Camaro in Jarabacoa Synopsis August 2014

Gentleman I just completed the Jarabacoa segment of my Sosua-Jarabacoa excursion. This trip is a continuation of my travel odyssey throughout the Dominican Republic, it is my intention to see as much of the island as possible. This synopsis Jarabacoa trip report will cut to the meat of my experience in Jarabacoa and is a companion to my Sosua trip report. I spent 2 days Friday and Saturday in Jarabacoa which was not enough time to experience the town in its entirety but it was sufficient for me to get a taste of what Jarabacoa has to offer.

Jarabacoa

Jarabacoa is in La Vega province outside Santiago. It has a Tropical rainforest climate at over 500 feet above sea level. It is noted for its warm days and mild nights during most of the year. Jarabacoa has been called "The City of Everlasting Spring" because of its mild temperatures. It is the Medellin of the Dominican Republic with the exception of the fact that it is in the mountains and has the small town feel. One of the main touristic attractions is the mountains and rivers that provide a landscape for the area. The local economy is based on tourism and agriculture.
Most of my travels have included destinations that were close to the beach such as Cabarette, Monti Cristi, Las Terrenas, Nagua, La Romana & Bavaro-Punta Cana. I have spent time in the major cities of Santo Domingo and Santiago however this time I have experienced something different by traveling to the mountains of the Dominican Republic and witnessed the beautiful landscape. One of the things I like about the Island is there is something there for everyone...unless you like shoveling snow and skiing.

Transportation to Jarabacoa

I decided to walk from New Garden to the Metro Station and of course I was flagged down by several hungry taxistas, first I heard "oye amigo eighty dollars to Santiago" How he knew I was going to Santiago and not Puerto Plata is beyond me. But the second one almost made me stop in my tracks "50 dollars to Santiago." I know the taxi fare from Santiago to Sosua starts at $100.00 so to hear an offer of $50.00 was quite surprising but still couldn't beat the 200 pesos Metro fare.

The Metro ride to Santiago went smooth and I arrived safe.

I have an acquaintance who lives in Santiago and operates a private taxi so I met him in Santiago and took the hour ride to Jarabacoa. The ride to Jaraboca was interesting because the city is over 500 feet above sea level so the hills are brutal so brutal in fact my ears popped as we were ascending up the long windy roads.

The normal public transportation route from Sosua to Jarabacoa would be to take the Caribe Tours bus in Charamicos to Le Vega and either take a taxi or gua gua to Jarabacoa. There is also a Carribe Tours station in Jarabacoa.

Hotel Gran Jimanoa

The hotel grounds are well maintained. The hotel has a feel of a rustic mountain retreat combined with a mid-luxury hotel. My room faced a river that provides a tranquil ambiance. The room has a balcony that faced the river and I accidently left the balcony sliding door open and the mosquitoes came in and ate their lunch...conyo!
The room was neat and clean with a sitting area and 2 queen beds. There is a digital safe with a mini fridge. The air-conditioning worked well. My primary criticsm would be WIFI was not available in the rooms but only in the common areas and the rooms did not have ceiling fans. There were several power outages during my stay however after a few moments the auxiliary generator kicked in to restore power.

The staff was very accommodating and no one speaks English Ohhh snapp!

This is a great place to clear your mind. This was not the Hotel Sinai in Naugua with its small town urban feel nor was it the Albachairia Hotel in Las Terrenas with its beach front Caribbean feel. There were no 30 foot boats out in front of my room on Sosua Bay like I experience at the Victoria House in Sousa. My room had a river outside within 20 feet walking distance. 24/7 I can hear the water running over the rocks it sounds like it is raining but it is the most tranquilizing sounds I have ever heard. This is a welcome contrast in my most recent hotel experiences. These hotels are not just places to stay but they are reflections of the personality and character of the Dominican Republic.

Resturante Piedras del Rio

The Restaurant at Stones River is the Hotel Gran Jimanoa's restaurant on the property. It is an open air venue with a scenic view of El Rio Piedras. The sound of the water crashing over the rocks adds to the ambiance of the restaurant. Breakfast is included and is self serve buffet style.
The restaurant has a bar that serves whatever beverages that you like. I only ate breakfast there I took the rest of my meals in town because I was on the go since my stay was so short.

Parque Pablo Duarte

Parque Pablo Duarte is on Calle Pablo Duarte in the center of town. Nagua has a park in the center of town just like Jarabacoa and it is the center of the social scene there. Parque Central in Nagua is electric on the weekends almost like a mini Dominican mardi gras. I would describe Parque Pablo Duarte as Parque Central lite. It has a similar energy but not as intense. There was street food and different clubs all within steps of the park. There seemed to be more men than women but there were groups of single women that were obviously available if you know what I mean?

Across the street from the park is Caribe Express casa de cambio where I received 43.35DOP-1US.

Jarabacoa Regular Night Life

Jarabacoa has no shortage on venues that support an active night life. There are small bars, drinks and clubs all over the town. Jarabacoa in a way is set up like Nagua where there are night life venues that are set up around the towns central park. Below I have listed only a few of the venues:

• AK Bar- Pablo Duarte (park area)
This is an open air venue with a bar inside and tables and chairs that face inside and outside the club. This a regular bar with music but no dance floor. It is a good spot to people watch because it sits at the corner and you can see Parque Pablo Duarte from inside the venue.

