Constanza is a farming town in a valley surrounded by mountains. During colonial times, 200 Japanese folks were brought here to teach the locals farming techniques on the valley floor and terracing on the hillsides.
After a little flub with thinking I reserved us a room at one place, but it was actually at another...here is where we laid our heads for 2 nights, Hotel Constanza.
Beautiful countryside.
After a winding, bumpy ride from Constanza to the next village, we met Paul who recommended we park our car here at his restaurant/bar and he'd give us a ride to the waterfall we were after. I could have kissed him!
And now we are riding in style with an old pair of undies and some garbage in the back of his truck for the last 3km up a treacherous mountain road.
Here is Aguas Blancas, a cascading set of waterfalls, from a distance and up close. It is the tallest waterfall in DR and may be the tallest in the Caribbean, although one is rumored to be taller in Cuba. The first section's drop is 174ft/53m and the second is 125ft/38m.
The water in this pool is chilly! It doesn't snow here but this area gets frequent morning frost in winter.
I love the bright blue sky contrasting with the deep green hillside and moss hanging from the trees. It rains here most afternoons and this one is no exception.
Back at Paul and Alexandra's La Perla de Aguas Blancas restaurant, this pup found a cozy spot :)
Their resident parrot stayed busy licking the condensation off my water bottle while we waited a home cooked Plato del Dia (whatever Alexandra was cooking today).
This tea made of lemongrass, anise, cinnamon and mint was the best tea I've ever had and a nice warm up after the rain. Paul is a British guy who came here years ago in search of a carnivorous plant and did not leave. He married a local woman and they own this restaurant and a little farm on the surrounding hillside.
After the rain, the road did not improve, as you may have guessed. Thankfully the little economy rental car made it out of the mountains, but it stopped liking its lower gears so much... After the afternoon rain cleared we had dinner in Constanza and will make our way to Santo Domingo in the morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment