| Baseball This is not only the national sport, but also a national obsession, and even the smallest communities have floodlit stadiums. The centre of the country’s baseball is the industrial seaport of San Pedro de Macoris. Many Dominican players go on to play in the US major leagues. Juan Marichal, whose pitching exploits for the San Francisco Giants landed him a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame, is now the country’s Director of Sports. The professional winter season runs from October to January. Visitors should ask local people or look in the local paper for schedules and the nearest game. Watersports
The opportunities for watersports in the Dominican Republic are excellent. Although some shores are rough and rocky, there are magnificent stretches of beach suitable for swimming. For scuba-diving and snorkelling enthusiasts, there is reef diving, good visibility, warm waters, wrecks, caverns and a rich marine life. Good dive  sites include Sosúa (near Puerto Plata); Cabrera (freshwater cave diving with an underground lake); Las Terrenas; the Samaná peninsula; Punta Rucia (good for coral diving); La Caleta National Underwater Park (accessible by boat from Boca Chica); Catalina and Saona islands (accessible by boat from La Romana); and Barahona (an area currently being developed for ecotourism). Experienced divers can also join the North Caribbean Research Group and participate in a government funded project to recover and remove artefacts from sunken ships, some dating back to the 16th century. Snorkelling and diving equipment can be borrowed or hired from dive operators and resort hotels. Small sailing craft are available through hotels in Santo Domingo and most other resorts in the country. Boat trips to the marine caves of the Gri Gri Lagoon near Sosúa are a popular tourist attraction. Hotels also organise charter boats for offshore fishing for marlin, sailfish, dorado, benittos and other game fish. River fishing in flat-bottomed boats with guides can be arranged at La Romana, Boca de Yuma and on the north coast. Windsurfing is particularly good at Sosuá, which also hosts the Professional Windsurfing Association World Cup. Adventure Sports
The Dominican Republic was quick to jump onto the adventure sports bandwagon and, hence, has well-developed facilities for the usual range of adrenalin-generating sports. Whitewater rafting is available on the Río Yaque del Norte in Jarabacoa. The best places for tubing, in which participants individually float down the rapids in oversized rubber tubes, are on the Río Jamao del Norte, the Río Yaque del Norte and the Río Isabela in Santo Domingo. Cascading involves climbing up to the top of a waterfall and rapelling down the cascade tied to a rope; the best places to do this are Cascada del Limón, Cascada Ojo de Agua, El Salto de Baiguate and El Salto de Jimenoa. Canyoning, which is cascading minus the rope (meaning that practitioners climb up a river gorge and then jump into the river below), is popular at La Madajagua in Imbert and the Jarabacoa area.
Trekking and hiking
The best places for trekking are Jarabacoa, the Constanza Valley, and the Nuevo Valley. Hiking and climbing enthusiasts may join the locals’ annual pilgrimage to the Caribbean’s highest mountain, the Pico Duarte (3210m/10,700ft), which they can conquer either on foot or by riding a mule. Similar tours can also be made at El Mogote, Mount Isabel de Torres, Pico Yaque and, in the southwest, the Sierra de Bahoruco.
Horse riding
Dominicans love horseriding and their country offers some of the best riding in the Caribbean. Regular polo games are held at Sierra Prieta in Santo Domingo and at Casa de Campo near La Romana, where guests can join in the twice-weekly competitions.
Golf
There are a number of golf clubs and golf courses on the island, many of which are bordered by the ocean on one side and the mountains on the other. Following on from the 42nd Caribbean Golf Championships, which were held in the Dominican Republic in 1998, the country continues to actively promote itself as a major international golf destination. Some of the best courses can be found at Casa de Campo, Dientes de Perro (Teeth of the Dog), Gran Diablo Links (the planned location for the country’s first Golf Academy) Playa Dorada (designed by Robert Trent Jones), La Romana Country Club, and Santo Domingo Country Club.
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Native Dominican cooking combines Spanish influences with local produce. Beef is expensive (Dominicans raise fine cattle, but most is exported) and local favourites are pork and goat meat. Locally produced beer and rums are cheaper than imported alcohol which tends to be expensive. There is plenty of fresh fish and seafood, island-grown tomatoes, lettuce, papaya, mangoes and passion fruit and all citrus fruits are delicious. Nightlife
Choice varies from a Las Vegas-style revue, discos and casinos to a quiet cafe by the sea in Santo Domingo. Hotels offer more traditional shows, including folk music and dancing. Popular dances are the merengue, played very loudly almost everywhere; bachata, which is becoming very popular in tourist hotspots; perico ripiao; and the salsa. The Malecón, Santo Domingo's seaside boulevard, is known for its nightlife. Concerts and other cultural events are often held at the Casa de Francia and Plaza de la Cultura in Santo Domingo, among other venues.
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Shopping
Best buys are products made on the island including amber jewellery and decorative pieces. These are a national speciality, some pieces encasing insects, leaves or dew drops within ancient petrified pine resin. Larimar or Dominican turquoise is another popular stone. Milky blue and polished pink pieces of conch shell are also made into jewellery. Rocking chairs, woodcarvings, macramé, pottery, Taino artefacts, Creole dolls, baskets, limestone carvings and CDs of salsa and merengue also make good buys. Bargaining is recommended. Shopping hours: Mon-Sat 0800-1200 and 1430-1830.
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Dominican Recreation
