An Afternoon in Aguadulce

boats in Aguadulce.
El Salao.

In recent days, I visited Aguadulce, Cocle, I went to Las Salinas, El Salado Beach, El Salado Community and The Stella Sierra Museum, before it was called the Salt and Sugar Museum.

First of all, El Salado Beach is a Mangrove with a small space without Mangrove, it is a place to spend an afternoon with friends or family and have a barbecue.

Since the ground is lama and sand, and the sea has leaves and branches of the mangroves.

While hiking on the beach I came across several drawings made in the sand and since I went at low tide, they can get to where the mangroves were.

Mangroves in El Salado Beach
Mangroves in El Salado Beach

El Salado Community

El Salado Community, is a small community, located on the seafront, dedicated to fishing, it is the ideal place to buy shellfish in Aguadulce, it also has quite a few popular restaurants.
At the end of the street, there are the fishermen and a dock, where you can practice fishing.

It is a devoted community of the Virgen del Carmen (Our Lady of the Mount Carmel) and for the patronal feast they usually make a procession at sea.

Dock in El Salao.
Dock in El Salao.

The Salines

It is one of the main economic activities of Aguadulce, they are at El Salado, in summer you can see the salt hills on the banks of the channels.

Salines in Aguadulce.
Salines in Aguadulce.

Stella Sierra Museum

It is a small museum located in front of the 19 de Octubre Park in Aguadulce, it has 2 floors, in the first one, there are exhibitions of artists and cultural activities and in the second one there are some historical objects and explanatory sheets, the visit is guided.

It is not an essential museum, but if you are in Aguadulce, it is worth the visit and learn about the history of Aguadulce.

Painting of Indigenous in the Salinas. Stella Sierra Museum.
Painting of Indigenous in the Salinas

At Stella Sierra Museum, you can see a wooden ratchet that was used before as a bell in the church, there is also a mill, tools with which the workers extracted the salt, totumas, among other things.

In addition, by means of a model, the guide explains the process to extract the salt.

Aguadulce, despite always having a population, it was not until the 19th century that it appears on the map and is recognized as a populated place, remains of indigenous people who lived around 800 AD have been found.

By then, they were already extracting salt from the sea and using it as barter to exchange for other products.

En el Museo Stella Sierra, se puede ver una matraca que era usada antes como campana en la iglesia, también hay un trapiche, herramientas con la que los salineros extraían la sal, totumas, entre otras cosas.

Note: Taking photos is not allowed in the Museum.

Hours of Stella Sierra Museum

  • Tuesday to Saturday
  • 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Price

  • Free entrance pass to the museum.

Booking

A booking is required to visit the museum, it is made from the Mi Cultura website, click here.

However, if you are near, stop by and ask if you can meet it, if there is no booking, they will probably let it pass.

Some hotels in Aguadulce

  • Interamericano Hotel, on the Pan-American Highway,
  • Plaza El Carmen Hotel, on the Pan-American Highway,
  • Carisabel, near the center,
  • Sarita Hotel, near the center.

Some restaurants in Aguadulce

  • Fonda La Fula, national food, well-known inn.
  • Reina del Mar, in the El Salado community, specializing in seafood.
  • Chefuis, near  the Pan-American Highway, international food.
  • Manolos Restaurant, near the center.

How to get to Aguaducle?

Getting to Aguadulce is easy, since the town is on the Panamericana Highway, one hour after the Río Hato Airport, heading west.

Once there, to go to the Stella Sierra Museum, enter Rafael Esteves Street (it is between Pio Pio Restaurant and Interamericano Hotel)

At the end of the street take on the left and at the traffic light, take on the right, continue until the 19 de Octubre Park (it is front the Church), around the park is Stella Sierra Museum.

To get to El Salao, follow the direction of the Stella Sierra Museum and once you have the park on your left, continue on the street and take the 2nd street on the right, then the 3rd street on the left and continue along the entire street until you reach Las Salinas (10 minutes from the park).

Passing Las Salinas is the beach and at the end of the street on the right side are the fishermen and the dock.

Updated: 2021.

Other places you may like

Stella Sierra Museum in Aguadulce, also known as the Salt and Sugar Museum.
Stella Sierra Museum, also known as the Salt and Sugar Museum.

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