Guananico

..
The road off the main road is pot riddeled/bombshelled. Some portions have been " repaired".......
U can do it in a "normal " car carefuly and slowly.

Never stop along the sugar cane fields ( as soon as u turn off main road ) especially after the sun goes down.....

But I have never heard of a choclate fabrica, mind u......
Lots of cacao for sell, lots drying up in the sun too in front of houses......
So if u have info, please post......

Nothing to be afraid of......... just an isolated strech of road where people have been robbed of cars ( not too many but like 3 or 4 over the past year), and motorbikes ( happens quite often at night).

The Puerto Plata Tourism and Culture Cluster promotes a Merengue and Cacao excursion. I have not taken it, but it does sound like one that I would want to recommend.

The tour to Guananico is called "Cacao and Merengue 100%" and takes visitors to Hacienda Cufa, a working chocolate farm that has been prepared for agritourism. The Mercado family explains how they grow their organic cacao to the highest standards of international markets. You will learn about the cacao tree, how it is planted and harvested, the cutting, extraction and selection of the cacao cob’s beans. There will be a tasting of the beans. In the small Casa del Chocolate see the process of milling the dried cacao beans, the roasting and artisan milling to the beat of the “pilon” and the in-house chant of the Hacienda. There is time for tasting chocolate made on the farm and even for spa treatments made with artisanal masks of cacao butter, and a plunge into the watering hole near the Caonao River.

The excursion then moves on to nearby Rinc?n Caliente, home to internationally-recognized Dominican grassroots typical merengue. At this stop, explanations are given on the making of some of the best metal scrapers (g?ira), drums (tamboras) and accordions in the country. The instrument manufacturers are also musicians, composers and arrangers and show their hospitality and warmth as island dwellers when suddenly the classroom becomes a dance room.

Dominican lunch in a typical ranch of the Cibao. It is sure that all will be dancing at the end of this taste and rhythm tour!

You can buy artisanally made instruments on site.
Contact Karina Abbott through Discover Puerto Plata

Take note that San Francisco de Macoris (Duarte Province) is also home to cacao tours through the Fundacion Quita Espuela (Home English) and Rizek Foundation (El Sendero del Cacao - Rizek Family)

Try driving it every odd day, or so.......

I take the road very frequently and I do it in a Hyundai Sonata and other than right at the turnoff from the main hwy where it is pretty bad for a short stretch, it is a relatively good road and has gotten much better in the last year or so.

badpiece33 said:

I take the road very frequently and I do it in a Hyundai Sonata and other than right at the turnoff from the main hwy where it is pretty bad for a short stretch, it is a relatively good road and has gotten much better in the last year or so.

Click to expand...

True, but it still has LOTS of potholes and u have to drive slowly ( relatively speaking ) and carefuly....... Not counting cows amd lorrys.....

Derfish said:

Be afraid, be very afraid? Can you color code those fear alerts as the Republicans do?
Der Fish

Click to expand...

Come on, is that really necessary? This is chocolate we're talking about. Chocolate is non-partisan, it spans all political boundaries.

Having said that, is possible to go there and get in a Hot Tub full of warm chocolate with mi novia? (uhh, her idea, yeah, that's right)

ctrob said:

Come on, is that really necessary? This is chocolate we're talking about. Chocolate is non-partisan, it spans all political boundaries.

Having said that, is possible to go there and get in a Hot Tub full of warm chocolate with mi novia? (uhh, her idea, yeah, that's right)

Click to expand...

To a Democrat that is not even considered sex, perfectly ok to do with your intern.