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Dominican Republic tourist information with details about travel to and around the island of Hispaniola. Where to stay and what to see is made easier with insider tips and hand-selected Dominican Republic links, by dedicated editors and visitors to TravelNotes.org - The Online Guide to Travel. The Dominican Republic is the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola. Haiti makes up the western third. In November, 1492, Christopher Columbus visited the northern shore of Quisqueya and named it La Isla Espanola; to mark the expansion of Christian Spanish frontiers.
Weather in Dominican RepublicView a graphical weather forecast for the week ahead in places around Dominican Republic. Barahona Weather, Bonao Weather, Higuey Weather, La Romana Weather, La Vega Weather, Puerto Plata Weather, San Francisco de Macoris Weather, San Pedro de Macoris Weather, Santo Domingo Weather. This was Columbus' first landing place, and because from the sea the mountains "appeared white as snow and shone like silver," he called it the silver port. Merengue FestivalAlong the Malecon, small-time operators wired large cassette-recorders to the street lights' electric supply and set up little bottles of rum and beer for sale. The more adventurous staked out an area for tables and chairs, with a portable generator in attendance. And then there was the occasional car; doors wide open, stereo full-blasting the bouncy beat. But the tune was the same: it was the first night in a nine-night celebration of the island's famous merengue music. The traditional merengue is played by a three man group called a perico ripiao, which consists of a tambora (small drum), a guirra (a corrugated tube scraped by a metal rod) and an accordion. At the end of the coast road, near the colonial San Felipe fortress, larger stalls were erected to supply the revellers with party essentials: food and drink in greater quantities. It was within this area that the rum brands of Bermudez, Brugal and Barcelo, and the Presidente beer company promoted themselves with amplified music, dancers, disc-jockeys and flashing lights. The warm breeze off the sea helped to circulate the aroma of charcoal-cooked chicken from the basic food-stalls behind the rum bars. On the grass bank above the street party, a fairground glittered through the silhouettes of palm trees, casting surreal shadows down their trunks. Some of the party goers would need considerable stamina if they intended to repeat the process eight more times in the nights to follow. Accommodation in Puerto PlataHotels
in Puerto Plata: Sort Puerto Plata Hotels by: Hotel Price, Hotel Rating, Hotel Name. On the second voyage (in 1496) Christopher Columbus' brother, Bartholomew, founded Santo Domingo; the first capital in Spanish America. Christopher's son, Don Diego, became the first Spanish Vice Roy of the New World in 1508, and in 1510 he built his two-storey residence beside the Ozama river; in which four generations of the Admiral's descendants were to later dwell. Don Diego's marriage to Dona Maria de Toledo, a second niece of the King of Spain, required that the building be some sort of Palace. Although it was sacked by Drake in 1586, and gradually decayed over the years, the Government of the Dominican Republic restored the building in the 1950s. Today the elaborate furnishings hauntingly reconstruct the glories of a former age; you almost expect the Vice Roy to step out from his private chapel. It seemed that Bartholomew resided downstairs, while Don Diego and Dona Maria de Toledo slept in separate rooms above. If the bedroom furniture on display were true of yesteryear, then Don Diego wrote at the desk and knelt to pray at the wooden prayer stand in his personal chamber and visited Dona Maria's airier room, with it's sturdier four-poster bed, to play. They had seven children. Did the rotten chamber-pot in the centre of the floor suggest that the lady suffered from stomach ailments? The large wall openings allowed a good breeze to circulate, in pre air-conditioning days, and offered superb views of the Vice-Royal's new land. From the east balcony, Don Diego could twirl his Velazquez moustache and survey the activity on the wharf below; as supplies arrived from Spain and new found exports were made ready for shipment to his waiting Monarch. Venture to the west balcony to survey the calm of the large courtyard and the two giant palms, swaying their shade in the gentle breeze, and you'll soon be disrupted in your meditations by the coaches arriving with Columbus studying schoolchildren. The Spanish ladies used to parade along the cobbled Calle Las Damas in the evening, and the many colonial facades still afford the imaginative scenes of bellowing ball gowns, fluttering fans, and accompanying conquistadors. The Ozama Fortress, along this street, is the oldest in the America, constructed 1503-05 by Nicolas de Ovano; whose house now breathes as an hotel. Every postcard seller in the colonial town will gladly tell you that Diego Colon laid the first stone of the first Cathedral (Santa Maria la Menor) in the New World in 1514, and that the alleged remains of Christopher Columbus are inside it. Someone else will then try to shine your shoes while you admire the stone work. Avenue George Washington, also known as the Malecon, parallels the sea, and it is here that romantics like to snuggle up in the evenings. Impromptu stands offer sandwiches, hamburgers, soft-drinks, and Presidente beer or small bottles of rum. In the darkness, carelessly discarded debris scattered along the sea line is barely visible, but with a little care, the Caribbean coast could be better appreciated by those parading under the palm trees. It has the potential of a pleasant promenade, like the more famous La Croisette of Cannes; perhaps it recently was. Accommodation in Santo DomingoHotels
in Santo Domingo: Sort Santo Domingo Hotels by: Hotel Price, Hotel Rating, Hotel Name. Caribbean Bike Tours: Danny's Rooms and Tours: Dominican Diving: Dominican Republic Travel Tips This is no small Caribbean sandspit. The Dominican Republic has five climatic zones, five mountain ranges, a desert, and a long coastline. There are seven international airports now operating in the country
and since most large car rental agencies do not charge a drop off fee, you can fly into
one airport, such as Santo Domingo and fly out of another like Puerto Plata; getting to
enjoy the cosmopolitan and historically rich capital as well as one of the many fabulous
resort areas. Visitors to the Dominican Republic should consider getting out of the resorts and explore the country. It is reasonably safe and the people are friendly. Be prepared to haggle for items that you wish to purchase and try different forms of transport rather than just the taxis provided by the resort hotels, travelling the way the locals do is much cheaper and a lot of fun. Sosualife: Dominican Republic Travel Guides More detailed travel destination information for: Books
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