Dominican Republic, your destiny is to be the noblest under the sun, raise your arms of eternal love, full of peace and glory, and forever blessed by God.
— Juan Luis Guerra, Dominican Singer
Hello, everyone! Thanks for stopping by! My name is Hanelle. I’m a Christian 11-year-old girl dog lover, and I live with my parents and three smaller siblings (one sister and two brothers).
I was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico and I live with my family in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, a beautiful island located in the Caribbean region.
I would love to share with you some interesting facts about this wonderful country!
- OFFICIAL NAME: Dominican Republic.
- FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Representative Democracy.
- CAPITAL: Santo Domingo.
- POPULATION: 11,332,972.
- OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: Dominican Spanish (85% of the population), Haitian Creole (2%), and Samana English (1%).
- MONEY: Dominican Peso.
- AREA: 48.442 km².
- MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Cordillera Septentrional, Cordillera Central, Sierra de Neiba, and the Sierra de Bahoruco.
- MAJOR RIVERS: Ozama, Yaque del Norte, Yaque del Sur, La Isabela, Higuamo, and Soco.
Since we are surrounded by water, there are amazing beaches all around the country where millions of tourists come every year because mostly, our weather is sunny and nice (here it’s spring & summer all year round).
You can also find awesome lakes, rivers, caves, and mountains. By the way, El Pico Duarte is the highest peak in the Caribbean (3,098 meters!) and it’s located here.
DR is the only place in the world where Larimar, a rare form of blue pectolite, is mined. Beautiful jewelry is made with this rare, aqua-blue stone.
It’s the site of the oldest colonial settlement in the Americas and home to Christopher Columbus’s first New World landing point in 1492.
We also have the first Catholic cathedral in the Americas, the first university (where my dad is a teacher), the first hospital, and the first capital city (Santo Domingo).
DR is a very sustainable nation because it produces nearly all kinds of food served at breakfast, lunch, and dinner across the country. The food here is delicious!
Something that I really appreciate is that the Dominican Republic is the only country in the world with an open Bible on the flag with this verse from John 8:32 “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
The most popular sports here include baseball, soccer, basketball, boxing, volleyball, the Olympics, pan-American games, and central-American and Caribbean games.
Another fact from the DR is that, since it is a small territory, you can visit many beautiful places and enjoy the happiness of its inhabitants. I have been able to visit Bani, La Vega, Santiago, Azua, San Cristóbal, Higuey, San Pedro, Hato Mayor, Jarabacoa, Constanza, and Samaná, and I am looking forward to visiting more!
Of all the beautiful things mentioned above, the most beautiful are the people who live here: cheerful and happy, creative and hardworking.
I hope to meet you with my family if you ever come to visit the Dominican Republic!
Hanelle's Blog 