Dominican Republic: ‘Bonjour’ from Las Terrenas

September 24-27

Hello everyone!

The Dominican Republic has 12 public holidays. One of them, Dia de Las Mercedes, occurs on September 24th. I can’t tell you much about this holiday; what I can tell you is that, due to school deciding to also give us September 25th as a non-work day, we had a long weekend, and an opportunity to get far away from Santo Domingo.

One of many beaches in Las Terrenas

This man had built himself a seat so he
could enjoy Playa Las Terrenas in peace

Having a car is incredibly helpful for this. We managed to acquire a car, a Nissan Qashqai, relatively pain-free. The car allows Mini and Maxi to join us on our adventures.

Our car in front of one of many
upcoming residential developments

In this instance, the adventure was to the northeastern peninsula known as Samaná. That particular town wasn’t our destination, though; we were headed to a spot sitting on the Atlantic Ocean called Las Terrenas.

Mini living her best life, mainly because we had a garden

The drive took just under 3 hours each way

We were staying with friends for a birthday

The place has a lot of hype here, borne out by the fact that dozens of teachers were also heading to Las Terrenas. The town itself stretches inland a little bit and is distinctly unremarkable. It is said to have a French influence; I only observed that from a delightful French bakery that we visited twice during our three-night stay, and from driving past a French wine shop. There was a lot more English, reflecting a growing number of international tourists.

There are quite a few tourist offices offering tours
to waterfalls, other beaches and for diving

Starting the day right with a ham/cheese croissant
and a coffee from Boulangerie Francaise

But you don’t come here for the town. Some come for the music and dancing scene, with Last Terrenas being a spiritual home of the bachata dance. As this usually doesn’t start until after we’ve gone to bed, even on a holiday, we were here for another reason: the beaches.

Our nearest beach: Playa Las Terrenas

Some places, like Playa Bonita, are better for surfing

There are many. The country has over 200 officially named beaches, and over 1,500 kilometres of coastline, much of which is white or golden sand. There are several within the immediate striking distance of Las Terrenas.

Our AirBnB for the weekend

Playa Coson

Playa Las Terrenas

The AirBnB we stayed at was across the road from Playa Las Terrenas. Even our dogs were able to walk to that beach without too much protest. This particular area of the sandy strip was relatively free of people, possibly because you stand on seaweed or coral-like rocks soon after entering the tranquil water.

The beach, as seen from our garden

Maxi pretending to enjoy her early evening stroll

Some sections of the beach were quite wide

We were a little bit outside of the centre of Las Terrenas, not that it made the area any quieter. The gentle, upbeat music from the beach shack restaurant across the road was pleasant. The constant revving of motorbikes and ATVs, and blaring of stereos from over half of the vehicles that would pass our gate, was unnecessary. 

We walked past this bar at 8am. Different vibe to 8pm.

At one point, we saw someone driving an ATV
who looked about 15 years old!

The livelier area, Pueblo de los Pescadores - the same street, just further east from our house - has a nice beach out front, with a walkway over the mouth of a small stream. I liked the fact that they were using technology to prevent litter from entering the sea. Less keen on the amount of rubbish behind the barrier, admittedly, but on the whole, the area seemed much cleaner and cared for than Santo Domingo.

The place was primarily a fishing community
before being established as a tourist hotspot 

Slight difference in the water...

Further across from here you can find Playa Punta Popy, a pristine and wider beach with many towering and windswept palm trees. I only ended up here because I had gone for a midday run and had to cut that short. Not my best choice, though the trees of PPP allowed me some much-needed shade.

I was thankful for the trees!

Running alongside Playa Punta Popy

Many people we know were in the Las Terrenas area, but staying further west on a beach called Playa Bonita. With a name that translates as ‘beautiful beach’, it has a lot to live up to. Many people come to visit it so we were thankful to have committed to going quite early in the morning, even though the dogs were riled by anyone and anything in their path.

A view of Playa Bonita from its coastal path

Some of the trees currently 'stand' at remarkable angles

A pleasant coastal walk takes you from Playa Bonita to Punta Bonita. It probably is a beautiful point for sunset, and is a valuable piece of land. You can tell that from the quality of the properties stationed on its edges. We researched the most expensive, which rents for $4,000 USD per night. With a maximum capacity of 18, that place could actually be rented for about $222 per person per night, which I think is actually quite reasonable! I don’t have the $8.3 million needed to buy it outright, mind…

The beach and coastal path stretch several hundred metres

I think this was the $4,000 a night place. Next time...

