I have now done a more thorough investigation in the Pto. Chiquito area, including talking to several of the local families, both Dominicans and foreigners. Evidently, the area has been very quiet for the last few years. There were some minor burglaries some years ago, but I guess this is normal anywhere, especially in a non-gated community like Pto. Chiquito. Most of the lots were sold for around 35 US Dollars back in the nineties, and today the lots are going for 60 Dollars and upwards. One of the latest house owners told me he had paid 80 US Dollars/M2 for his lot. I saw several large houses under construction and some in the process of renovation. The area is being used by groups of local and outside residents for jogging/exercising in the morning/afternoon, and I saw groups of local kids biking around in the area. One of the things I like about this area in addition to the breezy and relaxing environment, is the fact that you may build you own house there with your own maestro, which can take the building cost per M2 for a good quality construction down to 500 Dollars/M2, unlike some of the popular gated communities where the price/M2 sometimes exceeds 1000 M2 !! I guess this is the reason some of the middle class Dominican families have built huge residences in the area. I also met with one of the former owners of Hotel Sand Castle. He told me a large part of Pto. Chiquito, the part that belonged to a major bank, has now been sold to a European developer who's intent is to develop the area into a a gated community within the next five to ten years. Anyway, I now regret I did not come here earlier when the lots were still cheap.