The campo is closer than you think

[keepcoming]

Some of my best meals/times were eaten/had at relatives homes in the campo. And yes many were "poor" but definitely not living in squalor. Being "poor" and having 'adult beverages" should not define a person and/or character. OP I am glad you had a good time...

 

[jefe de la finca]

True but perhaps my upbringing in deepest Gloucestershire in Cider with Rosie countryside makes me yearn for the simple life and here you find that in the campo away from the evils of commercialism.

Ditto. Although my formative years were spent in deepest rural Somerset on the Quantock Hills.

 

[pgolivares]

Finally today I made a long delayed visit to see some of the gf's family who apparently lived in the less than welcoming barrio of Santo Domingo named Manoguayabo.

Not so difficult a drive out via Luperon and 27th before turning into Av de Los Beisbolistas and then turning at the Cruz de Managuayabo.

But then we drove and drove and drove until soon after crossing the new ring road and into a very rural Managuayabo......... along way from beginning to end of this barrio.

Very simple surroundings on the edge of the city with the mountain vistas in the close distance and Rio Haina close by.

Got the usual excellent local family welcome and an excellent simple local Dominican feed in a simple wooden shack.

Now the family own a colmado alongside and the locals including a police colonel were already imbibing so we joined in. Frankly the most basic of surroundings and more basic than where I lived north of Villa Altagracia in the campo. Great.

It was superbly enjoyable and made me think back of the campo where I once lived for many years. A simple life without trimmings. Poor people enjoying their weekend relief with plenty of drink. Happiness Dominican style that not so many DR1 members see. A lot of legal Haitians too, living at the edges of the city where they can afford.

In discussions I quickly realized we were right next to Rio Haina and not far on the opposite side is the San Cristobel to Villa Altagracia road which is one of my favorite drives.

On the way back I was escorted to a dirt road which joined the ring road and took that road to Haina joining 30 de Mayo and was back home in less than 15 minutes albeit with a 100rd toll fee.

The campo is close to the city and I love it.

I love it too. Hence why I'm fighting so hard for our piece of campo 30 mins away from the capital. 40 years ago el 9, el 11, el 12 and managuayabo were light years from the city. Today the city goes right pass manoguayabo, pass el 12 and right up to los alcarisos, San cristobal and villa Mella. As a kid I always lived in the outskirts of the city in a finca known at that time as buena vista on the way to villa Mella and in la venta on the way to manoguayabo. Today these 2 places are part of Santo Domingo city and I kind of have nostalgia for the days when the city had less than 1 million.

In any event. I'm with you, I love el campo. Nothing like going for a day cutting some platanos, digging some yucas, grabbing a few limones, having lunch and heading back home. I love it.

 

[ju10prd]

I love it too. Hence why I'm fighting so hard for our piece of campo 30 mins away from the capital. 40 years ago el 9, el 11, el 12 and managuayabo were light years from the city. Today the city goes right pass manoguayabo, pass el 12 and right up to los alcarisos, San cristobal and villa Mella. As a kid I always lived in the outskirts of the city in a finca known at that time as buena vista on the way to villa Mella and in la venta on the way to manoguayabo. Today these 2 places are part of Santo Domingo city and I kind of have nostalgia for the days when the city had less than 1 million.

In any event. I'm with you, I love el campo. Nothing like going for a day cutting some platanos, digging some yucas, grabbing a few limones, having lunch and heading back home. I love it.

So good to find a DR1 member who knows the area mentioned in the OP well and understands my sentiments. There is the real DR, both in city, towns and campo and then the commercialized tourist areas, but campo life for me is easily one hundred times better and more valuable than what I read about in some other current threads.

Might be a few years before I get my wish again, perhaps in the northern part of Monte Plata province in those lovely rolling hills.