the “early Americas.” Step off the beach and into the hills and villages. It’s the best of both worlds (relaxation and culture) on your beach vacation.

photos by Gina

for more information about this destination and others, click on the link to order my book, Vagabonderie.

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