The Basics:
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For many centuries Catalina just was a little dot on a map, living in anonymity and unrecognized of its value even by
Dominicans. Still about ten years ago the handful of navy soldiers stationed their for vigilance only wished the time to
pass faster in order to return to the main land after duty. Today up to 5,000 tourists daily from all over the world visit
this gem of an island ! Even if this sounds unbelievable to most Dominicans it is a fact that since about 2 years there is a
steady stream of foreign visitors enjoying the powder sugar like white beaches and shallow waters of Catalina Island.
Catalina Island consists of three overlapping plateaus, its highest elevation being only 20 mts.
above sea level. Entirely "built" out of coral stone it has a carstlike structure with very little
vegetation. A massive line of sand dunes and mangrove swamps serve as a natural protection line
to "intruders". There is practically no sweet water to be found on Catalina with the exception of
a very weak torrent of water inside a massive karst formation; it has a salty taste and serves as
a fountain for the few wild animals found there. Actually "wild " is not correct as those
are domestic animals like pigs and rabbits abandoned and left on their own over the years.
The first steps towards using Catalina Island as an anchor place for cruisships where already made in the '80's but
the real breakthrough was the Presidential Order No. 135-92 of 1992 where the operation of cruiseships and all
relevant activities on Catalina were authorized by the government. The only condition was that a fee of five US$
has to be paid for every passenger using the island's beaches. Another Presidential Order (No. 146-92) established
the Dominican Navy as a "mediator" between nature and tourists, controlling the operations of the cruise lines.
What is the secret of this little island ?
What makes this 9,6 square kms so different from other tourist destinations that it attracts
thousands of visitors daily and a growing number of tourist promoters ?
This uninhabited, unreal and magic panorama possibly makes Catalina the ideal " Secret Fantasy Island"
for the international tourism promoters. Exceptional beautiful beaches, exotic flair and unlimited view
into the blue horizon, making it difficult to distiguish between the sky and the waterline, help to
sell it as a perfect destination for CRUISESHIPS.
Immediately an Italian Cruise Line started its operation on Catalina with 3 ships weekly, each carrying between 1,300
and 1,500 passengers. As the shallow waters and the lack of a decent pier do not allow the ships to arrive directly
at the island, they anchor within a few hundred yards and transfer the visitors ashore with tender boats. This year (1997)
only this company will drop an estimate of 150,000 to 170,000 tourists onto Catalina. There are two more major
US based Cruise Lines arriving on a regular schedule which totals the estimated arrivlas for the 1997 /98 season
to about 320,000 ! Those numbers do not include local visitors and all tourists which are visiting Catalina on a one
day excursion from the hotels located in the Eastern tourist areas like La Romana and Punta Cana.
If you multiply that by five US$ it sounds like a good deal for the Dominican Republic and according to government
officials this money ( plus entrance fees of other national parks) supports and maintains new and future projects,
dealing with the protection and preservation of Dominican faina and flora.
But do you really have to bring in the bulldozers to one paradise and protected island to make space for the
"necessary" infrastructure capable to handle a large number of visitors simultaneously -- in order to make the
money for protecting nature somewhere else ? Dunes , mangroves ,vegetation and coral stiones have been moved
and removed and replaced by "pseudo" typical constructions like seating areas, storage, bathrooms, restaurant areas,
comercial areas etc. etc.
Will the masses destroy the paradise, only time will tell -- come and visit Catalina as long as it is still there !
The good news is that those excursions are held according to the cruise ship schedules, which means that on the
day you will go on such an excursion no cruise ship will be anchoring there and you will have to share Catalina only
with few other people ( talking about dozens here).
The bad news is that the more cruiseships are arriving the fewer days will be available for these tours to be organized
and there might be no luck for you during your stay in the Dominican Republic.
Such tours include usually:
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