Mao or Moca?

Forget moca or Mao, they are both boring except they grow some of the most beautiful girls in DR.
By the way, moa is no way near santiago, moca is (20 mins away). I would suggest you take a drive to Jarabacoa. Its about 45 minutes away from santiago through some of the most beautiful scenic up hill road you will find in DR. Once in Jarabacoa you will notice that you won't even feel like you are in a caribbean island. Instead of palm trees you will find yourself surrounded by all pine trees. The weather is plesant to cold (during night) and the people are very friendly and simple. You could go and see the water falls that this area is most notable for. There are several rivers where you can take a dip and then go to central park and sip on a beer in late afternoon and talk to people. Then simply head back to santiago and go to Ahi-bar and spend the evening away listening to music and eating ahi-bar fillet mignon with the creamy mushroom sauce while watching the giant screen TV in fron of you.
have a nice day
regards,
AZB

AZB, and you....

AZB said:

Forget moca or Mao, they are both boring except they grow some of the most beautiful girls in DR....AZB

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call that boring? Another idol with feet of clay!

Best, P

Pics Please

And please send us some more of your great photos. Yours are the best on this board.

Valverde de Mao is quite far from santiago. I would say about 45 min to an hour. You would have to go to navarette then to esperanza and then from there to mao. Its quite confusing to get there if you haven't made the trip before. You would have to make a few major turns to get there from the main road to all the cities I have mentioned. On the other hand, moca is within 20 mins from santiago. Its a small town with simple people living there. It would be good to go to central park (like a main square within the city) and shoot pictures of people living the daily life.
You can also go to la vega (30 mins from santiago, same direction as moca but further) and take some nice pictures of the cathederal. This is like the main point of the city where people congrugate and spend time with family and kids. The best time to go to la vega is feburary to take pictures of the carnival. La vega has the best carnival in DR.
If you really want to see the most simple country type dominicans then go see a small town (look up in the map) called Bytoa (not sure of the spelling). Its about 25 mins away from santiago (up hill) and a very small town with people completely detached from the major cities. They also have a small downtown and a city central square where people walk around in the late afternoon to pass time and breathe fresh air.
If you have time, do check out "Hanico", small town up in the mountians and see the river "Bao". Its a clean fresh water river with local dominicans usually cooking a whole pig or a goat for the family. Great place to spend an afternoon cooling off in the river.
My personal favorite place is Jarabacoa.

Mao is nice and hasn't yet been overrun by tourists.

It has Agua Azul, maybe the nicest swimming pool in the country, with a bar and band sometimes.

The Miss Universe of dams is nearby, with a gorgeous lake and good fishing (hook only, no spear fishing allowed).

Mao is EASY to reach. Express buses leave for Mao every 30 minutes from 2 different rotundas in Santiago, arriving about 45 minutes later. They go through Navarette without stopping, but DO stop in Esperanza. In Mao, they stop at the central park, which is very nice and convenient. The non-express buses stop in Navarette (or anywhere else) as well.

Hotels might be the biggest problem (if that's the right word). Agua Azul (with the swimming pool) is nice and only a 10 minute walk from the center, but is expensive for a non-tourist area (possibly as much as 1000 pesos). There are also tiny hotels, almost boarding house like, not too far from the center and very cheap (300 pesos or less). As you enter Mao, there is a fairly modern looking motel on the right, named Cajoba I think. Cheap, probably less than 500 pesos, but used to have plumbing problems.

If going by car from Santiago, I think that it can even be done fairly safely at night, because there are houses almost all the way. I wouldn't drive at night west of Mao though, toward Santiago Rodrigues (Sabaneta) because there are vast empty stretches.

BTW, it's NOT especially hard to find the way from Santiago. Going NW on the main drag, Las Carreras (from the direction of the Capital), veer right as you approach the Yaque River (you don't cross it until you're approaching Mao). After that, you keep to the left (twice, I think) until downtown Esperanza. There you make a 90 degree right turn toward Mao. You can easily ask if you need help for that one turn.

Mao is fairly good sized, with about 50 thousand people. It has almost anything that you'll need, mostly within a 10 minute walk of the center. At the same time, you'll be seeing the REAL DR.

BTW, there does seem to be a lot of pretty girls there.

What He Said!

I second Andy's post.

My wife is from Esperanza originally and has family there. Dusty and noisy, but an interesting place. Mao has some beautiful sights. There are several ways to get there from Santiago, AP Duarte through Navarette and turn off Esperanza the route to Mao from there is marked OK through town. Or head across the big suspension brige in central Santiago which is Av. General Lopez and then Av. Presidente Guzman. Just keep on going. That is the highway direct to Mao. But it's smaller, and more scenic, and takes a little longer. Not more than 45 minutes by car usually on AP Duarte. Buses run all the time, too.

One caveat I would add ... be careful in and around Navarette if a Huelga is in progress. It's one of the well known hotspots in the D.R.

Tom (aka XR)

andy a said:

Mao is nice and hasn't yet been overrun by tourists.

It has Agua Azul, maybe the nicest swimming pool in the country, with a bar and band sometimes.

