...what you see is what you get.
I finally made it out to the sulfur spring in Canoa and wanted to share my experience. THIS is the place that all the tourism/investment noise was made about, where Italians were (are?) going to build a resort/spa with multiple tennis courts.
A bumpy dirt road that goes through the poorest neighborhood, past the cemetery, and through the desert-like terrain will take you here. Just ask anyone in the community where it is.
Unfortunately, the place is not maintained at all. It's too bad that the Ayuntamiento there can't step up to make this place into a nice little tourist stop while the government and Italians shuffle some more papers and pass a few things under the table. It is surrounded by litter and other lovely presents left behind by bathers as there are no bathrooms. Unless you are in the water, the mosquitoes will eat you alive. Bring repellent!
I had never been to a sulfur spring, and wanted to take advantage of whatever properties it is supposed to have for your skin, so I got in. It was nice and warm. I would say hot, but not too hot by the standards of a someone who enjoys a hot shower. There wasn't any trash in the pool, and the water was moving in and out, giving me the impression that at least that part was clean. It did indeed reek of "rotten eggs" and there was some slimy stuff that looked like it was right out of
Ghost Busters coating the rocks, but I noticed an improvement in my skin over the next week.
There were a few locals also bathing there. They said the pool used to be a lot bigger, but got washed out during the tropical storms of 07. There is supposed to be some great underground network of springs, which the locals claim the Italians have mapped out and are confident they can tap into to make this brackish hole in the desert into a lush resort/spa.
The sulphur spring is popular with folks with skin and health problems around the area, as well as with the locals from Canoa during the "cold" December holidays, when supposedly it is so packed people have to take turns to get in. It's also a hit with brujas and folks that are into brujeria, who frequent the place on Tuesdays and especially if a Tuesday falls on the 13th (kind of like Friday the 13th). They take back bottles of the water to do their stuff.
So, whether you're a bruja, have a dermatological issue or just have an hour to spare on your trip between Barahona and Santo Domingo, the sulfur spring in Canoa awaits you.
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