Day trip to Puerto Plata by Allejandra Spear

After the first three weeks full of exploring and adjusting to the environment and school, we ended the month with a day trip to a nearby city, Puerto plata. It was about an hour and half drive and is one of the closet coasts to Santiago. 

We began our day visiting a cacao factory called Chocolala. We were given a tour where we saw cacao trees as well as many other native fruit trees. At the end of the tour we were able to try various products from the factory, my favorite being the cafecito made with cacao powder. I won’t lie, coffee is better in the DR. 

After Chocolala, we went to 27 Waterfalls of Damajagua where we hiked for about 2 hours while jumping and sliding down waterfalls. This has been one of my favorite activities so far as it really took me out of my comfort zone that I have of jumping off heights. 

We ended the day taking a cable car up the mountains. It overlooked the city and ocean and was one of the most amazing views I’ve ever seen ¡Que hermosa! Once we reached the top we walked through gardens, learned a little bit about the history of Taino life and we’re able to see the Cristo statue up close. I really enjoyed being at the top of the mountain and could see myself returning to the cable car within these next couple months.

I would say our trip to Puerto Plata was a wonderful experience and opportunity to get to know the Dominican Republic better. I definitely plan on returning sometime soon to enjoy the beach and mountainous scenery.

Allejandra.-

EXPLORE THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC