Boca de Yuma

Boca de Yuma
Harbour of Boca de Yuma
Boca de Yuma
Coordinates: 18°22′48″N 68°36′0″W / 18.38°N 68.6°W / 18.38; -68.6
Country	Dominican Republic
Province	La Altagracia
Population (2008)
- Total	2 342

Boca de Yuma is a village in the province of La Altagracia, in the Dominican Republic. It is situated west of the mouth of the Rio Yuma, near the Caribbean Sea.

The word Yuma is an indigenous Taíno name.

The village has a pleasant climate. It is peaceful and tranquil. A few miles west of the village is the Del Este National Park, one of the largest national parks in the country, with an area of 310 square kilometers. The bay of Boca de Yuma is used for fishing and boat trips.

The Beginning of Boca de Yuma

To have an idea how the creation of Boca de Yuma originated. The first families that poured into this village were coming from various regions of the country. According to my search and history the first person to inhabit was name Pedro Sifuentes was nicknamed the Portugalete, he was also called the Robinson Crusoe for the many years that he lived there alone, due to its sinking of his ship at Yuma bay. In 1880 came the first fishermen among them John Bernard, Charles Wilson, of the natural island of St. Thomas, these were the first to build homes and procreates families, they opted to devote themselves to the transport of wood, that is how the village Boca de Yuma began to get shape.

Boca de Yuma had a fort overlooking the bay areas. The cannons were the main defense. The fort held a highly defensible position. The remains of a barrel of coastline that is believe to be the same as the King of Spain asked the Archbishop Fernando Navarrete for the defense and protection of the Shrine of Our Lady of La Altagracia in Higüey. Recalls back in 1877 a revolutionary an expedition of Boca de Yuma organized by the baecista of Curaçao left cannons underwater, those cannons were found and placed as an ornament at the end of ocean cliff where the community park and the historic lighthouse is located today. Other guns and battleships remaining exist in the Playa Blanca (White Beach). Deep inside the mouth river there is a caves, where according to tradition sank the ship's pirate Cofresi after having made their trips through the waters of the West. One of the great pirates of those times, who defended the poor, was a man named Roberto Cofresi Ramirez de Arellano, born in the coastal town of Red Cape. In 1824, Cofresi engaged a fierce battle with a U.S. commander after a fierce battle Cofresí and his crew were capture. His death sentence took place on the morning of March 29, 1825 on the fields of El Morro Castle in Old San Juan.

Boca de Yuma was knows as the "port of Higüey. The port of Higüey was where Ponce de Leon had his boat, from here in the year 1508, departed towards the conquest of Borinquen, Puerto Rico. In the year 1513, instituted a notary's deed at its anchorage in Boca de Yuma, and left here in search of the eternal youth and made the discovery and subsequent colonization of Florida.

Boca de Yuma was an important port in the victory over the English in 1655, the Battle of Sabana Real on January 21, 1691, and the battles of Palo Hincado on November 7, 1808. Those were great military confrontation that changer the life and history of Dominican Republic. On October 29, 1808, the mouth of the Río Yuma was the witness of the support sent by the governor of Puerto Rico the general Toribio Montes, which arrived in port of Higüey. The material, which has had been embarked in a Brigantine, a goélette and two high-speed motorboats, equipped with guns, consisted of four hundred rifles with bayonets and two hundred sabers. Moreover, there were also two hundred volunteers, for the majority emigrated.

On 4 March of the year, 1919 began the landing of American sailors to the port of Boca de Yuma from San Pedro de Macoris in the goélette Maria Consuelo, headed by Mr. Catalino Vidal. The settle in where the first school in close to the boat launch beach, later on they turned into the first school build of concrete, which was name John F. Kennedy in honor of the Thirty-Fifth President of the United States (1961-1963). In 1966, The Incorporated Club Nautical of Santo Domingo installed an extension of the institution of team game and recreation; this was an initiative by Don Alberto Bonetti Burgos. Mr. Bonetti love to travel to Boca De Yuma frequently attracted by fishing and hunting doves. As you can see Boca de Yuma have, a history of her own and odds of many uncover yet.

Boca de Yuma in the 21st Century

In 2008 the population was about 2,400 people. This hidden paradise and privileged remains a humble village surrounded by beautiful beaches and generosity of his peoples. It is a town of simple individuals, and modest worker. Boca de Yuma is within short distance of La Altagracia province, one-hour drive from Punta Cana, thirty minutes from La Romana city and an hour thirty minutes from the capital city. If you ever step a foot in Boca de Yuma you will be wrap by numerous attractions, for example hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, photography, beaches, caves and national park. The national park is home of different species of birds and animals of the region. A navigable river of 1.5 km in length, which if you travel by boat up the river it reveals the beautiful landscapes and the caves where according to tradition the pirate Roberto Cofresí took refugee and hid his treasure.

Another place to visit is The Cave Bernard with beautiful stalagmites and stalactites, the Cave of Bernard, that name by being inside the property of John Bernard one of the first founders of the community. The dictator Trujillo Leonida to provide water to all the people built the public water fountain (La Llave Publica). From John Bernard Park off the tip of the virgin you can see a beautiful panorama of the bay, a euphoric view of the beach, White Beach, Cape San Rafael, Cape Engaño and a beautiful view of the southern part of the town.