Short Trip to Jarabacoa

I love being in a Catholic country. There are saints' days here. Lots of them. Thursday, September 24 is Dia de Mercedes and therefore there is no school. A group of eight colleagues decided to forego the religious celebrations in the Zona Colonial and head for the hills - literally. We brought our overnight bags to school on Wednesday and left directly after last class for Rancho Baiguate in Jarabacoa. Alert readers with good memories - oops - will remember that the school had to cancel an outing to this eco-tourism resort because of the very disappointing Hurricane Danny.

About half way there, it started to rain. Pour. These photos do not do the experience justice. I am not a nervous woman, but I started fearing for my life. The rain bucketed down. Lightning cracked almost on top of us. Visibility was about three car lengths. We crawled along with out emergency lights flashing for fear that some crazy driver would barrel through us.

Crazy bus driver passing.

 About here, I begin to wonder if I had come to the DR to die. I calmed myself by thinking of my family and breathing for peace.

Note truck loaded with sand bags. They are not strapped down in any way.

 Every now and again, we would drive right out of the rain to find dry pavement. That would last about one km and then we'd be right back to driving though a car wash. The 2.5 hr trip took an extra hour, but both cars made it safely. Dio gracias.

The next morning dawned bright and clear - by dawn, I mean 9 am - and four of the eight of us went parasailing off a nearby cliff. You will notice that I am not in their number. Had I realized it was a tandem jump, I might have gone. Maybe next time.

Front row: Principal Diana, Math teacher Stacy, and VP Kirk. Behind, Kirk's friend Tony.

One of the gang - or not - in the air.

I opted instead to (a) sleep in, and (b) enjoy the promised "complete peace and tranquility" of Rancho Baiguate. This was not to be. The entire ranch was booked by school groups and day camps. There were young people and children everywhere, frolicking, eating, swimming, playing games - and all of it done while screaming and to the sound of blaring music. Most participants were blissfully unaware of what the rap and hiphop lyrics meant, but I was not so blessed.

After breakfast, my colleague Rachel and I went for a walk around the property.

I am pleased with this shot of the carp pond. 

I love pigs, and the feeling is evidently mutual.

 Still, after breakfast and a swim, I managed to doze off for a few minutes in the hammock on our terrace. Is there anything better?

Soon, it was time to pay up and go home. As we headed to the car, we felt a few raindrops and heard some thunder, but fortunately, the centre of the storm must have been far away.

Almost immediately, Diana pulled over to buy enough Arepa for everyone to have a slice. It turns out to be a corn cake with the heavy, smooth texture of bread pudding, and the same spices. Absolutely delicious.

A man carrying an arepa on his head. My guess is that it weighted a good 20 pounds.

 We'll all be back on the weekend of October 17 for the staff trip.