There are fewer places ?far from the beaten path? than the road to Cabral, Barahona Province, and yet there is one of the strangest places on earth, right there — the famous ?polo magn?tico?or magnetic pole of Cabral. Why you ask? Because there is a spot on that road that, if you leave your car in neutral, it will travel up what appears to be an incline with no aid from any obvious exterior force. According to Eugenio Urb?ez, a tiny 94 year old man, full of facts about the strange place, who was recently interviewed by El Caribe newspaper, the movement is caused by two mines that are below the surface. One is petroleum and the other is sulfur. While this is hardly true, the fact remains that objects move uphill at this location, be they bottles or balls or cars or trucks.
However, except for a tiny sign put up by the Brugal Company, there is nothing to indicate the truly interesting spot. Oh there was a big circle painted on the highway with a yellow dot in the middle, but that has been worn away and now the adventurous tourist just has to find Eugenio Urb?ez. Don Eugenio lives nearby, on a hill called La Cueva (The Cave), and every weekend he patiently explains to tourists, both local and foreign, just how the phenomenon works. One of his important instruments is a full bottle of water that he places on the spot and with no help from anyone, slowly begins to ascend the incline. Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday and all the holidays, don Eugenio is there for the curious. The Polo Magn?tico is famous on the Internet, and tourists from all over the world have come to visit with don Eugenio. It is located on the tiny highway between Cabral and Polo, to the West of Barahona, off highway 46 that goes from Barahona to Duverg? and is one of the attractions of those venturing out to visit the southwest of the Dominican Republic.