We spent the weekend in Jarabacoa...

I have to say that the weekend turned out to be one of the most wonderful experiences either of us have ever had!  Our host brother, Francisco and his fiance Karla, took us to Jarabacoa to spend some time with their uncle in their "casa de campo".

The trip was a short, one-hour ride north of the capital on Highway 1. The terrain changed drastically from that of Santo Domingo and about 56 kilometers into our drive we began to see mountains in the distance.  We are not sure what the elevation was but a two-way, winding road brought us to the country house of Don Jose Seijas. Don Jose is the VP and GM of Tabacaler de Garcia located in La Romana, DR.  His factory produces the famous Romeo y Julieta, H. Upmann, and Montecristo brand of cigars.  He was a gracious host, treated us like family and invited us to take an exclusive tour of the factory whenever we pleased.

In addition to meeting his lovely family, we met some interesting people that produced some interesting conversations. A self-proclaimed California hippie named Sunny Blueskies was in attendance this weekend and he shared with us some interesting views on life and a plan that peaked our interests. Sunny's philosophy in life is: Perfection is what is. Simple but profound, we interpreted it as a go with the flow type of deal. What you have is as perfect as it is going to get.

Sunny Blueskies

We endulged all weekend long by drinking fine wines, smoking cigars produced by the cigar world's royalty, drinking a medley of rums, vodkas, beer and eating some of the tastiest dishes on earth.  A signature dish that we devoured was the "Yanikekes." This is a dish made famous in the 18th century by an English woman named Jane who fried up some flour dough and called them "cakes." The Dominican interpretation was Yani's Cakes, which over the years has transformed into the aforementioned spelling.

Above all, this weekend was one in which we spent most of the time in awe of this region's natural beauty.

The view from the patio

The views were breath-taking and we had the opportunity to visit the Salto de Jimenoa and the Salto de Baiguate.  These are water fall with crisp, sparkling water that, against our better judgement we sampled.  It was delicious!

Salto de Baiguate