Backroad trip-San Jose de Ocoa to Constanza

Last Saturday we went with the Glaziers and McDermids on a loop to the west of Santo Domingo through Azua and then north along a dirt road through a Parque, La Valle Nueves, to Consanza.  Then we looped back to the main highway and returned to Santo Domingo.  The road offered some good views and some insight into rural life.  There are some large haciendas and some very small shacks,.  These passes rose to about 8000 ft, with some steep drop offs.



Freezy pop vendor in a smal village, 7 pesos each (20 cents).



Mural at the visitor center in the park, it was cool out, but not arctic.

Burro in the street at Ocoa.

This little piggie had a refuse pile to dine on, though he had to share with a chicken. This hamlet must have been Cerdo-ville, everyone had a pig or two chained outside their shack.



Elder mcDermid had me share his licorice with these kids, I hope the little girl passed them along to her friends.



This little guy came out of that house.  No electricity and no water.  Hope he makes it.

Motos and cell phones are ubiquitous. Hard phone lines are unreliable so everyone has cells, coverage is pretty good, even in tiny groups of homes. This picture is in Ocoa, a bigger town.  The motos are two-cycle engines usually, often chinese knock offs of Japanese bikes. In Santo Domingo they are a major nuisance while walking or driving. They follow no rules and use the sidewalks if it is to their advantage.

These two houses were just outside Ocoa, humble over all but some great murals.



These humble homes were along the road, probably 20 miles to a store of any size. As an aside, the skin color of Dominicans varies greatly, but these really dark skinned guys are likely Haitianos.  Haitians come in without papers so are limited to very low end jobs, but apparently still better than Haiti.  Dominicans use small boats and rafts to try to slip into Puerto Rico, better opportunities there. Puerto Ricans, of course, go to New York City.




Passing on the narrow road could get interesting, those were potatoes heading to market.



Slightly higher end homes with satellite dishes.

This looked steeper in person.  The white pipe
crossing the valley in the air is a water pipe
bringing water to a small group of houses.

We thought we were in the middle of nowhere, but this guy
 was hoofing along the road.