The alarm went off in Santo Domingo at 5 a.m. We showered, made coffee and it was already a little steamy, so I changed into a lighter weight top [big mistake]; my in-laws picked us up at 6. The ride there was an amazing difference from last year - the road from Santo Domingo to Bani is just a dream, right down to the reflectors in the lanes and sides. We were in Bani is less than 1/2 hour. The ride up the mountain was greatly improved too, several sections of the road and a bridge had been washed out with the heavy rains/mudslides awhile back, and it's all been repaired. We drove through the city of Ocoa around 7 am and I was surprised how many people were out and about already. Continued up the mountain, with the road in surprising condition; my brother-in-law mentioned that the road is so good now that we could actually get there now in the little Nissan car we rented. The pavement ends abruptly, as before, and we continued the final 3-4 km on packed earth. Shiny new cement electric poles - and electric wires - caught our attention. It's great that it's there, but my brother-in-law was quoted close to $200,000RD for a transformer and to connect his 1200 tareas to the grid. We have a small [70 tareas] section across the road from him, but we're not even close to being ready for electric.
We arrived at his finca about 7.30 a.m. and I wasn't prepared for the cold air that enveloped us when we got out of the car. A brisk wind whipped all around, and went right through us - thermometer said it was 15 degrees C. but it felt like it was a lot colder than that. I can't count how many times I've been there before, and never felt so cold. I used to kind of chuckle to myself at the warm coats my in-laws brought there, but yesterday I was very jealous of their warmth. I was wearing a lightweight t-shirt, cropped pants and open sandals - my husband had a t-shirt, shorts and sneakers.
I scooted inside very quickly, once out of the wind it was bearable. The family who live there and care for the finca greeted us warmly, and soon began cooking breakfast for all of us with food from the finca. [They grow everything imaginable, have chickens, goats, sheep, pigs, cows, oxen, pigeons, you name it, they have it]. Scrambled eggs with onions, boiled green bananas, arepa [kind of corn bread but with coconut milk], coffee.
Heavy equipment arrived to flatten an area for three greenhouses, and to carve out another road up the facing hill.
When the sun finally came out it was bearable outside. My husband, brother-in-law and I drove down the hill to cross over to our property to plant some lemon trees that we bought last week at a vivero in San Cristobal. The entrance was totally overgrown, so they opened part of the barbed-wire fence and climbed through - I supervised from the car.
They saw a tree in the distance that they said was full of naranja agria [bitter orange, great for cooking and marinading], so after planting the trees they came back to the car and we drove down the road a bit and they went back into the property, this time up an even steeper hill. They came back exhausted and empty-handed - what they thought were oranges were bright orange baseball-sized flowers on the tree.
My husband and I got dropped off down the road a bit further at our other brother-in-law's house, where we were all having lunch. The house has been there for a couple of generations, it was his father's house. It is completely solar powered, because until this year there was literally no other option. Pollo criollo prepared two different ways, arroz con guandules, fried eggplant, fruit salad, vegetable salad, potatoes au gratin, etc., everything but the rice came from the finca. Coffee, then back down the road and up the winding road to my husband's brother's house. There we watched as the heavy equipment continued their work.
We left about 5, and came back down the mountain uneventfully. We did come across a large group of motorcyclers - maybe 20 of them - on the side of the road. One of them had had an accident, and they were loading the cycle onto a pickup truck.
In the city of Ocoa the area around the park was bustling with a fiesta. Booths everywhere, selling everything, music playing, everyone in party mood. It will go on for 11 days, feast of Altagracia, patron saint of DR.
At the end of the road, where it meets the highway heading east to Bani, is a booth sitting in the middle of the road - about the size of a toll booth. Inside the fellows sell the BEST dulce de leche I've ever tried. We never leave without some. You buy it by the pound and they cut it off a huge cake. Perfect end to a perfect day in Ocoa.
AE
We arrived at his finca about 7.30 a.m. and I wasn't prepared for the cold air that enveloped us when we got out of the car. A brisk wind whipped all around, and went right through us - thermometer said it was 15 degrees C. but it felt like it was a lot colder than that. I can't count how many times I've been there before, and never felt so cold. I used to kind of chuckle to myself at the warm coats my in-laws brought there, but yesterday I was very jealous of their warmth. I was wearing a lightweight t-shirt, cropped pants and open sandals - my husband had a t-shirt, shorts and sneakers.
I scooted inside very quickly, once out of the wind it was bearable. The family who live there and care for the finca greeted us warmly, and soon began cooking breakfast for all of us with food from the finca. [They grow everything imaginable, have chickens, goats, sheep, pigs, cows, oxen, pigeons, you name it, they have it]. Scrambled eggs with onions, boiled green bananas, arepa [kind of corn bread but with coconut milk], coffee.
Heavy equipment arrived to flatten an area for three greenhouses, and to carve out another road up the facing hill.
When the sun finally came out it was bearable outside. My husband, brother-in-law and I drove down the hill to cross over to our property to plant some lemon trees that we bought last week at a vivero in San Cristobal. The entrance was totally overgrown, so they opened part of the barbed-wire fence and climbed through - I supervised from the car.
They saw a tree in the distance that they said was full of naranja agria [bitter orange, great for cooking and marinading], so after planting the trees they came back to the car and we drove down the road a bit and they went back into the property, this time up an even steeper hill. They came back exhausted and empty-handed - what they thought were oranges were bright orange baseball-sized flowers on the tree.
My husband and I got dropped off down the road a bit further at our other brother-in-law's house, where we were all having lunch. The house has been there for a couple of generations, it was his father's house. It is completely solar powered, because until this year there was literally no other option. Pollo criollo prepared two different ways, arroz con guandules, fried eggplant, fruit salad, vegetable salad, potatoes au gratin, etc., everything but the rice came from the finca. Coffee, then back down the road and up the winding road to my husband's brother's house. There we watched as the heavy equipment continued their work.
We left about 5, and came back down the mountain uneventfully. We did come across a large group of motorcyclers - maybe 20 of them - on the side of the road. One of them had had an accident, and they were loading the cycle onto a pickup truck.
In the city of Ocoa the area around the park was bustling with a fiesta. Booths everywhere, selling everything, music playing, everyone in party mood. It will go on for 11 days, feast of Altagracia, patron saint of DR.
At the end of the road, where it meets the highway heading east to Bani, is a booth sitting in the middle of the road - about the size of a toll booth. Inside the fellows sell the BEST dulce de leche I've ever tried. We never leave without some. You buy it by the pound and they cut it off a huge cake. Perfect end to a perfect day in Ocoa.
AE
