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SOSUA TO SANTO DOMINGO
We left Las Terrenas and drove to Sosua.We stopped for swimming at Playa Diamante,a wonderful small beach.Then we drove to Playa Grande which is one of the most beautiful in DR.Locals have set up food and drink stalls here and we stayed for lunch.
Driving from Las Terrenas to Sosua is very easy,the road is good and there are many beautiful beaches and protected coves with clear water on the way.
We passed by Cabarete which is one of the (world's?) Caribbean's premier windsurfing locations.Trade winds here produce big waves and attracts surfers from all over the globe.We didn't stay here , but we came one night for a coctail and merengue in a beach bar.
We chose to stay in Sosua which had a better beach for swimming and it was a good choice, because we loved Sosua beach,the cozy restaurants and souvenir shops on the beach and that music!
The beach is half moon shape and the sand looks like gold under the sun.
The place is very live with many vendors selling everything,from T-shirts , cds,hair braids,beach chairs renting ,etc.
On the background , souvenir shops , nice restaurants,cafes and bars are clustered along the dirt road.
You'll never be bored here , as there are many activities like sailing,scuba diving,and snorkelling around the coral reefs just offshore.I liked relaxing on my sunbed watching the Dominican kids surfing on the sand where the waves were breaking.
In Sosua we stayed at "Tropix" hotel,35$ per night,a/c,hot water,very nice room,all rooms are facing the pool and the garden.Very nice and cheap breakfast by the pool and the owner is a very nice and kind lady.
It rained every afternoon , but the mornings were fantastic.
5 km east of Puerto Plata , we entered the Playa Dorada resort complex.
Playa Dorada is like a playground for millionaires,all incl.resorts,like in Punta cana ,casinos,discos numerous restaurants and bars and a wide variety of sports and facilities available to hotel guests only.
You can enter , walk and swim but you can't drink,eat or do anything since you are not wearing the bracelet that shows you are a hotel guest.
The guests here don't bother to explore other pretty beaches in the suburbs and miss the most beautiful part of the country , but i don't think they care about that.
We also visited the Brugal Rum factory,on Avenida Luis Ginebra west of Playa Dorada.We saw how the rum is bottled.
On your way out , there is an area where you can taste different types of rum and buy some bottles if you like.
Don't drink too much , it's a bad compination with the sun!
The days passed so quicly and it was time to go to Boca chica and fly the next day.
This time we chose the highway,the road winds through green hills between the north coast and Santiago passing numerous ribbon villages and giving panoramic views over the Cibao valley.We were stopping here and there to inprint the breathtaking vistas.
And of course we went to Jarabacoa-WONDERFUL!!The place has nothing to do with the caribbean,it reminded us the very mountainous areas of Greece.The Dominican Alps offer panoramic views over lush valleys , fertile farmland and forests and rapid flowing rivers , perfect for hikers , cyclists and eco minded adventure tourists.
There are several ranches that they offer rafting,canyoning,hiking,i think it will be great to stay there for a couple of days.
We tried to find the Jimenoa waterfall but it was rainning so much you couldn't see the road and the dirt road was very bad.The waterfall was comming from the sky on our heads,so we went back to the highway.
Paddy fields , banana plantations and fields of tobacco stretch out along both sides of the roads , cocoa trees and coffee bushes prosper on the rolling hills allong the bussy Autopista Duarte to Santo Domingo.
Back to Boca chica and we stayed again at Los Pinos hotel for the night and the next morning we drove again to the capital.We visited Faro a colon and the aquarium on Avenida Espana.The acuarium is well worth a visit not only for the under water walkway and the sharks playing over your head but for the great garden outside.
We enjoyed especially driving along the avenida G.Washington (malecon) and i was trying to imprint in my camera the last pictures of this wonderful country.
The last days are so cold here and it's like a dream that 2 weeks ago i was in a very warm country,with very warm people,great music and out of this world beaches.
If you ever go to DR, get out of the resort/hotel and explore this wonderful
country!
