The Interesting and Little Known Things about The Dominican Republic

Railways

Did you even know there are train tracks here in the Dominican Republic?
Most of the tracks originally built were narrow gauge plantation trains but two railways were also built for transporting cargo and passengers.

An English built line was inaugurated in 1886 that ran from La Vega to Sanchez. It cost 2 million US dollars even then and was 62 miles long.  Even today you can still see the old station that stands in Sanchez and the old steam loading gear on the rotten pier as a sad reminder of greater days.

The Germans also built a line from Santiago to Puerto Plata which was 42 miles long, it took 8 hours to travel and went through the only tunnel built in Altamira.  These days you can still pass through the same tunnel on your journey to Santiago or vice versa to Puerto Plata but now the main highway runs straight through the tunnel. The coal fired locomotive used to pull a comfortable saloon and two cargo cars on its slow trail through the mountains.  The rail crossed the Bajabonica River near Imbert on the north coast, you can still see half the bridge here, then went from San Marcos and directly to Puerto Plata Harbor where the cast iron station was at one time restored.  Unfortunately Dictator Trujillo took such a liking to this train that he moved the whole thing to Haina where he re-assembled it on “his own” sugar cane plantations, along with various other acquisitions that he had gathered through-out his reign to use in his Cuidad Trujillo. 

Even on the north coast Sosua had its own railway network.  It was built by the United Fruit Company to transport their bananas down to the bay for exportation.   This was even before the time of the Jewish settlers in Sosua.  If you walk down to the parking lot by the beach the stone pillars you see emerging from the ocean are the only relics now left of the dock.

At one time again on the north coast there was a sugar train that ran all the way through Playa Dorada (before it became a 14 hotel mega complex) and ended at Playa Bergantin.  The sugar was processed right on site and again you can see parts of the old dock left emerging from the ocean. To find Playa Bergantin walk towards the airport along the main Playa Dorada beach – it will take you about 20 mins and it is worth the walk as the beach is simply beautiful. This is a definite off the beaten track beach and gets you away from mainstream tourists, with a few bars and shacks it’s a brilliant 20 minute getaway, for peace, cold beers and soaking up the sun (you can still see your hotel in Playa Dorada but feel like you are a million miles away).

A train line was also put in from Manzanillo the deep water harbor which is south of Montecristi and ran almost all the way to Guayubin at the start of the Yaque del Norte River. Still running today though in the valley behind Barahona is an extensive network of trains for hauling sugar, as well as a line running south of Laguna Rincon to a bauxite deposit between Lemba and Angostora.

Near to the Palenque Lighthouse there is a train track that runs inland to Nizao.  From San Cristobal and Haina there are rails that run inland as far as Sabana Grande on the south side of Samana Bay.

The largest railway which is still in use today is operated by the Central Romana Company for hauling sugar cane.  It runs nearly all the way from Higuey to El Siebo and even now there is a basic but working passenger train.  If you are driving through this particular stretch of countryside and can’t cross the road as the train is crossing – be prepared for a wait.  It’s a slow amble as the dusty carts trundle past, packed to overflowing with cane.  A spectacle trapped in time almost.

It is a shame and pity that these railways are not maintained or used for passengers today as there is no better way to appreciate the countryside in the Dominican Republic than a romantic leisurely train ride – one day maybe who knows…………………………….

The Underwater Telephone Cable

Up until only recently (last 10 yrs lets say) with the advent of satellites, the only telephone connection for the whole island chain through out the Caribbean was one cable the thickness of your arm running all the way from Florida in the United States!  This cable with its 450 frequencies is still in use and originated from Key Biscayne just south of Miami.

The cable crosses over and down right through the Bahamas, then to nearby Turks and Caicos Islands, across uninhabited Sand Key and hangs free below water above the 13,000 foot deep ocean floor to reach the Bay of Maimon just west of Puerto Plata.   From there it runs overland to Sabana de la Mar then back into the ocean again, crossing the Mona Passage (deepest and most treacherous stretch of ocean in the world) back over to Desecheo Rock and Mayaguez on Puerto Rico’s west coast.   It then continues its windy journey in and out and back and forth across the ocean all the way to Antigua.

This cable dating back to the 1930’s used to require the full time assistance of a maintenance ship, servicing the cable along the Caribbean’s island chain. 

The Mystery of the Lighthouse Monument

Never a stranger but true story has been told about this monument that stands still in Santo Domingo.
Back in 1929 the Pan American Union organized a great architectural competition to find a design for a lighthouse monument dedicated to the memory of Christopher Columbus to be built in Santo Domingo.
A total of 455 designs were sent in by over 1,926 architects from across the globe, 48 different countries.  A couple of the designs never even reached their destination; two go stuck in the frozen Baltic Sea while another from Rhodesia got waylaid in a railway workers strike in South Africa!

The winner of the competition was an unknown British architecture student called Joseph Gleave aged 23 (no other great building has since been accredited to his name).

During the time Dictator Trujillo had given the project his full backing, but even so the project seemed cursed right from the beginning.

In a brainwave to raise funds for the project a fleet of four planes were dispatched to visit 26 countries all bearing a fundraising letter from Trujillo.  The planes were called the Colon, the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria.  Everything was going fine until the fleet reached the one land carrying Columbus’s name, where the three planes named for his fleet disappeared in a thunder storm.  Spookily only the Colon survived.

Despite this tragedy the project went ahead with Trujillo deciding to excavate the proposed site using atomic energy.  It was peacetime in 1948 but Trujillo wanted a spectacular start to the project. So thirty sticks of dynamite were put in place and also blessed by a blind archbishop.  During the preparations a professor from Puerto Rico was testing the dials of the Geiger counter when he unfortunately made contact and the entire project went up with a huge bang!

