Abandoned premises have attracted many travelers and seem to gain even more attention from curious explorers. Whenever there are forgotten or abandoned buildings, they get rotten or weathered. Some of these off the map locations are pretty easy accessible in the Dominican Republic. When I was on a road trip, I saw many of these abandoned areas that gave picturesque motives. I would like to introduce some of these forgotten places in the Dominican Republic and how to find them. The first edition article deals with an old fishing camp close to Playa Teco Maimón.

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Approximate reading time: 6 minutes

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What attracts me as well about lost places is the feeling to do a traveler’s pioneer work. Explore and discover something that isn’t well known and needs a voice to tell its story. But what really amazes me about abandoned premises is their intrinsic extremes. Either they are well-known and a turned because its ran-down condition into a popular tourism destination. Or they are a well-kept secret amongst locals and not publicly communicated at all.

Where can I find the old fishing camp at Playa Teco Maimón?

Surely, I prefer to do the traveler’s pioneer work. But in the case of the old fishing camp, it seemed to be simply forgotten by everyone. Not a secret at all, because it was at the end of a blind lane. There wasn’t much going on around that place, although it was just a few minutes away from Puerto Plata. Not a small city though and the biggest one on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic.

Playa Teco Maimón doesn’t seem to be a nice and beautiful beach either. One would expect a typical paradisiacal beach in the Dominican Republic with fine-grained sand. But this one isn’t a sight for sore eyes. Not the characteristic beach for tourists to relax and spend some time. Playa Teco Maimón is too close to Bahía de Maimón (Maimón Bay) where both cruise ships and cargo vessels enter the bay. Not the typical beach that sun worshippers frequently visit.

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You can find the lost place with the abandoned fishing camp at Playa Teco Maimón on the map here:

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If you need the exact coordinates, type them into your GPS:

Latitude: 19° 49′ 42.84″ N
Longitude: 70°46’51.8″ W

How can I access the old fishing camp at Playa Teco Maimón?

You need good a vehicle to get there. I was on the road doing a road trip through the Dominican Republic. A good and reliable SUV with sturdy tires made me drive through that off-road terrain even by rain. The soil was a bit muddy, but it took me safely through the territory.

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There wasn’t a real reason why I drove to that place. It was somehow on the way and caught my eye. If you take a closer look at Google Maps, you see that my linked location is on a dead-end and doesn’t even have an official name. That’s always a good indicator in the Dominican Republic that something adventurous lies ahead.

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My only purpose driving into a dead-end was the curiosity to see what’s at the end of the path. Luckily, this abandoned fishing village was proof that my curiosity paid out taking some picturesque photos. At least I was impressed by that dilapidated buildings.

What to expect from this lost place?

It’s a question of your perspective and what you want to expect. I didn’t spend a lot of time there, only 5 – 10 to take some photos from the best angle. But I haven’t had any expectations and didn’t know these ruinous fishing camp even existed. Thus, I was happy to take some very expressive photos.

These buildings at the old fishing camps have the exact Caribbean style of architecture. That’s how ordinary people would construct their homes. Simply constructed with untreated material. Same with the joyful range of colors that represents these Caribbean cottages.

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Due to its run-down shape, the paint spalled already from the walls and weathered. This blue house was the only one to look fairly new. Its blue color highlighted the other buildings in the area. In other words: Too young and in too good shape to be derelict. But the damaged wood and porch didn’t conceal its affiliation to a lost place. Maybe it was the least abandoned of all these houses.

Wild plants and grass overgrew the buildings and overgrew. Caribbean tornados damage every year the wooden material of these shags and make them liable to collapse. Nature claims its territory back and takes over the place again.

It’s the typical story: People moved away from these areas and no one really cared anymore about the old fishing camp. Thus, it will year by year more fallen down and will one day collapse entirely. Until then, I can’t guarantee that you’ll find the old fishing camp at Playa Teco Maimón.

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Maybe it will be already removed. Maybe you’ll find it destroyed. Maybe you see it even more decayed. Try your luck and find it out yourself.

I wasn’t lucky with the light conditions and was punished with another cloudy day during my roadtrip. Otherwise, on a sunny day, my taken photos would have been even more picturesque and better illuminated. I continued the drive to the end of the path. There at the dead-end, I observed an old and beardy Dominican fisher who fished the traditional way with a fishnet and by hand.

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He and his fishing activities were as impressive as this old fishing camp. In a way, it represented a total fit to what I saw before: An old fisherman at an old fishing camp.

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