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We stay at the Agua Azul frequently. Two weeks ago, we paid 650 pesos for a room with television and airconditioning.

Lots of bull floating around today

1) J?nico
2) Baitoa
3) Moca or Mao?

Moca is in the heart of the agricultural belt of the Cibao Valley. It has a zoo, perhaps the only thing worth seeing there. Mocanos are rather xenophobic but great once you get "in".

Mao is in the heart of the rice and banana fields of the huge irrigated areas to the West of Santiago.
It has a very lively young population that likes to party. The Mao River goes down one side of town, and the park is a meeting place. Mao people are friendly.

to the South of Santiago there is SAJOMA= San Jos? de las Matas.
A hill town with a wonderful ambiance and nice people. A little further on in El Rubio a tiny agrculture enclave and past that is Monci?n a former lumber center.

How to get there. You can get to Moca either by taking the Duarte Avenue and go East until you get there, or take the Duarte Highway and turn left at the sign that says MOCA. They are building an overpass there so it might be confusing.

Mao. Take the road that goes by the Nacional Supermercado--called Estrella Sadhala and go West. Go past the "Cruce de Esperanza" , past Maizal and turn left at "Cruce de Guayacanes)
When that road ends you go right into Mao. (30-40 mins)
Alternative route: Take the bridge across the river and keep going until you reach Mao. Slower but mor picturesque.(45-60 mins)

IF you turn left at the Cruce de Esperanza, you have to turn right when you get to the Texaco station and there is an intersection.
Don't worry, if you go straight you will hit the other road after you cross the river and you just turn right and get to Mao...

Need more information? I'd suggest Guayubin, over 100 years old and very quaint. It is about 1:30 from Santiago

HB

Re: Lots of bull floating around today

Hillbilly said:

Alternative route: Take the bridge across the river and keep going until you reach Mao. Slower but mor picturesque.(45-60 mins)Need more information? I'd suggest Guayubin, over 100 years old and very quaint. It is about 1:30 from Santiago

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Hey! That's what I said. Thanks, HB. By the way, Alba and I got married in Guayubin!

Tom (aka XR)

come here to mao!

i have been living here in mao for 4 months now and i can recommend this small but oh so lovely town.here you find the real dominican republic and the best people in the country!and there are lots of small hotels in the central of mao (ok they are not the same as agua azul but they are cheap).and on the first week of march we have the carnaval!
if you need help in organizing stuff i'm happy to help you just send me email and i can take you to tour around mao!
and all others too if you come to my town let me know!i'm always up for one presidente

iida

Hello Iida,

It's so good to see that you made it!

If the DR is worthwhile at all, it is because of the simple lifestyle and friendly people away from the beaten path.

I thought you'd like Presidente. I think that quality wise it is about like Lahtilainen, or other good Finnish beer - not quite up to German or Czech quality, but still excellent.

You were concerned before about being too far away from Santiago, but it sounds like you're comfortable in Mao. I thought you'd like it.

Mao is very nice and unspoiled. I think that it has 2 big disadvantages though - the heat and shortage of water. When approaching Mao from the west on the road to Santiago Rodrigues there is a certain hill where halfway down one can actually feel an instant rush of hot air. As for the water shortage, I don't really know why. The yaque river is very dirty at that point, but the Mao tributary shouldn't be so bad, at least not before the dam was there.

Why don't you compare/contrast some of your experiences and perceptions with that of Finland. I'd certainly like to hear about it.

BTW, the Finns are such great linguists - how is your Spanish already?

Good luck!

PGerace said:

Hi! I will be traveling to the DR in February and would like to visit a small town in the Santiago area. I have narrowed it down to Mao or Moca, or maybe even San Jose de las Matas.
Can someone please suggest one over the others and tell me why? (I would eventually like to visit all three).
Gracias.

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I have not been to Mao or Moca but I have been to San Jose De Las Matas and the place is pretty nice. The people are very hospitable and nice. My best friend is from there and he visits at least 10 times a year and seems to be in love with the place.

Ps: Make sure that when you get to El pedregal, ask the people there, which way to take to go to San Jose because if you do not ask, you may take the path to go to Rincon de Piedra.

Pss: I hope that you don't get sick because there is alot of turns and waves when going up to San Jose De Las Matas, lotsssssss

Interesting Topic

Thanks for the info on these towns, etc. My family will have some opportunity to do some sightseeing on this trip and these few posts were enough to make me want to get around these areas and stay a night or two in each. If anybody has a suggestion for an itenerary traveling the towns around Santiago for a week or so please advise.

When I think about the eventual trip I'm reminded of most of my experiences asking for directions in the DR when driving around the country in the past. My Spanish is terrible to non-existant so my attempts at communicating are pretty pathetic. The funny thing is, when I show people my map and ask for help identifying where I am (usually lost) and how to get whereever, almost everyone I show the map to looks at it like they don't know where they are on the map either. It's like the people I ask directions from haven't seen a map before. Question: who should I be looking for to ask for directions using a map? Any suggestions (beside improving my spanish)?