Advise on SD & Parceo Nacional del Este???

Voyager said:

Buenas!

I will go for my 6th (or something; I have lost track) visit to Dominican Republic in August. Will spend a few days on Santo Domingo to visit friends and see if I can buy an English newspaper this time...

Any new Jazz clubs in the capital?

AND THEN: I want to go to Parceo Nacional del Este!

The reason is that I love jungles! I have been to Taman Negara National Park in Malaysia and to a center for research on orangutans in the Sumatran rainforest. I love the steaming heat, my sweaty shirt clinging to my body (do sweaty shirts cling?), the sounds of the night creatures when I sleep in the open and the cool morning swim in a jungle river...

Can I find anything of this in Parceo Nacional del Este? Except for the orangutans, of course...

Any other advise on rainforest in DR?

Only problem is that my DR lady does not share my enthusiasm for roughing it in steamy jungles...

Click to expand...

You'll find Jungles in Parque Nacional del Este (notice the correct spelling). The jungles are officially classified as Dry Tropical Forest, it all looks like a regular jungle to me though. Other places that might be of interest to you would be Parque Nacional Los Haitises and Parque Nacional Armando Bermudez. Also, Parque Nacional Sierra de Bahoruco. Keep in mind that the parks I mentioned here are only a handful of the 15 to 20 National Parks on the island and they are scattered all about, so don't plan to visit Del Este and Bahoruco in one trip, because the distances are so long.

Most of the wildlife consist of rodents, exotic birds, and introduced mammals (like wild boars, etc.). The flora is very diverse and quite nice and yes, it is very humid in those park, especially in Los Haitises. Take lots of bottles of water to prevent dehydration. Take winter clothing if you are going to Armando Bermudez since much of the park is above 3,000 feet from sea level and have stupendous mountain views with jagged peaks and the like.