The Loooooong Drive Home...

(home. back to reality. whew! I even had a tough time driving..wondering why everyone is in such a hurry,  HaHa there was NO hurrying on this trip!)

Ok.  The drive back wasn't any longer than the one getting there but you know how it is.....we were a leetle tired and just ready to be outa the car.  The roads seemed a little bit curvier and the towns seemed a little bit more rural.  The beach was calling my name.
We didn't stop alot, altho it was Saturday and we were looking for lechon, roast pork that they cook on Saturdays, but once Cap'n gets that car in D for drive on the way home, it usually stays in D!!
The very first thing we saw leaving town was a beautiful roasted pig....but it was too early in the day to eat and we didn't want it hanging in the car all day so we passed it by.

"Lechón is a pork dish in several regions of the world, most specifically Spain and its former colonial possessions throughout the world. The word lechón originated from the Spanish term lechón, referring to a suckling pig that is roasted." Wikipedia

It's called a "couchon de lait" in our part of the cajun world.

We'll find some,,,,,we thought.

One of the curve we rounded brought us to the most primo fruit/vegetable stand yet!

with THE most gorgeous avocados ever!

cap'n wheelin and dealin' for the best price

we brought several of these babies back with us and OH MY!.....were they ever so tasty and flavorful!

We kinda had a few "get lost moments" cuz guess who was in charge of the map? um...but really? how could I see where we were supposed to be going when I was looking at this? Heheh!

we drive and drive, all the time keeping an eye open for lechon.  Not to be found but by this time, we really wanted some,  So what did we do?  Instead of turning left to go back to Cabarete, we took a right and drove to Gaspar Hernandez to find some!  Wha????? (we'd seen them cooking it here last yr when we drove thru that town)

Didn't find it but did get some hot smoking barbeque chicken right off of the pit.

Finally, on the way back to condo, we saw a stand. A lechon stand with cooked pork!!!! and it was just as good as I remember it to be!!!

I was back on the beach by mid afternoon and happy happy happy!

Finally got a few shots of the Fruit Lady!  She walks the beach every single day with a very heavy pan of fresh fruit on her head, selling it piece by piece.  So sweet!

As this day ended, I reflected on what a fun trip it was driving into the mountain area of Dominican Republic.....always a treat to witness another culture and how they live.

Cap'n cooked dominican beans and rice to have with our lechon, puerco asado, and we had a very fresh salad with some delicious avocado!!

Sweet Memories!!

The Treehouse!!

Hammock of God.

I believe it!!

So.........this is the place that our new Alabama buddy, who just appeared outa nowhere, told us about,  Cap'n had already reserved us a place in Constanza but after checking this place out, we knew it was meant to be!  

We arrived about 2:30 and were in awe of our surroundings. You drive around and around and around and around a mountain to get to its top. The restaurant itself is round and has 360 views from the mountaintop. 

approaching the front door

won't you come into the restaurant with us?

and this is pretty indeed but won't you take a look outside????

this is a balcony that goes almost all around the circular restaurant!

Inside there was the coolest wine cellar!

steps going around and down

where I sat with my bottle of wine for a while!

Now, let's just take a stroll over the one guest house that I have deemed "the treehouse"!

walk along the green filled path

and come inside our room!

walk out onto our terrace!

bedroom with a loft overhead with 2 twins

bathroom made completely of flagstone

and a fireplace made competely of stone....which you need on chilly nights in the mountains

but that porch?? that view??  Oh MY!!

our alabama buddy said you could see the border of Haiti from here......we were not so sure.

One thing I was sure about???  Coolest place so far!!

So, after a little of this, we went to dinner

arrow on top right is the top floor that revolves around

arrow on bottom left is the lower level restaurant

This is the view from our balcony

Beautiful restaurant at night with delicious food

and now that cool day view has turned into this!

Cap'n had a fire going in no time when we got back and we snuggled in for a good nights sleep!

when morning comes, it looks different out our window

we see that clouds have come in and we are above them in our treehouse!!

Sadly, the time has come to pack up and head back down the mountain to begin our trek back to our lil home away from home in Cabarete....but first we stopped in the restaurant for some breakfast and look!!!!!

One level down from the treehouse and we are smack dab right IN the clouds!!!!!

may I just say that this was one adventure with a capital "A"!!!!!!

and as much as this pains me to say.......it is time to go home. Insert crying eyes here....cuz I truly do love this place so much.  Usually I'm ready to get home. This time? not so much!!!!

But my sophiejane needs me and I got lots of playin to do with some grandbabies so it's time.

Will pick up with blog where I left off, once I'm home.

Believe me........there are plenty more adventures to write about!!!!

Day 2: Constanza in the Morning..Magic at Night

We took off from the River Resort Club on Friday morning after a nice breakfast. Driving up up up thru the mountains and totally enjoying the views.

Look Matt!!  They farm on the hill sides!!  Since we've entered into the farming business, cap'n is all about looking at farmland,  This was crazy!

No, we did not stop to go daaancin' at this club!

We also learned that Friday is WASH DAY in this country. Every house...and I mean, EVERY house had done their wash and it was out to dry.  Puts a whole new meaning into the words no dryer.  #clothesline/guardrail

Once we'd gotten to the top of the mountain(ears popping)....it was time to start going down. 

For Constanza is down in the valley. 

Constanza is a scenic agricultural village, 4,000 feet above sea level and nearly 19 miles wide in an area that is embedded in the Caribbean's most fertile valley. Here, ornamental plants and flowers are cultivated as well as potatoes, carrots, lettuce, celery and gigantic strawberries. The town has its own unique cooking style, and you should make sure not to miss their celery stalk purée.

It wasn't long before we started seeing this sign and we knew we were close.

As we wove down into the valley, another beautiful countryside opened its arms to welcome us!

 In this valley were lots and lots of vegetable fields, strawberry fields and flower fields.  When we told some buddies in Cabarete that we were going to Constanza, they all said....."Oh, where all the good food is grown!"

Cap'n hollered at this field of workers picking what we think are chives, they all were more than happy to smile for the camera.

and look!  Just look at the rows and rows of green, yellow and red butter lettuce. I could not get enough. It was like looking at a painting!

So lovely!

As soon as we had ridden around the town and checked it out, it was time to head back to our destination for the night!!!!!!!

But first, some stops to make on our way back...

Places that we'd seen on the way up the mountain but the curves distracted up from stopping.

The Marmalade Stand!!

 

Fresh Strawberries and do you see those jars above???  OH. MY. GAWD!!!!! Some concoction of those strawberries, sugar and juice that was to die for.  I say "was" because we've already eaten a whole jar of it. On toast for breakfast? On top of cap'n's vanilla ice cream??  And the darker one? Some kind of fig fruit preserve,  Awesome!

Next stop was for lunch.

where she cooked....and I'm telling ya'll....this was on the SIDE of a mountain range..

We only ate the pollo and NO we did not eat the feet!!!!  But I had to get this pic for my kids!!

Time to get back to Jarabacoa for we had a treehouse to get to!!!

A magical night that will not ever be forgotten!!!