camping in the dr......

malko

Campesino !! :)
Jan 12, 2013
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1,327
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Sooooooo..............

We deceided to go camping.
THE CAST.

Me my wife and my 7 month old rottweiler.
BIL and his 2 kids ( boy 8, girl 7).
BIL his novia and her 2 kids ( girls 3 &8).
3 sobrinas ( 12, 25, 22 and her 4 year old boy ).
And the donkey...

THE LOCATION.

Everyone knows and has been but no one can recall how far neither an exact route.
Anyway off we go, bright sunny afternoon must have been around 2.
We leave ( by the way this already deep campo....). About 2 ks on a normal countryside road.... turn off on a earth/stone kind of road steep uphill. Maybe 2/3km. Through a couple of isolated hamelts until an ankle deep strech of a river to cross. This is a mountanie/hill area. Lust ecosystem type.. Then riverside big boulder type or small path through the woods/centuryold cacao trees. Hard going but fun.... very steep parts ( a seed of worry creaps out -----I am a pessimist on some things.....)
Finally we arrive. Paradise. Waterfalls. Natural cristal clear ponds. Great.

But it is already last light (dominican time. 2 hours hike turns into nearly a 4 hour hike.....anyway......).
Lets get the tent up.... huge thing 3 rooms/living room..... I ll spare u the story.... it is easier in day light than pitch dark.....
Tent in place . Get stuff sorted out. Put up huge hammock we have in between 2 huge cacao trees for my wife and myself.150cm high. Great. Fire going, food put on. Great. A great night under the stars. Coffee. Laughter. Dominoes.

And of course the Donkey.......
Twice on the hike the donkey collapsed. And me and my BIL, miguelo ( the handy one as opposed to mono the othr BIL who suddenly a month ago turned blind from diabetics!!!!! ) had to get him up-----consists of lots of shouting while pulling his ears (!!!!!)and at the same time try and take weight of him. Worked once.... the other time we had to unload the donkey so he could get back up..... The donkey, which we borrowed by the way since I do not have the honour or owning one, was old and scruffy looking, but did his donkey stuff real good, ie carry food, tent and water to destination.....

But we were There and eveything was going great......
 

Sosua Sonny

New member
Dec 30, 2013
280
0
0
Sooooooo..............

We deceided to go camping.
THE CAST.

Me my wife and my 7 month old rottweiler.
BIL and his 2 kids ( boy 8, girl 7).
BIL his novia and her 2 kids ( girls 3 &8).
3 sobrinas ( 12, 25, 22 and her 4 year old boy ).
And the donkey...

THE LOCATION.

Everyone knows and has been but no one can recall how far neither an exact route.
Anyway off we go, bright sunny afternoon must have been around 2.
We leave ( by the way this already deep campo....). About 2 ks on a normal countryside road.... turn off on a earth/stone kind of road steep uphill. Maybe 2/3km. Through a couple of isolated hamelts until an ankle deep strech of a river to cross. This is a mountanie/hill area. Lust ecosystem type.. Then riverside big boulder type or small path through the woods/centuryold cacao trees. Hard going but fun.... very steep parts ( a seed of worry creaps out -----I am a pessimist on some things.....)
Finally we arrive. Paradise. Waterfalls. Natural cristal clear ponds. Great.

But it is already last light (dominican time. 2 hours hike turns into nearly a 4 hour hike.....anyway......).
Lets get the tent up.... huge thing 3 rooms/living room..... I ll spare u the story.... it is easier in day light than pitch dark.....
Tent in place . Get stuff sorted out. Put up huge hammock we have in between 2 huge cacao trees for my wife and myself.150cm high. Great. Fire going, food put on. Great. A great night under the stars. Coffee. Laughter. Dominoes.

