Saludos! I just returned from a short visit to Mao, El Cruce de Guayacanes, and Moncion.
I flew into Santiago and then took public transportation (juajua) to Mao. I had spent a couple of days there about a year ago on my way to Monte Cristi, and was now visiting a friend and his family from that vacation. I got to spend 4 days there playing basketball with the locals, talking about life in a small town, and eating lots of good Dominican food. The people were very friendly and made me feel very welcomed. A typical Dominican breakfast of mangu and yuca, bolita de yuca, fried cheese, and a natural juice cost about 60 pesos (US $2).
Mao is an agricultural town with many plantain and rice fields. It is also very hot and dusty.
I stayed at a small hotel called Agua Azul. It cost about $25 US per night for the room for one person. It has air conditioning, cable TV, and was clean. There is a good restaurant which has meals which cost extra. The best thing about the hotel is the large swimming pool. It has several slides and is open to the public. It is a great way to meet the locals of Mao and the surrounding areas. There was even a downpour (aguacero) that lasted for 1 and 1/2 hours and I think the people were enjoying themselves even more. There was thunder and lightning but people were still in the pool. I asked someone if they knew that if lightning was to strike that people could die and he said they know that but since it has never happened they aren't worried about it.
A group of people from El Cruce de Guayacanes invited me back to check out their town. It was about 20 minutes away. They told me of a waterfall which ran into a natural pool. It turned out that it was a pipe coming out of some rocks that carried runoff from a river. It was however very refreshing. The town featured only one main road with some stores and most of the people lived in the countryside. People were again very friendly.
One day myself and 3 friends hired a taxi for the day to take us to the town of Moncion. It was about 45 minutes away. It cost about $40 US. The town is situated in the mountains and the drive up has many stressful curves. We must have been driving up the spine of a mountain as there was a steep drop off on each side of the road. The driver at one point turned to where I was sitting in the back seat and said "un poco peligroso, no?" I immediately took my baseball cap and hit him with it and said "si, pero por favor,mire el camino!"
There are supposedly up to 7 rivers or swimming areas but I only got to see the one at La Presa (The Dam). At the dam there was a very large lake where people were swimming and hanging out on a raft. Some people were also fishing and jet skiing. The town itself was very nice and mellow. We bought sweet red grapes and apples. It reminded me of Jarabacoa and Constanza. Moncion does have some hotels and is I wish I had had more time to stay and explore.
Overall I had a great time and enjoyed my time away from major resorts and spending time getting to know the people.
You can see photos from my trip here on the DR1 media gallery Paul Gerace Photos section.
http://dr1.com/media/cgi-bin/media.cgi?direct=Gerace
Gracias.
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Mao, Moncion, & Cruce de Guayacanes
Gracias, Paul.