Around the corner is a small beach that had been described as ‘quiet’, ‘peaceful’, and with ‘not many people’. We found all of those statements to be the opposite of our short-lived time there.

What emerged two minutes later were two dogs off lead
and two sets of families. Mini and Maxi loved that.

The water was shallow but deceptively strong

From the small beach, you can see a long strip of sand which is called Playa Coson. We drove back here for sunset. The tide was quite high, limiting the beach walking (which was also reduced by Mini and Maxi being absolutely knackered and having no desire to move). There was no sunset - large, distant clouds saw to that - but it was probably my favourite beach of the four that I went to.

The land in the distance is Punta Bonita

More of a beach-sitter than a beachwalker, this one

The closest we got to seeing the Sun set

Las Terrenas is a popular place for many reasons, and I imagine it will only get busier in future months and future years - an international airport was recently completed nearby. For now, it isn’t overwhelmed with visitors, meaning peace and tranquility can still be found. If one beach doesn’t have it, a short hop in almost any direction will find you another beach that may be more to your liking. We enjoyed our weekend up here (aside from the final night, when there was no power and we felt like we slept in a sauna), and are highly likely to be back in the future.

As the girls couldn't help with playing Codenames,
they decided to stare at themselves

Artwork for sale on the street in Las Terrenas

Beautiful beaches

Love you all,

Matt

Dominican Republic: The Unknown Ruins

September 6

Hello everyone!

There is a lot of history that can be found on the island of Hispaniola, the landmass that houses Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Within the latter’s capital, much of this can be found in its Colonial Zone. But if you look hard enough, you can find some interesting history in slightly stranger locations in Santo Domingo…

Ruinas de Engombe

View from an upper floor in the Palacio de Engombe

This is a park called Mirador Oeste: west viewpoint. We did not come here for history. We came here to give the dogs a different place to walk. Turns out there are a few ‘Mirador Oestes’ around, including a residential estate, but we eventually got to the park.

The river which passes the park forms the border between two provinces

A spectacular tree inside Mirador Oeste

The park itself? Very different from our usual spot of Mirador Sur. Much more overgrown, less manicured, and a feeling of being off the beaten track.

Maxi walking more than 10 metres before 'feeling tired'

A lot wilder, and more mosquitoes, than Mirador Sur

There are apparently many trails in the park - I’d be interested in finding them in the future, as they weren’t particularly apparent on our walk. We did end up at the Haina river. It didn’t look that appealing.

Apparently the main trail is a 5 km loop

Look closely and you'll see quite a bit of trash in the river

What was more appealing - well, more intriguing - was a set of stone structures near where we had parked our car (I can’t call it the park entrance). Having no idea what they were, I looked them up. We found that they are called Ruinas de Engombe: Engombe Ruins.

The area is part of a tentative UNESCO list called
'First Colonial Sugar Mills of America'

The area spans almost 6 square kilometres

The word engombe is actually of African language origin, meaning cattle or cow. There weren’t any here in 2026, and I’m not sure how many there would have been in 1526, either. What there were at that time were Spanish colonisers, who had established the city thirty years earlier.

The palace has architecture associated
with the city's Colonial Zone

The estate was home to the country's first goat breeding programme in 1535

One of the early successes for Europeans in what they called ‘The New World’ was in sugar production. Many of the main buildings of Engombe are the remains of a sugar mill complex. There is a main manor, a trapiche (sugar press), a warehouse and a chapel. Well, remnants of them.

The area was one of the most powerful
early sugar complexes in the Americas

The ruins were declared a protected monument in 1993

There were many stray dogs in this area

The most striking building, arguably because of it having two floors, is the old palace. This was the main residence and administrative centre for the sugar mill complex. The shell of the building looks spectacular from many angles, and provides interesting views from slightly higher up.

The construction date - 1535 - was etched into its walls,
making this a rare precise piece of archeological evidence

That stone was removed by vandals in 1963

The building is about 10 metres tall

There weren’t that many people around on this Sunday lunchtime. Possibly more dogs than people, meaning we had to pick Mini and Maxi up to keep them away from canine trouble. One of the main uses of the buildings these days is for photography. A woman was having a photo shoot inside one of the ruins.

Apparently you don't need to pay to have a photoshoot here

This alley was where some of the photos were being taken

The ruins were a pleasant surprise to find, considering we were only looking for a different spot for dog walking. Hopefully Santo Domingo has many more hidden secrets to uncover!

Mini taking in some colonial history

Where will the next surprise ruins be?

The dogs enjoyed their visit

Love you all,

Matt