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This valuable, hard, red-brown wood has been logged and exported ever since the Spanish first established a colony here. It is quite rare in most parts, but you can still see plenty of caoba trees, some up to 60-ft (18-m) high, in the Cordillera Central.

The brown-skinned mamey-apple has orange, red, or reddish-brown flesh that makes an amazingly appetizing batida .

The rare and protected sea cow is the gentle giant of the ocean. Shy and vegetarian, it can reach 12 ft (3.6 m) in length, and rises to the sea’s surface every five minutes to breathe air. It’s hard to believe that this bulbous and whiskery creature was once mistaken for a mermaid.

The gnarled thickets of vegetation, their roots emerging from mudflats, estuaries, and lagoons, are a unique ecosystem, providing food and shelter to a huge spectrum of birds, fish, and crustaceans.

A wholesome and extremely satisfying breakfast staple, this has nothing to do with mangoes but is a very filling plate of mashed plantain, drizzled with olive oil and sometimes seasoned with fried onions or cheese. A welcome break from imitation American breakfasts, this will match the largest of morning appetites.

Another calorie-laden plantain favourite, this is eaten as a side dish for lunch or dinner. Plantains are fried, mashed, and mixed with garlic and pieces of fried bacon. The delicious end result can be filled with a sauce such as prawns or beef, but it is very good on its own.

Not under any circumstances to be confused with mofongo , mondongo is a formidable dish of pig’s tripe, stewed in a tomato and garlic sauce. It has its fans among Dominicans, especially as a Sunday brunch treat, as it is supposed to help cure the most stubborn of hangovers.

Obviously, the least-loved of natural inhabitants, these irritating creatures proliferate in the swampy conditions. They can create a genuine health hazard, and cases of dengue fever and malaria have been reported near Haiti.