bahia de las aguilas

[harold]

What's the deal with bahia de las aguilas?
Have any of you guys been their? Is it worth protecting?
Can there be a compromise to this problem? How would this matter be handeled in the states?
What are the public opinions in DR about this matter?
I'm sure many could care less about the environment and more about jobs.

[El Jefe]

I lived in Cabo Rojo for several years. Bahia del las Aguilas is just to the south of the cape. It is an area of beauty. The waters are clear blue with some reefs. The water life includes barracuda, sand sharks, hammerheads, capitans (a larrge pink flounder), grouper, sea tortoises, and much more. In the 60s, we went spearfishing there. To the south isIsla Beata. formerly a prison colony, it was inhabited by a small enclave of folks who mainly were fishermenn. There was a large number of wild goats. the coastline of the Bay is beautiful sand beaches. Just inland is what we referred to as jagged coral. There were few roads and were on ly driveable by pickups, preferably 4 wheel drive. It is my understanding that it is little changed from when I used to roam the area.

Is it worth keeping pristine? Yes! If there are to be hotels built they should be between Cabo Rojo and Pedernales, to the north and should be kept on the smaller size. Access should be limited to the Park, ie no hotels, ccamping etc. Eco Tours would be the best thing. The population in the area cannot support mega resorts. there would have to be a lot of infrastructure built to support resorts and people would have to be bvrought in from other parts of the island to work.

In the States you would have environmentalists protesting and blocking access. there would be court fights.

This is an area of the DR I am considering retiring to. I would like to see some improvements but not big resorts.

[RedrumXIII]

Can anyone recommend the best way to go about seeing the Bahia? Any smaller hotels an hour or so away to go on day trips to La Bahia etc?

Thanks in advance.

Edwin

[Porfio_Rubirosa]

Try the ApartHotel Punta Vedra on the coastal highway between Barahona and Paraiso (with beach and pool), or the (cheaper) Hotel Paraiso in Paraiso.

[El Jefe]

Someone wrote me once that there is a small but nice hotel on the beach in Pedernales. Don't know if it is still there.

[Drake]

This area should be preserved at all costs. It's the last part of the DR that could be described as true Tropical paradise. I have been there on a few occasions and it brings back memories of how the East coast used to be before it was developed. Though there are less palm trees in Bahia de las Aguilas.

What ever happened to the giant turtles we used to see in Palenque? or the dozens of dolphins in Salinas. Sometimes I think that this country is going backwards with all the tourist development, as the environment is not a priority. We used to camp in the early Seventies on the then super remote beaches of the east coast. I can remember seeing giant stingrays, sharks, octopus’s, barracudas and endless coral banks. On the beaches you could also see hundreds of giant crabs. Where are they now? In 20 years these areas are but a shadow of what they used to be. Roads, hotels on the beaches, sewage, deforestation, garbage ect.. have transformed these once virgin regions into urban commodities. That have made a few people very rich at the cost of the environment. I ask; what is progress?