And of course the Donkey.......
Twice on the hike the donkey collapsed. And me and my BIL, miguelo ( the handy one as opposed to mono the othr BIL who suddenly a month ago turned blind from diabetics!!!!! ) had to get him up-----consists of lots of shouting while pulling his ears (!!!!!)and at the same time try and take weight of him. Worked once.... the other time we had to unload the donkey so he could get back up..... The donkey, which we borrowed by the way since I do not have the honour or owning one, was old and scruffy looking, but did his donkey stuff real good, ie carry food, tent and water to destination.....

But we were There and eveything was going great......

Wow! True definition about keeping someone hanging. Need to hear more of this story! :laugh:
 

malko

Campesino !! :)
Jan 12, 2013
5,545
1,327
113
So.............

THE FIRST NIGHT

First night was a bliss!!!!!! Really enjoyable..... Probably around 1am, everyone setteles into the rooms in the tent.... well not everyone. Me and my wife are sleeping under the stars in the hammock. And BIL miguelo prefers a mat on the ground rather than the tent.

So we are under huge cacao trees ( over a 100 years old ). U cant see the earth on the ground for all the dried leaves, cacao "casings", dried up cacao. There is like a 10 cm carpet on the ground.
When we were getting organised we swept around the fire and put big stones around them ( 2 fires ), didnt want to start a forest fire. I had to go hunting around in pitch dark with miguelo for a certain kind of dry hollow wood that doesnt burn to fast nor to quick.
U actually leave the logs sticking out of the fire in a star formation. Good trick wood consumes nice and slow, lots of heat for cooking and coffee, but no flames. And u just let it burn all night and day......

I was hanging my stuff off our 2 cacao trees ( is bags, shoes, water....), when a HUGE "cienpiel"goes scuttling off. When I say huge I mean huge, it was the lenght of my forearm....... Everyone was saying I should of killed it, that it could come back for us (!!!). Right, I was scared it would have pulled my machete from my hands....:classic::classic::classic:

One will note that when u are at home and getting stuff prepared, the gringo, me, is made to be the partypooper trying to make sure everyone has the necessary, minimum equipment. So I sensibly refrained from this time...... bad move.
At home in my dressing I have a "readybag". Yes I know sometimes I am border line paranoid..... torch, matches, lighter, dynamo torch, machete, shells for shotgun, knife, first aid kit, all wrapped up in freezer bags to protect from water..... so I was prepared.
So what was to happen, happened. In between them they had one dynamo torch ( that we brought over for the whole extended family years ago....). Of course it was miguelo only that hanged to his over the years.
So one real torch ( mine, a nice peace of kit, very powerful ) and 2 dynamo torches ( that dont give off that much light ) and 2 cell phones of the sobrinas to give off light...... we got by on this the first night using the gas bottles ( thats the dominican way I was told ).
Anyway, my wife, me, my trusty torch, the 12 gauge all huddle down for a nights sleep in the hammack. And of course my rottweiler underneath us.....

Morning comes, early rise with the sun for everyone. Guys with donkeys stopped on their way to work at the top of mountain ( 3 hour commute!!!) to have a word and some coffee. Great.
Get the water boiling for dominican desajuno, choclate Mune with canela and other spices, platano and queso. Great.

THE PROVISIONS.

Envision the donkey.......
5 live hens dangling off him. A ration of platano. A ration of guinea madura. 10 lbs of rice. Cold box full of chuleta and cheese. Those colmado bgs of bread hanging off. A bag of potatoes. A bag of sweet potatoes (batava ). A gallon of aceite. 7 jugs of water. Rum bottles. Gas bottles ( small brugal bottles full of petrol and clothe------looks like a homemade molotov cocktail...). Boxes of galleta de soda, 2 grecas for coffee, a bag of sugar, coiple of bags of coffee......... and more.
It looked like we were running round the mountain trying to sell stuff....... Poor donkey.
So we had all we needed.

REX THE ROTTWEILER.

