Camping at Playa Fronton, Dominican Republic

by Harley McAllister

Fronton is a remote beach located on the very northeastern tip of the Samana peninsula on the island of  Quisqueya - the island that houses the nations of the Dominican Republic and Haiti (and formerly known as the island of Hispaniola).  Anyway...  The school where we teach has held field trips there for years to study the coral reef ecosystem and the human impacts thereon.  One year our oldest son went on this trip and spoke of it fondly, after which we decided to make a family vacation there over Christmas break.  We were not disappointed!

To reach the beach requires about 1.5 hour hike, but since there is no fresh water on the island and we were two families of nine people total, this was not an option.  Instead, we hired a small local fishing boat in Las Galeras to drop us off on the beach with several large jugs of water that would last us three days.

Camping at Playa Fronton in the Dominican Republic

The view at Las Galeras

Here we go!

Beautiful boat ride.

The boat ride was an adventurous start to the trip as we had 8 foot swells upon leaving the protection of the bay.  We were getting tossed to and fro, and the occasional splash would come over the bow and soak us all with salt spray.  The kids were wonderfully unaware of any potential risk, but some of the adults were holding their breaths a bit.

As we rounded the sheer cliffs of the headland, we finally got a view of Fronton - our home for the next three days.

We quickly got about the business of setting up camp, as it appeared rain was threatening.  In fact we did get periodic showers during our time there, but never more than 15 minutes worth and at infrequent intervals.  We try to include our kids in the set-up of camp as much as possible.  While they are itching to go explore, we feel it is important that they know how to set up a tent, organize a kitchen space and know where the "bathroom" will be.  Of course, you can only hold back the tide so long and eventually we released them to go explore.

The cliffs and beach of Playa Fronton

Nice area for tents and SoCo hammocks

Kids love to explore a beach

Camp kitchen

For a 'kitchen' we set up our food and water supplies on an old washed up bit of debris - perhaps an old refrigerator or cooler box from a sunken vessel?  Sounds more romantic than simply calling it trash...

We then set about the important business of relaxing.  A beach has limitless opportunities for kids to play in the sand and surf, look for shells, build sand castles, etc.  And the hammocks provide ample opportunities for adults to have a few minutes to enjoy a good book. By the way, we LOVE our SoCo Hammocks!  If after some initial exploration you kids say they are bored, that is normal.  In fact, it is healthy!  They need time to decompress from a more structured lifestyle and give their minds time to search for things to do.  Encourage them to explore and allow space for them to be free in what and how they choose to do things.  Maybe you want to get them started on something but then leave them to it!  Most children today do not get enough time for "free" play, that is play that is unstructured and undirected by an adult.  Given time, they will discover whole worlds to explore from their imaginations!

A book + hammock + beach = bliss

Kids and beaches go together

Go ahead, put your feet up

How thankful are we that we were given the chance to have a view like this, at least once in our lives!?!

We (at least the adults) tend to get up a little early when camping, because a sunrise is a terrible thing to waste. 


A (tent) room with a view please

Worth waking up for

Later in the morning we went for hike to explore further down the coast.  We started among the copious palm trees where a group of locals with mules had packed in to harvest coconuts.

Along the trail we encountered some awesome caves that the kids delighted in exploring.  It’s always a good idea to plan some flexibility in your schedule to allow your kids to explore.  Kids love to interact with their environment and giving them the space to do so will cause them to love being on adventures with you!  Remember, to them, it is not about reaching your destination as much as enjoying the journey.

Caves are cool

Soon we were getting beautiful glimpses of this rough, volcanic coast.

Boom!

The winter season brings stormy seas to this region and the strong currents and ample wind made for spectacular waves crashes among the ancient coral rocks jutting into the sea.  It is tempting at times like these to launch into super-protective mode but resist that temptation!  Your kids need to do something that they feel is edgy and dangerous.  They need to feel that thrill when they do something beyond what they thought they could.  They need to face the fear and come through it.  If you want to build some self-confidence in your kids, let them challenge themselves.  Now, was I in the background tied up in nervous knots?  Yes!  However, I chose places and times that were relatively safe (I knew this but they didn't) and let them try.  I was ready with the first aid kit but didn't need to tell them that.  I didn't try to shelter them, just came prepared if the need arose.  

In places the wave action had undercut the coral and even created vents where the air would be pushed forcefully up and out when a wave would come in.  The velocity of the air exiting these vent holes was amazing, and led to colorful names such as Boca del Diablo - or Mouth of the Devil. 

After a pleasant time of exploring theses areas, it was time to start back to the tents.


The Devil's Mouth

Once back, we still had all afternoon to check out the water.  Not all of our kids love to snorkel.  We require that they all try it at least once but then don't push the matter.  People rarely come to love doing something they were forced to do.  Before we ask who wants to do some activity, we think about whether it is a required activity or not.  After checking our motives (are we trying to impress people with how sporty our kids are, are we trying to make them live out our dreams, etc), we either ask if they want to join us or we tell them this is one time they need to join us.  In this case, we asked and had a few takers so we grabbed our snorkels and headed out.  The coral was not in great condition, but it is somewhat on the mend and we did see new growth in places, especially in the coral nurseries that our school has been helping Reef Check to build.  Regardless, it was able to support a modest amount of fish and sea urchins that we enjoyed seeing.

We then enjoyed a delicious dinner, cut quick by the rainstorm that was approaching.  Seeing that our evening outdoors was over,  we grabbed our books and headed to our respective tents.

In the morning we were greeted by another great sunrise.

On our last morning, some of us headed back to the water to snorkel again and others sampled some of the rock climbing available on the cliffs behind camp.  This is another instance where we chose to ask who wanted to climb.  There have been times when we required every kid to give it a try, usually in a low fear-factor setting, but in this case it was up to each kid what they wanted to do with their last morning on the beach.

Look carefully to see Tavin Climbing up

And relieved to be on the way back down!

All too soon it was time to start packing up, so we soaked up the view as we ate lunch and awaited the boat.  We hated to say goodbye!