Diving Into Dominican Culture

My idea of a family vacation always involves some cultural immersion. I don't go for that walled resort, only guided tours, eating -the-same food-you eat-at home stuff. You never get a true sense of a place if you only experience it from such a limited perspective. So I was pleased as I watched my 11-year-old daughter splash around in Dominican turquoise water with a new friend. They jumped out of the sea and decided to hunt for seashells. Next, they head to the hotel's theater to watch movies. It could be a typical family beach vacation except that my daughter's new friend Madeline is from Lyons, France and doesn't speak a word of English. Neither do most of the staff at the Oasis Canoa Resort in La Romana-Bayahibe, Dominican Republic. My daughter and the rest of my family were forced out of our cultural comfort zone and into the welcoming aura of Dominican friendliness.




Nestled into the Southeastern corner of the Caribbean island of the Dominican Republic, La Romana is a town steeped in sugar factories, baseball games and gorgeous beaches. Located 20 miles from La Romana, Bayahibe is a charming fishing village booming with tourism industry attractions. Unlike the more popular and party-focused Punta Cana, the La Romana area adopts a slower pace and attracts mostly European and Canadian families. We chose to stay at the Oasis Canoa because it offered the best bargains for our family of four as well as easy access to nature preserves and excursions into the surrounding towns. We not only lounged on beaches but we talked and ate with Dominicans and Haitians, bartered with vendors and got up close to snakes, crabs and turtles.




The cultural immersion started as soon as we stepped off the plane. The La Romana area is almost two hours away from the Santo Domingo airport so we booked a local transport company for the transfer to the hotel. I coaxed my husband, son and daughter into brushing up on their Spanish and that opened the door for lots of experiences. Our driver didn't speak much English but we managed to communicate and were rewarded with a tour through major league baseball player Sammy Sosa's hometown and a stop at a craft emporium filled with vibrant carvings and paintings. We walked by the whizzing motor bikes that everybody seems to drive and sipped coconut water from fruit plucked from nearby trees. My son was invited to join in a local baseball game and we were all greeted as long lost compadres.