[berry]

Mirador - Your "recent review" appears to be almost four years old. I was there two days ago. The pool was great, meals were fine, and the staff were very friendly. We were a pretty low maintenance group so we didn't really challenge the staff except I did have some laundry done and my wife ordered several pina coladas. I bet they were amazed at our groups coffee consumption every morning. (The coffee was great! Ground by mortar and pestle) We did not have hot water but that didn't bother us because of the hot weather. We left very early before breakfast was out and they prepared some toast and fruit for our kids before we got on the road. The beach access is about a 1/2 mile walk. 1/4 mile to the highway and 1/4 mile along the road to the beach. You won't hang out on the beach below the hotel too much, but the closed resort is about another 1/2 mile west and it looked like you could walk to it from the public beach access.

After my short visit It seems that the following is necessary to enjoy the Barahona area: You need to be an adventerous traveller and enjoy the natural attractions the area offers and be willing to find them for yourself. You or someone with you must be able to speak Spanish. You must have transportation. And... are you ready Mirador?.....If you want to get into the ocean at most beaches you must be comfortable swimming in strong surf. Locals prefer swimming in the river swimming holes. There are plenty of those. San Raphael is a good one. (Even though we all swam in the ocean along with many locals because the river was packed) And El Quematillo (sp?) has a reef that blocks the surf with several little springs flowing out of the sand at the tide line, but not much shade.

I would not make the Barahona area a surf specific destination because the surf is not always good. The Bahoruco break is surfable on each side of the river mouth but not consistently. The Bahorucco beach is not one that non-surfers will enjoy unless you want to just walk and collect some larimar. (My wife found one piece and a local collecting white stones gave her another piece) If you are willing to drive and hike along the beach, you might find some other surf breaks.