Cabarete
Cabarete is a small town on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. It belongs to the province of Puerto Plata and lies about 40 km east of the city of Puerto Plata. Cabarete fame as Caribbean water sports center.
Foundation
One gets sometimes the information that the place Cabarete was founded in 1835 under the name of "Cabaret " by a slave owner named Zephaniah Kingsley from Florida, the very vast lands ( 35,000 acres, representing about 14,000 hectares) in the north of the Dominican Republic bought after he by law no "black" women could have more in the U.S.. He is said to have had four women, including a thirteen- year-old " black woman " named Anna Kingsley, as well as 53 slaves. Exact sources for verification are not known.
Likewise is passed often that Cabarete has been discovered as a meeting point for surfers in 1984 by a wind surfer named Jean Laporte in Canada, passed on the information about the excellent surf conditions in the bay of the hitherto small and insignificant fishing village to U.S. and Canadian Wind Surf Magazine, whereupon here very quickly a surfer community formed. Over time, other shops, banks and since the late nineties kitesurfing schools gathered on a narrow band along the beach more and more wind surf schools and restaurants, later.
Location
Cabarete is located about 25 km east of the international airport of Puerto Plata directly at the " Autopista 5", which runs parallel to the main coastal road between Puerto Plata and Rio San Juan. Since only a few meters behind two lagoons extend ( Laguna de Cabarete, Laguna de Goleta ), the road has a bottleneck character in the center of Cabarete. The lagoons are a nature reserve and therefore not accessible for tourists.
The infrastructure for water sports
Cabarete is considered the best spot for windsurfers, kite surfers, wakeboarders and surfers in the Caribbean. It will be hosted there WorldCup races regularly, for example, the Kitesurfing World Cup ( Copa Mundial kitesurfing ). Once a year, one chooses in Cabarete the master of the ocean, lasting several days in a competition from the sports of windsurfing, kitesurfing and surfing. Since July 2006, will also find the Cabarete Classic held that the categories " Slalom " and " Freestyle" includes windsurfing.
The Windsurfer you meet at the main beach, which is located right on the center. There are several surf schools are under German and French management.
Kitesurfers are about 1 kilometer west to find the kite beach. There are a number of kitesurfing schools. The estuary of the Río Yasica, called " La Boca " ( at the eastern end of Cabarete ) is through the shallow water and the wind from the sea ideal for kite surfing. This is recommended only for experienced riders but because the conditions require the highest technical demands on site.
Surfer ( surfers ) we are at the Playa Encuentro, about 5 kilometers west of Cabarete. There are three schools where you can learn to surf.
Wakeboarder can be found at the mouth of the River Yasica, called " La Boca ". The spot is clean and free of unpleasant flora and fauna. It is ideal for wakeboarding, as it winds its way approximately one meter depth through the tropical landscape and thus is smooth as glass even in windy conditions.
Cabarete is a world -class spot for all four sports. The have now not only made numerous professional film crews advantage.
Tourism
In addition to the surf freaks traveling Canadian and U.S. tourists and Europeans to Cabarete. The place has for the surfer rides a youthful, hip ' image. Besides water sports can be in Cabarete activities such as mountain biking, take horseback riding (on the beach or in the mountains ), diving, golf, paintball, canyoning. The infrastructure of the small town ( about 10,000 inhabitants ) is good, there are many restaurants, bars and nightclubs right on the beach and a lot of internet cafes and well-stocked surf shops.
Called both on the main beach of Cabarete as well as at the mouth of the Río Yasica ( Access via, Camino del Sol 'or' Jardín deportivo '), " La Boca ", you meet especially Sundays tourists and local weekend tourists from Santiago de los Caballeros, the about 70 kilometers away, the second largest city in the Dominican Republic.
Dark side of tourism
Since about 2005, built right on the beach of Cabarete many apartments in small closed resorts and sold at prices of usually around 250,000 to 500,000 U.S. $. Customers are often North Americans, Russians and Dominicans (mostly from Santiago de los Caballeros ). For much of the original infrastructure has to give.
By law 256-97, although it is prohibited in the province of Puerto Plata to build buildings with more than three floors. Some of the z.T. still under construction, z.T. However, already completed condo projects have four floors. Surf schools complain that the wind is diverted by the ever higher and closed construction right on the beach. The wind was the main capital of Cabarete in the past.
Also, many fear that Cabarete has become more and more converts from the idyllic surfer town with a very high proportion of indigenous population to resort to some rich man, where it is not possible for financial reasons, for most locals to hold property or to purchase.
Nature Park " El Choco " and " the caves of Cabarete "
Approx. one and a half kilometers from the center of Cabarete ( Driving across the street " Callejón de la Loma " ) on the edge of the nature reserve " El Choco " are underground caves where you can swim. In addition to the four touristy there are more up to 700 meters long caves that are not used for tourism.
Others
On February 6, 1996, a Boeing 757-225 of Turkish airline Birgenair crashed on the way to Frankfurt shortly after the start in Puerto Plata through an instrument failure due to a maintenance error before Cabarete from the sea ( Birgenair Flight 301) and all 189 people on board died.