We drove to Miches yesterday and it is a beautiful and scenic drive, perfect for a day out. Once you get past Uvero Alto the attractive hilly landscape and lack of garish billboards and large scale commercial development makes a change from the flat topography of the southern part of the eastern region, with unspoiled rural scenes in the small settlements along the way.
It took one hour or so from Punta Cana.
Places to eat in Miches include Coco Loco right on the beach. High quality seafood for reasonable prices, but the restaurant was understaffed so service was not perfect. They seemed unprepared for the influx of customers from Punta Cana and La Romana who like us, were trying out the new road on a beautiful sunny day. One table was made up of a large group of Harley Davidson bikers from PC and La Romana. Lovely setting and clean bathroom facilities. They also rent out caba?as.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cocoloco-Beach-Club/297069907168141
Other places to eat are Rancho La Cueva about 12 km before Miches and La Loma, the hotel on top of the hill in the town of Miches.
In Miches, ask for directions to "la casa de Cayuco" - nickname of Genaro Reyes, a local craftsman who runs a project for children and young people in the area. We were treated to a demonstration and allowed to take part in the process of artisanal cacao preparation from plant to pods to beans to drinking chocolate, and invited to browse around a large display of his wood craft creations.
Genaro Reyes! Cayuco
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Centro-Cultural-De-Miches-Cayuco/199220546819787