So I deceided to take Rex camping. 7 month pup ( got him when he was 5 months). Apart from daily walks and a couple of drives in the pich up, Rex never had left home. So I was a bit anxious to see how he would handle himself.
On the hike, once he got used being among lots of people and a donkey, he was having the time of his life!!!! I had him on a leash ( well 2 intertweined cos its hard to find a real solid leash here).
As we walked through a couple of isolated hamelets on the way up, other dogs gave him a wide berth. He is only 7 months but he is a huge beast..... Except for one house.........
Lots of young people sitting on a wall making sure the dirt road doesnt disapear. Out comes like 7 scruffy chiwawa/sausage kind of dogs, yapping, nipping at Rex. Old lady owner, half off her head, cannot call back or control her dogs. Rex stays walking by myside, not minding the yapping and nipping ( God love him!!!)
All the youngsters ( well youmg and not so young), are shouting "Let him go!!! Kill the wee pests..." and stuff like that. Presumebly the old loca and her dogs werent liked that much.......
Anyway a couple of big street dogs, made bolder by the non reaction of Rex to the chiwawas, deceided to give it a go too......
As they approach Rex starts growling softly and the hair on his neck sticks up......
Two of the dominican street dogs looked vicious like. A couple of chiwawas ok..... 3 or 4 street dogs no way.
Decesion time. I try to shoo away the bigger dogs, to no avail. Ok, Rex my lad, go get them. He turns round and goes for the biggest, ugliest, meanest stray I have ever seen ( looked like some pitbull mix, ugly as fu#$ ). Catches him behind the neck and slam dunks him onto the ground....... the stray gets up and goes for it again. Rex locks his jaw around the front leg and swings it around!!! The stray wasnt touching the ground. Sent him flying!!!! All the dogs stopped yapping and barking and nipping and all disapeared in a hurry.......
Lesson learned. Rex is a good dog but if angry, very, very hard to keep under contol. Too much power......
 

malko

Campesino !! :)
Jan 12, 2013
5,545
1,327
113
So........

THE FIRST DAY.

So after a first peaceful night---no music, no motorbikes, no people, no nothing actually---. We wake up early with the sun rising.
Couple of workers stop by on there way to work on donkeys, a coffee and a few words...... great start to the day.

Get "mune" chocolate with water herbs, canella, clavo..... on the heat. Platano and queso too...... dominican breakfeast!!!!
Not for me though, a couple of bananas ( maduro of course ) and coffee.
Ok kids, everyone down to the rio for a clean up and dish washing!!!!!
Down to the river, because it is a couple of minutes ( 2 maximum ) down the path. Had a flash that I didnt want "base camp" on the shore of an unknown river with waterfalls, thank you very much ( this has all kts importance later on in the story........)

So cristal clear ponds, waterfalls as a shower. Clothes drying on the rocks. Swimming with "camarones". Great start to the day.

Back up to base camp. Clear up sort out food and clothes. Initiated everyone to not throw rubbish evrywhere ( arrghhhh).
One bag for bones and chicken waste. For the Rex.
One bag vegetebale waste. For the donkey.
Big binbag for the other waste.
Clean up, explain to the few who dont know that I get "encoronado" with people littering, and it is best to be on my good side..... thank u everyone.
Base camp is cleaned and smartened up.

Me and miguelo climb off to a nearby mountain where we had spotted a plant that grows and that donkeys absolutly nead to survive. Or I guess they transform into somekind of maneating monster......
So morning collecting foliage for donkey and wood ( u definitly need a special type as well here in the dr.....sigh ).
Meanwhile woman preparing lunch, because in camping as well in the dr, u never stop eaten and drinking.......

After a typical lunch of pollo, arroz and abichuela and salad a whole bunch of us deceide to head higher into the mountains, to search for a gorge.
This gorge apparently is a direct passage way between earth and the unknown. If u throw a stone, it takes 2 hours to hit the bottom------dominican hours I believe.
After lots of climbing and river crossings, we finally give up. Everyone knew the way but each opinion was diffrent.......
Back to base camp.
Great day, river swimming, hiking, beatiful mountain. Great.
 

malko

Campesino !! :)
Jan 12, 2013
5,545
1,327
113
So..........

