DOMINICAN'TOUCH THIS!

Trip Highlights

• See the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in one trip!
• Spelunking in the Cuevas de Pomier Anthropological Reserve!
• Yasica River exploration!
• See elusive Dominican animals, like the North American Crocodile!
• Dinner and bonfire on a remote beach!
• Canyoning!
• White Water Rafting!
• Giant Catamaran Day Sail!
• Stay in the Historic Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo!
• Stay in the Kiteboarding & Windsurfing Capitol of the World, Cabarete!
• 3*** and Luxury Condo Accommodations!
• Change your perspective on how good life can be!

Trip Descriptive Itinerary

Day 1: August 28, 2004 (Saturday)

• Airport Pickup.
• Check-in to hotel.
• River exploration to La Boca Beach Dinner & Bonfire.
  A short distance from the Laguna Cabarete & Goleta park office, on the banks of the Islabon River, Wilson Zapeta has a small ranch of wildlife in temporary captivity. Here we have the opportunity to see some of the Dominican Republic's more elusive wilderness creatures, such as the Carey Turtle, Boa Serpent, Tarantula, Rhinoceros Iguana, North American Crocodile, Turkey Vulture, Sparrow Hawk, and Mongoose. From there you board a boat for a leisurely float down the Wilson River to its mouth at the Atlantic Ocean. Your dinner this evening is served on the beach, amongst the sand dunes and a roaring bonfire.
• Accommodations @ Palm Beach Condos, Cabarete.

Day 2: August 29, 2004 (Sunday)

• National Park "El Choco" Hike and Solution Cave Visit
  The National Monument Laguna Cabarete y Goleta, locally known as the El Choco National Park, is one of the newest nationally protected areas in the country. After lunch on your own, you join a local Dominican guide and begin an exploration of its forty-eight square miles of lagoon, pasture and, low mountains, rainforest, and caves. This unique landscape, tectonically, as opposed to volcanically formed, is known as Caribbean Karst. Escarpments of towering coral reefs are found miles inland from the present sea shore. The mountains are predominately limestone and, due to their porous nature, serve as giant subterranean reservoirs that provide water to a complex web of lush plant, animal and human populations within and near the park. Your 3-hour hike will also be a treasure hunt in search of edible tropical plants, such as the Mango, Passion Fruit, grapefruit, Sour Orange, Guava, Pineapple, Mamón, Lime, Coconut Palm, Almond, Banana, and plantain. Many other plants have been used by the indigenous people as medicines, building materials or for other purposes. Royal Palm, Jabilla, Cerva, Sour Cane, and Higuero are abundant here and your guide will explain how these have been, and still are, used. The Vervain Hummingbird (Mellisuga Mínima in Spanish), the second smallest humming bird in the world may also be found here. Keep your eyes open, and we will see how lucky we get!
• Typical Dominican Lunch at El Tigre (in the 'hood)
• Community Service Project with the DREAM Project (Dominican Republic Education and Mentoring Project)
• Dinner on Cabarete Beach at Lax.
• Accommodations @ Palm Beach Condos

Day 3: August 30, 2004 (Monday)

• Transport to top of Septentrional Mountain Range.
• Full Day Canyoning.
  Rappel down a 50 meter waterfall to enjoy challenging jumps from as high as 12 meters. Includes professional guides, refreshments and fruit, equipment, a day of guaranteed adventure, and roundtrip transportation. Rating: Intermediate-Advance hikers looking for an intense experience. Swimmers only.
• Accommodations @ Palm Beach Condos, Cabarete.

Day 4: August 31, 2004 (Tuesday)

• Giant Catamaran Sail.
  A day of sailing along the North Coat from Puerto Plata to Sosua and back enjoying the views, Caribbean music, and friends on a giant Catamaran. Includes light morning snack, juice and national beverages, lunch, snorkeling gear for the reefs, and roundtrip transportation. Rating: All levels.
• Accommodations @ Palm Beach Condos, Cabarete

Day 5: September 1, 2004 (Wednesday)

• Transport to Jarabacoa, Central Mountain Range.
• White Water Rafting, Class III.
  A beautiful adventure in breath-taking surroundings. The Yaque del Norte river is the longest in the DR, and offers fantastic rapids, demanding technical stretches, a narrow canyon, and adrenalizing drops. Rapids are soft and gentle in the beginning allowing enough time to learn skills and commands. The second part offers rafting at its best with awesome drops, like Mike Tyson and the Mother-in-Law. Includes roundtrip transportation, boat, equipment, guides, instruction, light breakfast, and lunch. Rating: Class III. Swimmers only.
• Buffet lunch at Rancho Baiguate.
• Transport to Santo Domingo
• Check-in to hotel.
• Accommodations @ Hotel Mercure Comercial, Santo Domingo

Day 6: September 2, 2004 (Thursday)

• Breakfast in the hotel.
• Exploration of Cuevas de Pomier Anthroplogical Reserve.
  Cuevas de Pomiér Anthropological Reserve which is located about an hour's drive west of Santo Domingo on the outskirts of San Cristobal is the only region in the country specifically designated for the protection of a subterranean ecosystem and it is the single most important pre-Columbian site in the Caribbean. With more 6000 recorded pictographs and around 500 petroglyphs pertaining to several distinct indigenous populations, the Cuevas de Pomier are, in anthropological importance, for the Caribbean what the Pyramids of Giza are for Egypt and the Altamira and Lascaux Caves are for Europe. Cave Number One has 590 pictographs; more than are found in all other locations in the Minor Antilles put together. We spend the afternoon exploring this cave which provides insights into the Pre-Columbian origins of humans in the Caribbean with Dominican environmental activist, journalist and Espeleogrupo Santo Domingo President, Domingo Abreu.
• Picnic Lunch at Pomier.
• Transport to Santo Domingo.
• Farewell Dinner at Meson de la Cava.
• Accommodations @ Hotel Mercure Comercial, Santo Domingo.

Day 7: September 3, 2004 (Friday)

• Breakfast in the hotel.
• Shopping at the Mercado Modelo
  After breakfast in the hotel, we will take a short walk to the Mercado Modelo on the northern end of the Zona Colonial. This public market is similar to a miniature Bazaar, Caribbean-style, full of Dominican and Haitian handicrafts, paintings, music, instruments, and fruits and vegetables. At one of the botanicos, religious and spiritual supply shops, we can also pick up a good luck perfume or a potion to ward off the menacing spirit of your spouse's great grandmother.
• Airport Drop-off.

Dates

August 28-September 3, 2004

CONTACT THE KOA LEADERS FOR MORE INFORMATION