NOTE: This tour is designed for a minimum of 6 guests and is completely customizable.
Trip Highlights:
- Lectures and presentations by individuals internationally respected and at the top of their fields
- Travel from the Caribbean Sea on the South Coast to the Atlantic Ocean on the North Coast
- Overnights in Santo Domingo, Santiago, San Jose de las Matas and Cabarete Beach
- Stay in the historic Colonial Zone
- Visit to the National Anthropological Museum and the Folklore Museum
- Visit to the ruins of the Engombe Sugar Mill
- Exploration of the Pomier Caves Anthropological Reserve
- Visit to the Centro Leon Cultural Center and the Leon Jimenez Cigar Factory
- Remote Beach Bonfire Dinner
- Witness a Vudu Ceremony
- Full Day Giant Catamaran Sail with Snorkeling
- Most meals included
Tour Itinerary:
Day 1: Group Airport pickup at Las Americas Airport (SDQ). Orientation. Dinner at La Atarazana. Accommodation Santo Domingo (3-star).
Day 2: Music of the Caribbean. Breakfast. Workshop/Presentation with Bernardo Matías, Socio-cultural Anthropologist and specialist in Dominican-Haitian Relations and Afro-Caribbean and Latin American Cultures, and Brotherhood of the Congos of the Holy Spirit of Villa Mella, drumming and oral folklore organization declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage for Humanity. "Music, Dance & Song in the Caribbean" Taino Burial at Museum of Dominican Man. Independent Lunch.
Visit to Anthropological Museo del Hombre Dominicano. Founded in 1973, the Museo del Hombre Dominicano serves as a center for continuous anthropological, archaeological, ethnographic and folkloric investigation of pre-Columbian heritage. The Museum features excellent collections and displays of Taino, African and Carnival artifacts. Welcome by Juan Rodriguez, Deputy Director of the Museo del Hombre Dominicano.
Independent Walking Tour of the Colonial Zone. The Zona Colonial was designated a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO. Rather than a guide listing dates and events, recreate the past and bring life to the old ruins independently with a special walking tour designed by one of our Trip Leaders. From Las Atarazanas, the shipyard, to the Count's Gate at the Fortaleza de la Concepción, our tour will visit the most important historical points of interest, including the First Cathedral, Casa de Colón, the Museum of the Royal House, Gate to the First Cathedral in the Colonial Zone, Calle de las Damas, Chapel of Remedies, Residence of Governor Nicolas Ovando, National Pantheon, Fortaleza del Ozama, the ruins of the Franciscan Monastery and the Hospital of San Nicolás de Bari. Dinner at Meson de Luis. Accommodations Santo Domingo (3-star).
Day 3: Breakfast. Visit to Engombe Sugar Cane Mill Restoration/Ruins, 16th Century. Dating back to the 16th century, the Engombe Sugar Mill was one of the firsts on the island of Hispaniola. Located on the banks of the River Haina, within the boundaries of Santo Domingo, the mill grounds are magnificent and currently maintained by the agricultural division of the U.A.S.D. (Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo). Although little remains of the mill, known as a trapiche - powered by oxen - the church has been restored and the owners mansion, while roofless, is in relatively good shape.
Visit to Pomier Caves Anthropological Reserve. The Reserve, 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 than 6000 recorded pictographs and around 500 petroglyphs pertaining to several distinct indigenous populations, the Cuevas de Pomier are, in terms of 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 morning 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. Street vendors. Independent lunch. Free time on Najayo beach. Dinner. Accommodation Santo Domingo (3-star).
Day 4: Breakfast in the hotel. Workshop/Presentation with Martha Ellen Davis, anthropologist, ethnomusicologist and adviser and researcher in oral history for the Dominican National Archives. She also maintains an honorary faculty appointment at the University of Florida. "Sacred Songs and Pilgrimages and their African Roots". Independent lunch. Workshop/Presentation with Irka Mateo, artist an indigenous peoples specialist. "Messiahnism and San Juan de la Maguana: The Cult of Liborio Mateo". Dinner. Accommodation Santo Domingo (3-star).
Day 5: Breakfast in the hotel. Transfer to Santiago (3 hours). Independent lunch. Workshop/Presentation with Luis Felipe Rodgriguez, Outreach and Communications Manager of the Centro Leon Cultural Center. "The Roots of Regatton". Dinner in the Monument Area. Hang-out at the Monument. Face of the backcountry. Accommodation Santiago (3-star).
Day 6: Breakfast in the hotel. Workshop/Presentation with Kimberly Simmons, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and African American Studies at University of South Carolina Columbia. "Afro-Dominican Culture and the Cultural Construction and Performance of Identities". Independent lunch. Visit to Folklore Museum. Visit to Hospedaje Public Market. Dinner. Latin Jazz at 27 Tablas. Accommodation Santiago (3-star).
