9 things we learned about the Dominican Republic

1. Their national sport is baseball.

2. They don’t really consider themselves Caribbean.

3. Tourism remains their main “industry”

4. Unlike a lot of the Caribbean, they speak Spanish not English.

5. Their capital Santo Domingo (of around 3m) is considered the first city of new America, founded by Christopher Columbus.

6. They share their island with Haiti from which The Dominican Republic won its independence in 1844.

7. Originally it was one island divided by five chiefdoms but then it was invaded by the French.

8. Punta Cana might well sound like a single resort but in reality, it’s used by holiday companies to describe the location of hotels along a 30km coastline.

9. Like the UK their flag is red white and blue. The blue on the flag stands for liberty, the white for salvation, and the red for the blood of heroes.

M&J