As you may or may not recall from my last hiking adventure here in the D.R., we got a bit lost. But it was cool, I like being a little bit lost, that just means you have to find yourself. And you never know what you'll come across on the journey. In our case, we had a great hike despite not ending up exactly where we wanted to be, and a second perk, we found the trail to another mountain, La Loma del Chivo (the Hill of the Goat) which according to our Dominican guide, would provide us with an amazing view looking out over Santiago. We left our previous hike promising to return to conquer el Chivo one day.
And that day ended up being very soon, the next weekend in fact!
What can I say, we love to hike :)
Anyways...our journey started on a lovely Sunday afternoon. Once again we caught a Javilla Tours bus to Villa Gonzalez and paid a couple motoconchos (only 80 pesos each this time! our bargaining skills are improving) to take us to the "trail head." Trail head is in quotations because its not really a real trail, more like a path that a few farmers might use to get back and forth across the mountain. In fact, it was closed off by a barbed wire fence and we had to ask the kindly old men in the shack next to the gate if it was ok for us to pass through. Of course they didn't mind though. Once we were passed the barbed wire we were on our way!
And that day ended up being very soon, the next weekend in fact!
What can I say, we love to hike :)
Anyways...our journey started on a lovely Sunday afternoon. Once again we caught a Javilla Tours bus to Villa Gonzalez and paid a couple motoconchos (only 80 pesos each this time! our bargaining skills are improving) to take us to the "trail head." Trail head is in quotations because its not really a real trail, more like a path that a few farmers might use to get back and forth across the mountain. In fact, it was closed off by a barbed wire fence and we had to ask the kindly old men in the shack next to the gate if it was ok for us to pass through. Of course they didn't mind though. Once we were passed the barbed wire we were on our way!
The path started off quite lovely, nice and well-marked, with beautiful views of the tobacco fields swathed across the hillside.
We snuck down into one of the fields for a closer look at the drying process.
Yep, these leaves are going to make some fine cigars, I give my stamp of approval.
A few minutes later in our journey, the lovely little path took on a slightly more challenging nature.
We soon came to realize just why it was called the Hill of the Goat! Only goats were meant to climb this thing. We weren't sure exactly where we were going but there was one thing for certain, we were going straight up. I'm talking 45 degree angles here; direct route to the top. We did almost just as much climbing as hiking. The path continued to become increasingly steeper and narrower, until, thank the Good Lord, it leveled off a bit in a wooded area, giving us a chance to catch our breaths and wipe the sweat out of our eyes......before it disappeared entirely....
Hmmmm? Did we make it to the top? Where do we go now?
Oh well, we´re just happy we don`t have to keep climbing up anymore! Time to head back down.
We couldn´t leave without seeing the main event though: the promised breathtaking view.
Lindsay looking lovely with the "yellow" tree.
What? Rain? Where did that come from? Of course we shouldn´t have been surprised, the weather changes on a dime here.
On our way down we decided to visit the creek from our last hike.
The silver lining to a sudden downpour? Nobody cares about playing in the creek when you are already wet.
We decided to try to hike down the creek bed back towards the city since that seemed way more fun than walking back along the road.
I was just hopping along from rock to rock when Lindsay called me back for my camera. Fascinated by the array of colors on our path, she proceeded to snap this very artistic picture capturing the loveliness of the wet stones, in all their many shades, along with the bright leaves.
Perhaps one of the loveliest qualities about Lindsay is that she never fails to see the beauty in everything.
Perhaps one of the loveliest qualities about Lindsay is that she never fails to see the beauty in everything.
I took a slightly less inspired picture of a flower. Still pretty though, don´t you think?
In any case our artistic reverie was abruptly interrupted when we stumbled upon a group of men bathing desnudo (naked!) just a little further downstream.
I quickly averted my eyes since my Catholic upbringing had me blushing like a school girl. So, of course, no pictures for you. We promptly changed course and headed back for the road, giggling as we pondered what the bathing men must have thought about a group of gringas bursting in on their bath.
In any case our artistic reverie was abruptly interrupted when we stumbled upon a group of men bathing desnudo (naked!) just a little further downstream.
I quickly averted my eyes since my Catholic upbringing had me blushing like a school girl. So, of course, no pictures for you. We promptly changed course and headed back for the road, giggling as we pondered what the bathing men must have thought about a group of gringas bursting in on their bath.
On the way back we came across an an intriguingly painted rock. What do you think it´s supposed to be? Lindsay saw "mushroom."
Sydney and I saw "girl pointing home".
Which was a good sign, since that is where we were headed.
We happily made our way back to the highway to await our bus.
Overall, a good trip with a few surprises, just the way I like my adventures :)
We happily made our way back to the highway to await our bus.
Overall, a good trip with a few surprises, just the way I like my adventures :)
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