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In this neck of the woods, on December 5, 1492, Admiral Christopher Columbus landed in the New World as he touched down on the island’s north coast, a place he called La Hispaniola, a piece of land shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Historic data have it that with the remains of his three caravels he built the first Spanish structure in the New World: Fort Christmas. It was there where the first Spanish city of the Americas was built, blessed with the name of Village Isabela, in honor of Her Majesty Queen Isabel the Catholic.

In an exclusive conversation with Dominican Excellencies, Puerto Plata’s tourism undersecretary Cesar Jose de los Santos explained the strategy the Dominican government has implemented there. On the one hand, public funds to build basic services and recover the beaches, and on the other hand, private cash flow to rescue the huge hotel infrastructure that has popped up all across the province over the past three decades.

Puerto Plata’s major tourism allures are the beaches. The most important one is Bahia de Sosua, at just a 20-minute drive from the city. Another major travel destination is Cabarete, a location where more hotel rooms are expected to be in place in the next five years.

As Mr. de los Santos relates the works and the completed projects, he underscores the positive impact of the beach’s regeneration, the planning of water sport events such as kiteboarding, windsurfing and surfing, and the fact that all slums in the vicinity have been scrapped. In the same breath, he says, there’s intense work underway to rekindle the local road network and enhance access to travel destinations.

STATISTICAL DATA The province of Puerto Plata is in the north-central portion of the Dominican Republic. It abuts the Atlantic Ocean to both the north and the west, neighboring Espaillar province to the east and the Santiago, Valverde and Monte Cristi provinces to the south. TOTAL SURFACE: 717 square miles POPULATION: 312,706 inhabitants. MUNICIPALITIES: San Felipe de Puerto Plata (Capital); Altamira, Guananico, Imbert, Los Hidalgos, Luperon, Villa Isabela. Municipal Districts: Villa Monte LLano, Navas, La Isabela, Belloso, Estero Hondo, La Jaiba. BASIC ECONOMY: This Is one of the country’s main provinces, with sugarcane and coffee crops ranked as the top job creators. Part of the workforce deals with stock breeding for milk and beef. Other crops are cacao and vegetables with a view to supply the local travel industry.

PUERTO PLATA & ITS CHRONOLOGY 1492 – Admiral Christopher Columbus’s first expedition arrives. A village called Isabela is built on a plain near the like-named bay. 1502 – Puerto Plata is officially founded by Nicolas de Obando, who sent residents from the Canary Islands to populate this city. 1508 – The city receives the title of village by royal decree dated December 7. 1606 – Gov. Osorio ordered the village of Puerto Plata to be destroyed as a cover-up to do away with smuggling operations along its shores. 1756 – The city is rebuilt. 1870 – Puerto Plata is declared the Republic’s interim capital. 1872 – The El Porvenir newspaper circulates for the first time, founded by the Country’s Friends Fellowship. 1888 – The village of Imbert is founded. The Hojas Anchas’ tobacco mill is built. The fledgling rum-making industry gets cranked up. 1907 – The Constitution enacted on that same year turns Puerto Plata into a province. 1940 – Numerous Jewish settlements pop up in Sosua. The Jews begin making butter, cheese and sausages, and start playing a major role in the local society.

SIGHTSEEING SITES 77 miles of shores. Isabel de Torres Hill. San Felipe Fortress, built in 1577 (National Monument). Puerto Plata Lighthouse, built in 1879 by Robert Hill & Son. Cable railway that climbs the Isabel de Torres Hill, nearly 3.280 feet high. Statue of the Redeeming Christ (similar to Rio de Janeiro’s Corcovado) that provides a spectacular view of the city. Amber mines and museum. Guinea Bridge, built in 1879. Dorada Beach, an exclusive tourist area teeming with beaches, hotels, restaurants, banks and disco clubs. Architecture of old-timed, Victorian-style houses built in the early 20th century and decked out with lavish gardens of motley boungavilles. Cable railway 28 waterfalls in Damajagua. Ocean World, the Caribbean’s largest dolphin seaquarium. Puerto Plata’s Carnival, scheduled from February thru March each year. The Jazz Festival held in October each year.

THE DOMINICAN GEM Amber is a fossilized vegetable resin churned out by pre-historic trees that residual wastes solidify when getting in contact with the air. The main thing about Dominican amber is its crystallized nature and the impurities trapped inside that give amber value added. In the formation process, the resins catch all kind of vegetable substrates, leaves, petals, grasshoppers and even lizards, now displayed as fossils that are several hundred years old.

In the Dominican Republic, amber was produced in the Tertiary Age by the carob (Hymenaea spp.), a leguminous tree. It now shows up in a variety of colors and shades.