| DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Attractions |
 |
Samana Peninsula Jutting out into the Atlantic like a finger is the beautiful Samana Peninsula to the east of the island, a remote area with deserted white sand beaches, palm forests and clear, calm waters. Hidden towns and fishing villages, brightly painted Dominican homes and a Mediterranean-influenced atmosphere characterize the communities here. Dominating the interior are mountain passes negotiated by winding roads that offer magnificent views, lush vegetation and cool waterfalls. The Samana Peninsula is also known for the migration of Humpback whales between January and March every year to the sheltered warm waters along its coast. |
|
|||
 |
|||||
 |
 |
||||
 |
An attractive Victorian building in the center of Puerto Plata on Duarte Street houses the Amber Museum, showcasing a unique collection of valuable Dominican amber. According to experts the amber found in this region is the most transparent, and therefore the most valued, in the world. The substance, classified as a semi-precious stone, is actually tree resin that has hardened across millennia, often enclosing fossils of plant and insect life. The museum offers guided tours in several languages, and has a shop where a full selection of Dominican amber jewelry can be obtained. |
|
|||
|
|||||
|
|
||||
 |
Columbus Lighthouse Monument The most modern memento to Santo Domingo's status as the oldest European city in the Americas is a mammoth structure built on the eastern shore of the Ozama River in the early 1990s to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Columbus' arrival in the New World. The building is 693ft (211m) long and built in the shape of a cross at a 45-degree angle. It houses what the Dominican Republic claims are the remains of Columbus himself and is fitted with intense lights which project the image of the cross into the sky at night. The monument was designed by English architect J.L. Gleave, who won an international competition for the design after 455 plans were submitted by architects from 48 different countries. The building is also the repository for numerous documents and artifacts associated with the early Spanish colonial times. |
|
|||
|
|||||
|
|
||||
