Bayahibe is a town in the Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...

, located about 10 miles east of La Romana on the shore of the Caribbean Sea

Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....

. Founded as a fishing village in 1874 by Juan Brito and his family, who came from Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

, the town is now a touristic destination.

The name Bayahibe

Bayahibe is an indigenous word. Its meaning is not known for sure, but there are many names that include the taino

Taíno language

Taíno, an Arawakan language, was the principal language of the Caribbean islands at the time of the Spanish Conquest, including the Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the Florida Keys, and the Lesser Antilles...

s word Baya. "Baya" is the name given to it to a bivalve mollusk, like clams that are glued to the rocks or roots of mangrove trees. "Jib", or "Hib" (is the same word) is the name that gave the Indians a sort of sieve manufactured from sticks used to sift cassava

Cassava

Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...

 flour.

Tourism

Bayahibe Beach

Beach

A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...

, a public beach, is located less than a mile from the town center, and Dominicus Beach is in about three miles distance. Bayahibe serves as an embarkation point for boat tours to Saona Island

Saona Island

Saona Island is a tropical island located a short distance from the mainland on the south-east tip of the Dominican Republic, near La Altagracia Province. It is a government protected nature reserve and is part of East National Park...

, a thinly inhabited island with extensive beaches located in a national park. In the vicinity of Bayahibe and Dominicus Beach, numerous large resort

Resort

A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....

s are located.

Scuba Diving

Scuba Diving

Scuba diving

Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....

 is probably the most common tourist attraction in Bayahibe. There are close to 10 scuba diving shops scattered around the main beach. There are many shops that take scuba divers to the many dive sites around the area. There are over 20 official dive sites located near Bayahibe and all are accessible from the dive boats in the area. There are 3 Shipwreck

Shipwreck

A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....

s in the area including Atlantic Princess, St George and Coco.

The Pereskia quisqueyana

In Bayahibe grows a small group of plants that are extremely important to the biological characteristics of this area: in particular, the Pereskia quisqueyana. This plant species is endemic to Bayahibe. Pereskia quisqueyana

Pereskia quisqueyana

Pereskia quisqueyana, commonly known as the Bayahibe Rose, is a species of cactus that is endemic to the Dominican Republic. Its natural habitats include subtropical or tropical dry forests. It is critically endangered due to habitat loss....

is known for its beautiful flowers. The popular name by which this pink flower is known is "Bayahibe Rose."

Audrey Mestre

On October 12, 2002, the French world record-setting free-diver, died while attempting to free-dive to a depth of 171 metres (561 ft) off the coast of Bayahibe.