SECOND NIGHT.

Good fun. Typical camping night. Except for kika ( quiqa), el mono's ( the newly blind BIL )novia. A note on her.
My in laws are all campisinos. My wife was dirt poor as a kid. So they all are kind of robust and handy. I have taken it for granted.
So kika is from imbert. Not exactly the big city, whatever they say.So we all kind of expected her to be of the same breed.
She cant walk, she complains, she cant clean a chicken, she cant climb a tree...... pfffffff why go camping??

So kika ( near useless), a 3 year old kid ( who is not hers, the mother took off for spain......), a 8 year girl an mono who is blind.
Talk about a liability.......

So near midnight, she wonders off on the call of nature if u see what I mean. Nobody really notices. We are all drinking and singing......
And than we hear a loud Poouuum. The donkey's died cries out miguelo. Torch switched on. Oh ok the donkey is fine.
So we spread out. My wife along the track. She cries out in laughter, hysterical. We all zero in.
Kika in her rush to get down to buisness , deceided to squat on big tree root next to the track. The root gave way and she fell a meter and a half down to the river!!!!! And soiled herself in the process!!!!!!
Everybody is laughing especially the kids. She fell in total silence hoping not to give herself away. Bad luck.
She scraped her leg and is complaining about it to her novio. Look, look. Mono answers back" how can I look I am f#$/i g blind???
Which cracks us all up again......

We all settle down to sleep. I get back out of the hammock to go for a pee with Rex. Move away from base camp in pitch dark.
Rex starts to growl, I switch on the torch. A pack of stray dogs!!!! Holy me !!!!!
Thankfully they scatter. Just got me wondering what dogs were doing in the middle of no where.....

THE SECOND DAY.

Morning spent bathing in lovely pools, playing with the kids. Just after lunch it starts to rain. A grizzle. Ok it will pass.
An hour later much harder rain arrives. Pack everything into the tent. Rain stops after 30 min. I go about putting our hammock back up, thinking to myself that now is the time to leave. Did I say anything:no. Didnt want to be the grinch.

Instead I leave on my own with Rex up the mountain for a long hike and picture session......
Back just before dark, food is on the fire........
 

malko

Campesino !! :)
Jan 12, 2013
5,545
1,327
113
I gotta say this guy who went blind a month ago is really impressive! If I went blind I would be depressed not doing anything for months!!!

Yeah real strange. He works as a chef in a AI resort in bavaro. Comes back to campo one week every 2 months. And he has been diabetic for 15 years.
Around xmas time he was here, his usal self..... lots of rum. Cos as all self respected dominican knows. Brugal quema la sucra.......
Anyway he said he was seeing all fuzzy. He and us put it down to the impressive drinking........
He goes back to work, phones 10 days later, he is going to SD for laser eye surgery ( thankfully his work provides securo).

Surgery didnt work, cant go back to work. Comes home to the campo. Picked him up at bus stop in Imbert, couldnt get off the bus on his own. F#$/.
So in one month he has gone from normal eyesight to totally blind. Didnt know it was possible.

He goes to diffrent doctors twice a week, santiago, Pop...... he goes on mondays tl evangelico imbert who are supposed to cure all sort of stuff ( u never know....).
Miguelo, his brother, swears squeezin grenade fruit in his eyes will get his sight back. So he tried that as well ( nothing to loose right......).

So family quest is to stop him feeling sorry for himself....... ie camping, beach, pool side party.....
And of course controling his diet, diabetics in the dr never seem to do this.......

Monday he is being operated in santiago, injected some liquid or other in his eyes. Doctor says it could help but no guarantee.
Doing all this in a rush before his job securo runs out....... they have been ok at work. Securo ffr another 2 months and keeping his job place for 2 months ( but only 1 month paycheck).

Keeping our fingers crossed......