Poor student architect Joseph Gleave eventually returned back to England saddened and frustrated after twenty years of waiting for nothing.  He died before his monument was ever erected in 1992 for the Quincentennial celebrations of the discovery of the Americas.

The Lighthouse Monument can be seen today on the malecon in the capital city of Santo Domingo, it is a cause of great controversy, over the money it cost in the end to build.  Like it or hate it, it stands silently with its great laser light shining in the sky…………………….

German Submarines

That old devil Trujillo had been up to his tricks again, whilst Trujillo declared war at one point against Hitler, he also managed to destroy a German sub with one of his modified fighter ships off the coast of Samana, it was also rumored that he gave Hitler a helping hand from now and then, even though in the face of it 27 Dominican sailors died on ships sank by torpedoes launched from German subs.

German submarines were pretty common place at the time as they used to regularly cruise these waters hoping to destroy American supply ships on their way to Europe. The submarines would pick up fuel and ammunition from secretly stationed supply freighters out on the ocean.   However meat and fresh produce was more difficult to get hold of and would not keep all the way from Europe so the German subs also arranged for produce to be brought to them from inside the Dominican Republic.  One possible pick up point was Las Salinas just west of Santo Domingo; another confirmed definite point was Playa Grande on the north coast of the Dom Rep.  Due to the 4000 meters of deep water surrounding Playa Grande it was easy for a U-Boat to arrive unannounced at night, come up right by the shore, receive supplies and then be gone by dawn.

There are still rumors around to this day that German accomplices living on the island assisted in these covert operations including a German photographer who used to have a studio on Calle Beller in Puerto Plata and also a local German shirt-maker who also lived in the city of Puerto Plata.

You could also say that it was the German Submarines who indirectly introduced football to the Dominican Republic! The Germans sank an English supply ship just off Cabarete on the north coast leaving the English crew stranded on this tropical isle, with nothing much else to do apart from to wait to be rescued can you blame them for teaching the local lads how to kick a ball around and enlighten the local youths in the rules of football? With nothing else to do for a couple of months football became quite the pastime, the crew was finally rescued after a rescue team finally managed to break through one of the blockades to take them back to English waters.

Mining

Up until 1983, mining for gold in the Dominican Republic was the number one foreign currency earner until tourism took over. The state open was producing up to the value of 450 million dollars worth. Gold mines are still in operation near Miches, Villa Altragracia which is between the Sierra and Central Mountains.

Nickel is mined in the Bonao region by the Canadian owned company Falconbridge. 

Bauxite deposits exist and are mined in and around Barahona using the railway system mentioned before, the processing and melting is then done in Texas.

Other minerals and metals mined here include a travertine deposit found near Azua and Barahona, Gypsum and stone salt can be found also in Barahona.  At the eastern end of Samana is the marble mine and near Sanchez are brown coal deposits.

(For amber and larimar see the General Information on The Real DR).

Did you know all this?

• The world’s greatest drop in altitude is here, between the top of Pico Duarte and the Milwaukee Depth just north of Samana – 12,000meter drop (40,000feet) over a 300 km distance.
• The first monumental building of the Caribbean is on this island, Hispaniola.  The monument is La Citadel La Ferriere and is the Eighth Wonder of The World.  It cost some 20,000 lives to build.
• There may be a magnetic point near Barahona!
• Paso Fino horses are bred here for export.
• In 1801, Napoleon sent 79 battleships to St.Domingue.  After the Atlantic crossing they reunited in the Bay of Samana.
• The Dominican Republic is 10% larger than Denmark.
• Trujillo’s troops killed 28,000 Haitians to lighten up the race.  He was even a little dark for his own taste and would put on white face powder every morning.
• Being “embarasada” is not embarrassing – it’s pregnant!
• The first peace treaty between a European power and an Indian Tribe was made, in 1530 between Germany’s Charles V and the famous Taino Chief Enriquillo.
• The first North-South American Airmail service was flown with amphibious planes by Pan Am in 1923, routed from Key West via the river-mouth of San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic to Caracas, Venezuela.
• The little berries clustered around the top of the ornamental palm tree, which looks like a dwarf Royal palm, are necessary to produce the deadly Napalm bomb.
• Many words are derived from the Taino Indians who once inhabited the Dominican Republic including, bacon from the word boucan, hurricane and also hammock, canoe etc.
• An extraction from the Mazanillo plant from the mangroves is a form of cancer treatment (Eoteinascidina-743) grown in the Dom Rep.
• Jugo de China is not juice from a china-man; it is in fact orange juice!
• If you are staying on the north coast and wander down to the harbor in Puerto Plata the wreck parts sticking our of the harbor entrance are from the Guatemalan freighter called Tikal, in 1975.

Famous & Film Facts about the Dominican Republic

• The Cuban scenes of the Godfather II were filmed in the capital of Santo Domingo especially on the sea front or Malecon.
• Parts of the Sylvester Stallone film, Rambo, First Blood, were filmed here on the riverbanks of The Chavon in Caso de Campo in 1982.
• Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley got married in Altos de Chavon in 1994, lasting just 20 months the couple later filed for divorce – strange that!
• Talking of which you can get a legal divorce in 24 hours here as did Elizabeth Taylor at one time!
• The opening scenes from Jurassic Park were filmed at the great waterfall in El Limon.
• Havana, starring Robert Redford was mostly filmed in Santo Domingo and did you know that Mr. Redford will only drink the Dominican beer Presidente!
• Errol Flynn loved the Dominican Republic so much he made a pirate movie here in 1950.
• The teenage love comedy movie called Love Wrecked was filmed here in 2005 starring Amanda Byrnes and Chris Carmack.                   
• World famous fashion designer Oscar de la Renta is Dominican.
•