Punta Cana, worth knowing.

Fun facts about Punta Cana

1. 1Punta Cana's airport terminals are open-air, with roofs thatched in palm fronds. It is widely described as the world's first privately owned international airport.Source: The Aviation Hub; Wikipedia
2. 2Punta Cana used to be called Punta Borrachon, Drunkard's Point. In the early 1970s it was renamed after a palm tree that grows all over the region.Source: Puntacana Resort & Club; Citi Private Bank
3. 3The Dominican Republic has a sea-blue gemstone found nowhere else on Earth. Its finder named it larimar, after his daughter Larissa and 'mar', Spanish for sea.Source: Dominican Republic 365; Wikipedia
4. 4Merengue, danced in pairs to accordion and drums, is on UNESCO's list of the world's living heritage. The Dominican Republic even has a National Merengue Day every November 26.Source: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage; Dominican Ministry of Foreign Affairs
5. 5Recognise that beach? Scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl were shot on Saona Island, a day trip from Punta Cana.Source: Lopesan Costa Bavaro; Wikipedia

Things to do in Punta Cana

• ◦Altos de Chavon is a hand-built replica of a 16th-century Mediterranean village above the Chavon River. Frank Sinatra opened its 5,000-seat stone amphitheatre in 1982.Source: Casa de Campo Resort; Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism
• ◦The Taino called these freshwater lagoons 'eyes' for their round, clear shape. Indigenous Eyes reserve has 12 of them in the forest, and a few have platforms so you can swim.Source: Lopesan Hotel Group; Dominican Abroad
• ◦Walk down a staircase in the side of a cliff at Scape Park in Cap Cana to Hoyo Azul, a cenote of glowing turquoise water at the foot of the rock. Then jump in.Source: Club Med; Dominican Republic 365
• ◦On a Saona Island trip, the boats stop at the natural pool: a waist-deep sandbar out at sea where orange starfish rest on the bottom. Look, but leave them in the water.Source: Dominican Republic 365; DR Revealed
• ◦Take a day trip from Punta Cana to Montana Redonda near Miches: giant swings and hammocks on a hilltop with 360-degree views of the ocean, mountains and lagoons.Source: Montana Redonda; Punta Cana Travel Blog
• ◦Swap the resort pool for a surf lesson at Macao Beach, a wilder stretch of sand near Punta Cana where local schools teach first-timers to stand up on a board.Source: Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism; Punta Cana Surf Adventure

Questions to bring to Punta Cana

From Sojourn's journeys. Ask one over a long dinner or on a slow walk, and let the place do some of the work.

Going together

• When do you feel most like yourself?
• What does rest actually look like for you?
• What is one thing you wish we did more of?

Going solo

• What is the first thing this place is showing you that you didn't expect?
• What does this version of you know that the home version tends to forget?

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