Jarabacoa

For the first time, we have taken a vacation on the island.  Last weekend, we travelled to Jarabacoa which is in the mountains of the center of the island.  Crazy roads driving through the mountains…hair pin curves climbing uphill and downhill. 

I almost thought I was in British Columbia.  Tall pine trees, cooler mountain air, white water rapids on the river…and then, a copse of pine trees with mango trees and palm trees!

We went with our good friends, Bruce and Mary.  We spent quality time enjoying beverages and golfing.  What an absolutely gorgeous golf course hidden in a really beautiful setting.  Very lush and green.  The quench wench drove around the golf course following us with a cooler on his scooter selling us ice cold, frosty Presidente.  The guy had everything for sale:  hats, beer, and food.  It really didn’t matter what we wanted, he would run and get it for us.

Let’s just say that I really, really suck at golfing.  And, that’s all I have to say about that.

We stayed at the Hotel Gran Jimenoa which was a very nice hotel right on the river.  So, if you have ever read my blog, you know I complain about the heat.  Well, we were in a hotel with air conditioning.  Yes, we turned the air conditioning on.  We left the air conditioning running at 18C.  We woke up at 4 am absolutely freezing.  My nose was cold.  I loved every minute of it.  Two heavenly nights of being cold and sleeping under blankets.  I think that was almost the best part of the vacation!

The hotel restaurant served good food.  Breakfast was the only meal that was so so.  The Dominicans really, really like mashed things for breakfast.  Mashed potatoes, mashed plantains, and mashed plaintains with mango and onions.  The plaintains with mango and onions was a lumpy grey/brown looking mass.  Ross was brave and tried it.  Can you say, “wall paper paste?”

This area of the island rarely sees gringo tourists and as a result, everyone speaks Spanish and very little or no English.  Good thing Bruce and Mary were with us as they both speak pretty good Spanish.  I didn’t realize how much Spanish I have learned as when we went for breakfast Monday am (no buffet), I had to order breakfast in Spanish.  I did pretty darn good because everything I ordered, we actually got what we thought we were going to get.  Can you say queso frito?  (Fried cheese is to die for!)

Ross ate beef both nights and enjoyed it.  I had chicken one night (very, very good cordon blue which they call “Gordon Blue”) and pork medallions in passion fruit the next night.  Both were fantastic.

The trip home was rather uneventful until we were approaching Moca.  The area around Moca and La Vega is a rich, agricultural area.  Large potato farms, corn farms and of course banana and plantain plantations.  We were almost at Moca when we came upon a truck hauling what we think was corn feed.  Now, when transport companies in Canada haul loads of feed, there are height restrictions, weight restrictions, proper ways of securing a load.  Well, not in the Dominican Republic.  This guys load was very slowly slipping sideways.  He would hit a bump and the load would shift some more.  This was an accident waiting to happen.  We knew this was rather unusual because as the guy drove through town, even the locals were watching, pointing and laughing.  We were scared to pass the guy because we knew that if that load finally went, the truck would roll and the highway would be blocked for hours.  We finally managed to get past him.  If there ever was a time for a cold beer, that was it so we found a Colmado on the side of the road, pulled up and the dear fellow working there sold us cold beer and we carried on our way.  (No cold beverages for the driver though!)

Ticks

This blog is from about three years ago.

I forgot to publish it.......


my bad......

I hate ticks.  We have been enduring an unbearable outbreak of ticks.  The hot, dry summer has been the perfect combination for these little pests to breed.  Our dogs have been banished to outside..tough life for a dog!  They have been sleeping in our basement bedroom which isn’t so bad because they have their own ensuite.  We are going through weekly baths and tick treatments.  Try bathing a 80 lb dog that hates water.  Jack and Shelby have cooperated extremely well but Boss has his own thoughts about having a bath.  Ross has to hold him with every ounce of strength he has while I give him the bath and treatment.

For the better part of three weeks, we have been fumigating and vacuuming up hundreds of these little blood suckers.  I am so sick of tick patrol but we think we have things finally under control.

For the first treatment (we didn’t really know what to do), we packed up all three dogs in the car.  Oh, how the boys love to go for a car ride.  I think they thought they were going to the beach for a run….Oh, I don’t think so…not on my watch anyway…horses, runners….not a friggin chance.  Anyway, we head off to Judy’s Pet Lodge for a bath and tick treatment.  Upon arrival, I take Jack first to the bath area only because he is quite cooperative.  In the tub Jack goes…Ross is still in the car with Boss and Shelby.  By the time I have started back to get the next dog, Ross is being dragged across the parking lot by Boss.  Now, when we arrived at Judy’s, I had left the back window open about a third of the way so they wouldn’t bake. 

Boss can climb out of partially opened car window.

There is a Dominican family living next to Judy’s who has a number of free range chickens. 

Boss really likes to chase chickens.

Ross almost had heart failure trying to catch Boss as he chased the chickens and scared the life out of the family that lives there.  Boss is a big baby but looks pretty intimidating.  Ross is yelling at the family to catch Boss’s leash (we learned from the beach experience that it is a good idea to leave the leashes on the dogs) and they are backing up from Boss not really giving a rat’s ass that he is scaring the chickens half to death. 

I think Ross was angry…..

Our dogs should have movies made about them…..