The scenery on the way up was so many things. The mountains in the distance kept growing closer, and we saw lots of open fields with livestock in them or crops being grown. We also passed through a little town and saw how the locals live, work, play, and go to school. The streets were very narrow and there were a lot of vehicles on the roads. And our bus was huge; the driver navigated impressively.
We finally arrived at our destination after more than an hour of driving. The zipline base camp was a big open air pavilion-type space with beautiful views of the valley below. We got our gear on, listened to the safety briefing and demonstration, and then made our way to our first line. I failed to brake correctly and came in way too hot. Luckily, the guy working the end of the line handled me like a pro and injury was avoided.
We did 12 lines in all. My favorite was the one that went through a hole in the trees. And another one lasted a full 35 seconds as we traversed the entire valley. The view from that starting platform (the highest one) was breathtaking. It was awesome.
Once we were done, we climbed back up to the base camp, turned in our gear, and snacked on fresh pineapple and coconut before leaving for lunch at a nearby building. I even found a few kitties roaming around before we left! (The one I snagged was not amused at being picked up.) And lunch was delicious: an authentic Dominican buffet, with stewed chicken, rice and beans, beef and peppers, fried plantains, etc. And the freshest and most flavorful banana I think I have ever had. The only thing missing was a cold beer.
Speaking of which, this is what our friends were up to back at the resort while we were gone. Drinking fun drinks out of pineapples. Too funny.
After lunch, we headed back down the hill a little ways to Monkeyland, a sanctuary for {non-native} spider monkeys. Our group was led by guide Philippe into one of their habitats. Monkeys were everywhere and very excited to see Philippe. He formed us into a semi-circle and gave us each a bowl with some cut up fruits and veggies in it. Then they were all over us trying to get at the food. It was SO cool.
We walked a little further into their enclosure to a lookout over the valley, and Philippe gave us all a handful of sunflower seeds. The monkeys loved the seeds. I couldn't snap pictures fast enough; they were quick little things! And so light: they only weighed a couple of pounds each.
In all, we spent about 45 minutes with the monkeys. We reluctantly left their enclosure and walked over to our final stop of the day: a working cacao powder and coconut oil facility. There were also mango trees everywhere! We got to try a bit of the oil, as well as hot chocolate made with the cacao powder. And we tried their version of mamajuana, a local liquor made with rum, red wine, honey, and spices. Very interesting. Especially so since the mamajuana we had already tried at the resort was incredibly different from the stuff on the tour.
We got back on the bus and headed back down the mountain. I was pretty tired from the long day and took a little nap. But I woke up ready to meet back up with everyone at the resort and enjoy the rest of the trip.
Part three up next!
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