Day 7: Breakfast in the hotel. Visit/Tour of Centro Leon Cultural Center. Seeking to develop the collective creativity through the investigation, protection and exhibition of artistic and cultural works, the Cultural Center is quickly on its way to becoming the single most important institution towards these means in the Caribbean. Housing not only the winning works of the Eduardo Leon Jimenez Art Contest since 1964, the Center is the Dominican Republic's premier facility dedicated to cultural anthropology and history with modern multimedia and interactive exhibits. The Cultural Center is hailed as containing the best of the Nation's five national museums under one roof.
Independent lunch. Presentation/Lecture with Carlos Andujar, Director of Anthropology, Centro Leon. "The African Presence in Dominican Society: Findings and Fiction". Dinner. Accommodation Santiago (3-star).
Day 8: Breakfast in hotel. Morning free to explore Santiago. Lunch. Transfer to San José de las Matas (1.5 hours). Workshop/Presentation with Ricardo Torribio, Artist-in-Life. Ricardo Toribio is one of the Dominican's most important young artists having won first place in the distinguished Leon Jimenez Paint Contest in 1996 among other honors. His principle medium is paint on large canvas, and his work served as the backdrop at the 2005 Dominican Republic Jazz Festival. It seems a strange way to start out a description of a workshop leader, but Ricardo is also an accomplished poet and singer. The man knows music because he feels it…the same way he feels art and is able to produce it. Ricardo will serve as more of a workshop coordinator than leader as he bridges us to music, art and life in the remote countryside of the Central Mountain range: the birthplace of Bachata. Ricardo's studio and home are located in the mountain town of San Jose de Las Matas where he offers art and music classes to the back country poor. He also has a music and dance group, "La Parcelita" with whom he occasionally performs.
We will gather at Ricardo's home for a unique and intimate glimpse of his life and the music and art he loves. Dinner at Centro Los Montones de Plan Sierra. Accommodation Centro Los Motones de Plan Sierra (bunkhouse/retreat).
Day 9: Breakfast in the retreat. Agriculture Tour of Plan Sierra Facility. Plan Sierra's facility at Los Montones, funded in part by the Kellogg Foundation, serves as an agricultural training camp for poor backcountry farmers. Farmers are instructed in sustainable and organic farming methods. Los Montones is truly a place where nature and humanity have found peace. Transfer to Cabarete (3 hours). Independent lunch. Remote Beach Bonfire Dinner.
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 we board a boat for a leisurely float down the Islabon and Yásica Rivers to their mouth at the Atlantic Ocean. Your dinner this evening is served on the beach, amongst the sand dunes and a roaring bonfire. Accommodation Cabarete (3-star).
Day 10: Breakfast in the hotel. Morning Free on Cabarete Beach. Independent lunch. Early Dinner at Cafécito. Vudú Ceremony in Batey Caraballo. It is no secret that Haitians embrace their African heritage with greater enthusiasm than their Dominican neighbors. We need not speak of "roots" when observing many Haitian spiritual customs as much of what we see appears to be blatantly and directly African. The destitute community of Caraballo, home to the Haitian migrant workers laboring in the adjacent sugar cane fields, is as close as one can come to finding popular Haitian culture without crossing the border. Community Leader - or as he introduces himself: "Leader of Music" — Ramoncito invites us as observing-guests to an evening community celebration of life and death. Accommodation Cabarete (3-star).
Day 11: Breakfast in the hotel. Giant Catamaran Sail with Snorkeling. Join us for a day of smooth downwind sailing exploring the remote coastal areas between Maimon Bay and Luperon. "Peace and Tranquility Rule" aboard the luxurious and spacious 24-meter Tip Top with 180m2 of roomy deck space. Start the day off right with a refreshing welcome drink and Caribbean rhythms soaking up the sun and magnificent landscapes on our way to an amazing coral head for snorkeling. An authentic Dominican feast awaits a little farther west on Cambiaso Beach. We'll have plenty of time to explore the serene community living in isolated tropical paradise, relax and swim before boarding the Tip Top for our final downwinder to the Luperon Yacht Club nestled among the mangroves in the naturally-formed harbor. Lunch on-board. Farewell Dinner at Pomodoro. Come back soon! Accommodation Cabarete (3-star).
Day 12: Breakfast in the hotel. Independent lunch. Group Airport drop-off (POP). Hotel departure at 1:00 p.m.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Price Excludes:
- Airfare,
- Airport transfers,
- Soft drinks, liquor,
- Sleeping bags and pads,
- Laundry,
- Medical expenses,
- Cost of hospitalization or evacuation from remote areas,
- Entry or departure taxes,
- Insurance, and gratuities for guides.
Notes: Activities listed as optional in an itinerary or service agreement generally require an additional fee. If the trip must be extended or itinerary modified due to causes beyond our control, all associated costs are not included. (In some cases, travel insurance may cover these costs.)
Also see tour packages in:
Central America and Caribbean
Dominican Republic
Cultural Journey
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