In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Cabrera Town

North Shore, Dominican Republic

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli 

With a population of about 39,000, Cabrera is a kind of paradise town that is a well kept secret. Located between the larger towns of Nagua and Rio San Juan, this sleepy town lies alongside the Atlantic Coast and has some of the country's prettiest beaches.

Untouched, natural beaches in Cabrera

Driving along the newly paved roads around Cabrera town, you will find stretches of natural beaches unaffected by all inclusive hotels. In fact, Cabrera still remains largely untouched by tourism, unlike the well known resorts of Sosua, Puerto Plata or Cabarete.

There are, however, some lovely luxury villas which tourists rent, away from the crowds of the famous beaches listed above.

One of several murals in town

Cabrera is more of a laid back town, and doesn't have the typical raucous nightlife that you'll find in the famous tourist hangouts. To holiday here, you will have more of a relaxed style of vacation and an opportunity to see the local life of the Dominican Republic.

My bodyguard

We drove to Cabrera from the city of Santo Domingo, several hours away. There is a stretch of mountain road where cell phones cannot connect and our driver was so protective of us, that she insisted we have a bodyguard ride along with us for the day.

Caribbean style houses and shacks

Driving through the simple town, you will see the Caribbean influence in the homes and in the bright colors in which they are painted.

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Brand new road and malecon

Inside Cabrera, there is no main beach as all the beaches lie a few minutes just outside the town. Here you see the bluff and a sharp drop off to the ocean. Not having a main beach keeps Cabrera from becoming over run with the tourist crowd who prefer to sun themselves on a sandy shore.

Sailboat in the sparkling sea

From the malecon you will see sailboats out for the day in the gorgeous blue waters.

A look at the cliff by the malecon

Here you see the dramatic beauty of the cliffs of Cabrera. No place to spread out a beach towel, it is nonetheless an attractive feature of nature.

Manny's Restaurant

Across from the malecon is Manny's Restaurant, one of the best restaurants in town. We ate artfully presented seafood here and the portions were so large, we split our meal. Trip Advisor considers Manny's to be the best. If you are ever in Cabrera, you must try this place. You can choose from pasta, pork, chicken or beef dishes. Have an ice cold beer, iced tea or soda with your meal.

A popular breakfast hangout

For as quaint as Cabrera is, there is a strong international presence of French people from Quebec. This influence shows up in the style of restaurants available and also in the products sold in the main grocery store in town.

Garcia's, the main grocery store

Here at Garcia's you will find fresh baguettes, sweet butter, a decent selection of cheeses and wines, along with the main items on anyone's shopping list.

A sundry store

While there are the modern stores like Garcia's above, this is the flip side of Cabrera -- local stores which sell a small variety of items. This one also sells roast chicken, a popular favorite of Dominicans.

Roasted chicken Dominican style

Throughout the Dominican Republic, you will see these long charcoal grills with chickens being roasted. We were surprised that these have not yet been automated. You will see a Dominican turning these chickens by hand constantly for hours until they are ready to remove from the fire.

Fresh roasted pork

Pork is popular also and is sold by the pound. Here you see the crisp skin having been roasted to perfection.

Dominican fruit stand

Dotted throughout the town you will find these shack-style fruit stands selling fresh tropical fruit. The final bill is tallied on a calculator because digital scales and electronic tills are not common.

Engaging locals

The people in the Dominican Republic in general and in Cabrera in particular are very friendly. Here we met neighbors standing in the shade chatting and sharing the news of the day. They were very amenable to having their photo taken.

Typical clean street in downtown Cabrera

Cabrera does not have a lot of traffic and it's a laid back sort of town. Here you see a "colmado," the green building on the right. Colmados are found all throughout the Dominican Republic and are local stores that sell a motley grouping of items.

An old fashioned barber shop

Need a hair cut? Try the barber shop!

Another Colmado

If you don't find what you are looking for in one colmado, you can always go to the next one. They are everywhere.

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Tropical fruit stand

Fresh fruits and vegetables are easy to find.

Fruit and vegetable truck

We bought a few of these tiny pineapples to take home and cut up. Sweet and delicious!

Sitting in a local hangout, having a beer

When we visited the Dominican Republic, it was hot! Walking around town we worked up a thirst and stopped by a local shop to have a Presidente beer, the most popular beer of the country.

For more stories and photos of the Dominican Republic, click here

Retire Early Lifestyle appeals to a different kind of person – the person who prizes their independence, values their time, and who doesn’t want to mindlessly follow the crowd.

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