Trip started in Santo Domingo, then Santiago for one night, returned to Santo Domingo for another night and then drove to Barahona. Took the Malecon in Santo Domingo straight towards San Cristobal. Drove through San Cristobal to get to the highway for the direction of Bani. Good 4 lane highway. Bani is a nice town. La Salinas has sand dunes and a Dominican Naval base. Salt production in La Salinas. Iguanas will cross the road there and are protected.
Drove through Bani to continue onto the highway for the trip further west. (Mango festival in Bani, supposedly 12 mangos for 50 pesos).
Next town is Azua when heading west, again drove through the town to continue the drive west.
Scenic ride, mountains and hills, friendly people. I give free rides to some Dominican Military and Police I see waiting for public transportation (Army, Navy, Marines and Polica Nacional I have had in my car).
The town of Barahona was quiet. There are a few hotels in this town. Probably a good idea to fill up the gas tank in Barahona and use the ATM machine to get cash if you are heading further west. Roads are in good condition and very scenic. Easy drive, I wouldn't recommend doing it at night. Paraiso and Los Patos are two towns further west. Fresh water cascades, streams and rivers can be seen from the road, with the water traveling down from the nearby mountain.
Wild ferret crossed the road in front of my car further west, before the desert type road that leads to Pedernales. Cattle graze along the side of the road in some places. Large wind turbines produce electricity on a large farm-like plot of land in Barahona Province.
I saw the turn off for the hotel Rancho Platon (which has a water slide, river type rafting and tree house rooms), Barahona Province; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-CgNyC4ZhU.
Bought cashews from street guys near a speed bump, slow down area on the main road in Barahona Province. Cashews were good and ate them while driving.
Eventually arrived in Pedernales, southwest Dom Rep. Visited a few different small hotels there and chose the Hotel Doña Chava. 900 pesos per night (about $23US) with air-conditioning. http://www.donachava.com/
Haitian border was less than a five minute drive from this hotel. Pedernales has a beach and maybe one casa.
I will write a brief report about my visit to the Haitian town Anse-a-Pitres. Open border, friendly people on both sides of the border. Nice little towns, clean and tranquil.
Bookmarks