San Pedro de Macoris

San Pedro de Macoris is a town in the Dominican Republic with more than 400,000 inhabitants (2005). San Pedro de Macoris is therefore the fourth largest city in the Dominican Republic.  As a provincial capital, it houses the Universidad del Este.

In its heyday San Pedro de Macoris was, at the beginning of the 20th Century, the place where sugar was sold on the preferential market in the United States at the then amazing price of twenty-two centavos. At that time, the residents should have danced with joy on the road, because for the next economic boom, a large number of additional workers were needed to be recruited.

These are mainly English-African immigrant blacks from Tortola, a British Virgin Island. These workers and their descendants, according to the name of their home island of Tortola, are still called cocolos.

The city lies on the Caribbean coast of the country, about 80km east of the capital Santo Domingo.

San Pedro de Macoris is primarily an industrial town with few tourist attractions. Attractions in the area are around centered around the fishing village of Bayahibe, with its picturesque beach and Isla Saona in Del Este National Park.

In San Pedro itself there are the structures on the coastal road, which still bear witness of the former richness of the city and the church of San Pedro Apostol, with its gargoyles and stained-glass windows is worth a mention for its classical style.  Even the fire station is worth a visit. San Pedro de Macoris has indeed not got an international aura, but nationally is good for the Dominican Republic.

The destination airport of San Pedro de Macoris is in the neighboring city of La Romana.
In San Pedro de Macoris there is currently being built (2006), a bridge over the River Higuamo, which will be completed in late 2006, and will be the longest bridge in the Caribbean. The length of the bridge is a total of 606 meters, 390 meters of which accounts for the hanging part. The bridge should withstand wind speeds of up to 240km/h.