Now on Fridays nights -
save up to US$15.
with free taxi service
to Cafe Cito
and back to your hotel!
Click to visit Cafe Cito on the Web
Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

 
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Adventure travel in the Dominican Republic:Two hours into the mountains, Maxima Aventura, or Maximum Adventure, is a wilderness dude ranch for adventure travelers and extreme sports enthusiasts
Around town..
Quest for the 'Right' Cigar  Confounded by the sheer volume of unfamiliar product on the shelves, after a year of legwork a local bistro owner discovers an ideal cigar made  from a small, Cuban family-run factory hidden away in the Cibao Valley.
Puerto Plata's Great American Breakfast Place Any gringo with more than a week in town gets a hankering for a back-home breakfast. 
Anna’s Bar & Grill puts “Fat" Eddy back in action Over the winter hundreds of frequent visitors discovered that one of Puerto Plata’s most renowned watering holes, Fat Eddy’s Pub, had closed its doors. But last Friday, Anna’s Bar & Grill held its grand opening just across the street, with “Fat” Eddy at the helm. /990502 
Cafe Cito: Jazz Bar in downtown Puerto Plata Cafe Cito has becomea popular hangout for foreign residents
Legal Matters
Law firms associate to provideCanadian-Dominican expertise Garcia Abogados & Asociados, in Santo Domingo, and Pierre Caron & Associés in Montreal, collaborate on cases involving civil rights, commercial law, family law, real estate, collections and other  services requiring legal expertise and contacts in either  jurisdiction. 
Buying Property in the Dominican Republic Title Searches:  A good lawyer will come up with strategies and methods to neutralize disorder in the system By Fabio Guzman. 
Statistics
Regional StatisticsCrime stats, tourism arrivals and other statistics
Population Demographics
Airport statistics for October 1998
Tourist arrivals at Puerto Plata International Airport: 42,987 
Dominican nationals arrivals: 11,009. Aircraft landed: 205 scheduled, 144 charter. Share of market: Britain 41%; Germany 21%; USA 11%; Canada 6.5%; Spain 6.5%; Holland 6%; Belgium; 3%; Sweden, Austria, Switzerland, Colombia each less than 2% Click for Summary by Airline
Editor’s Note
Robin and Don Morse of Rhode Island spend their winters in Puerto Plata and dedicate much of their time to looking after the Costambar Mission School.

In a country in which the greatest social need is surely education, this retired couple has turned what once was literally a classroom under a tree into a full fledged public school housing hundreds of students. Much of their support has come from the community of foreign residents, through company donations, private support and from organizing hot dog roasts and other local events.

The Costambar Mission School is an ongoing effort in which each year one main project gets tackled and solved, while other opportunities pop up and contribute to the growth and well being of the school. Thus there is an annual need for funds and institutional support, while there remains a constant and ongoing need for things like books, school supplies, pens and pencils, in short, anything that kids can use at school. Often people coming to Puerto Plata for holidays bring along an extra suitcase with small things to donate and these contributions are always appreciated. Thus if you are interested in helping out in any way, please write to the Costambar Mission School by E-mail before coming down to express your interest and to make appropriate arrangements. 

missionschool@popreport.com

Whatever your donation, large or small, you can rest assured that it will be put to the good use of this exemplary project.

Editor
The POP Report

The Costambar Mission School
Newsletter
January 2000

Dear Friends,

 The Costambar Mission School project was started ten years ago in the small village of Cafemba on the other side of our golf course here at Costambar in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. There were found twenty two students having school under a mango tree with their native teacher. Fund-raising was  started by Costambar homeowners and a school was then built after the government gave the land for the buildings. With the increase in enrollment, more classrooms were definetly needed. The boards of Education of the D. R. has insisted on adding more students and classes to rhe school.
 

Students watch  new desks being delivered to their school

 Smith/Enron, an American Company who was constructing an electric plant not far from the school, donated funds for a well, septic system, bathrooms and a concrete wall. At the same time, European Union and Forno Social had two classrooms built at the school. The Canadian Government furnished fifty desks which the school was very thankful for. Churches, civic organizations, school children in Michigan, a yearly visitor from Illinois, homeowners and friends have all contributed to this endeavour.

Click to visit Sofy's Home PageThis year, the Ministry of Education has decided that baseball will be an obligatory sport in public schools. Don and I have been collecting little league baseball gloves for four years, so we will be ready for the sport at the school. More equipment is still needed and your donation will be appreciated. The school seems to be ahead of some schools in the country. In San Cristobal, sixteen out of thirty four have bathrooms. Only six schools in that town have a library. Before we left last May a small library was built by Don. Concerned friends have donated funds to purchase Spanish language books for the library. The students will be allowed to take the books out on loan. Let us know if you are interested in making a donation (we are buying books at a discount price in town) All books are labeled with the donor’s name, so please notify us if you wish the books you donate to be labaled and cataloged before they go to the school. The government is now supplying the public schools with their workbooks. If you donated money for the workbooks last year, the money was used to purchase library books.

 The mobile dental clinic continues to come out to the school to instruct the students in proper hygiene for their teeth. A local Dominican doctor is donating his time to examine the students and distribute vitamins to those who need them. We have been to many health stores and cases of vitamins have been donated for the students.
 

Two or the school's most dedicated supporters, Robert Hildreth and Robin Morse, receiving a donation from Tim Hall of the Canadian Consulate

 Our special thanks goes out to Robert Hildreth from the Rotary Club of Puerto Plata for handling the finances and putting together the plan to level the playground and install an asphalt surface, basketball and volleyball court. The main concern now is electricity to the school. We are installing a small transformer to improve power and upgrade those utilities. All wok will be completed by a professional Dominican electrician. Thank you for all your supp and contributions in the past and we hope you will continue to help the Costambar Mission School in the future.

BEST REGARDS, 

                  ROBIN & DON MORSE
 
 

All Donations Appreciated:

Robert Hildreth     
Apartado Postal 414     
Puerto Plata, R. D.     

Robin Morse
PMB 235
580 Thames Street
Newport, RI 02840