• Palobar Drink - Pablo Duarte (park area)
This is an indoor venue with a bar inside and outside so that you can get your drinks before you enter the club. It is on the same street as Parque Pablo Duarte and you can walk to the park in less than 50 yards. This venue has a dance floor and seats that surround the wall.

• V Venue -La Avenida
This is an indoor venue that is about 10 minutes by car from the aforementioned venues. The inside was very classy with a bar large dance floor an several VIP areas that surrounded the walls. The venue reminded me of the Gaia Disco in Las Terrenas in term of the indoor layout.

All of the venues have a local feel and are not touristy. The above listed venues only scratch the surface of what is available in Jarabacoa. Thus far my impression is that this is a better destination for a date than for a single traveler.

Jarabacoa Sex Venues

Jarabacoa is the typical Dominican town that has car washes and casa de citas as sex venues. The car washes double as actual car washes and venues were drinks are served music is playing and the chicas are available for what you can negotiate. I was unable to locate a freelance venue like Classicos and the other venues were mediocre at best. Below I have listed the venues I visited:

• Super Cafeteria Juniors - Calle Libertad
This venue is a casa de cita that has a bar dance floor and rooms in the back. They do not serve food so do not ask me why they included "cafeteria" in the name unless they consider the chicas to be food. There were a half dozen chicas there no more than 6's and absolutely nothing to brag about. The chicas were available for in house and take out.

• San Miguel Car Wash- Calle Cinco de la Colonia
This venue was a car wash that had chicas serving drinks that were available for takeout. It was an open air venue down stairs with a second floor with pool tables. I only saw 3 chicas available none better than a 6.

• Chachi Car Wash- Calle Principal
This venue was a car wash that had chicas serving drinks that were available for takeout but it could have been closed because there was no one there other than 2 chicas behind the bar. It was an open air venue down stairs with a second floor with pool tables.

• Franks Car Wash- Catera Ato Viejo
This venue was a car wash that had chicas serving drinks that were available for takeout and it was the best of all the venues as the woman were more alive and interesting. There were a half dozen chicas behind the bar and a couple were good 7's. They were blancas just like Hugrad likes them. I thought about staying because 1 of the blancas was staring at me but it was getting late and I was tired from a long day.

Based on what I saw I would not recommend Jarabacoa to the monger to travel solo.

My anecdotal experience

My intent was to take a date to Jarabacoa because it is a better date location than PFP location but my plans failed and I am glad they did because I was afforded one of my better experiences in the Dominican Republic. My driver made a personal introduction of a friend of his youth he grew up with. She was presented not as a PFP opportunity but as a meet and greet with potential going forward. I spent a little less than 2 hours speaking with her over a virgin pina colada and water and it was one of the best experiences I have ever had with a woman in the Dominican Republic. I say that because most of my experiences with Dominicanas has been PFP. I have met other civilian women but she was the best to date.
This woman was a part-time model and supervised other models in a modeling agency along with being a full time medical student. I cannot tell you how refreshing it was to hear a woman talk about her desire to travel internationally so she can help children as a pediatrician. What a refreshing experience that didn't include "dame tu leche!"
Perhaps other mongers will give me the side eye but I would willing spend money to see this woman again sin sexo and not think twice. I can knock down 3 PFP Sosua chicas a day but the experience I had with this woman could not be purchased. To show you how intense it was I met several women after her some of which who were 8's and I was not interested because I was still high from the experience. Honestly recently I have been spending too much damn time with PFP chicas and I need something different. Forgive me for saying so but IMHO every monger needs to date a true civilian chica just once and add some flavor to the mix.

Jarabacoa closing thoughts

• I did not get to do everything on the ground I had planned because my driver's car broke down and was out of service for the better part of a whole day. In addition it rained off and on my entire stay and many of the things I wanted to experience were outdoor activities. I am confident I will try to return to Jarabacoa in the future to finish what I started.

• You definitely need wheels in Jarabacoa because everything is so spread out. If you choose not to rent a car you can work a deal with a local taxista that is mutually beneficial for both. While my driver's car was down I rented a taxi for a 200 pesos and hour to run some errands.

• Jarabacoa is a diverse community. There are natural activities to do during the day such as zip-lining, horseback riding, hiking and rafting. The night life with clubs and bars is abundant. In addition there is PFP available albeit mediocre at best.

• Jarbacoa has a central park like Nagua where everybody gathers on Saturday & Sunday nights. The area is festive with music, food carts along with motos and Jeeptahs everywhere in typical Dominican fashion. There were couples and singles walking to and from the different clubs. Some of the chicas appeared to be available for PFP and others not so much.

• With the exception of the rain I experienced the climate was very pleasant. It was maybe about 80 degrees during the day and about 68 degrees at night. The climate was a lot more comfortable than the beach towns I am accustomed to visiting.

• When I was in La Romana I noticed more dark complexioned (los negros) Dominicans (not Haitians but Dominicans) than any other part of the Island. Conversely, in Jarabacoa I noticed more light complexioned (los blancos) Dominicans, (some looked very European) than any other part of the Island I have visited.

• Jarabacoa cannot compete with Santo Domingo or Santiago as far as women are concerned but there were a few bonitas out and about. However as far as small Dominican towns that I have visited Nagua has Jarabacoa beat hands down.

Conclusion

In 2 days I had no sex but I had an incredible experience instead and I look forward to returning to Jarabacoa. I will return to Sosua to do what mongers do in Sosua but my Jarabacoa experience will remain in the back of my mind.

I highly recommend Jarabacoa to anyone who enjoys the culture of the Dominican Republic it will leave you with a unique experience that you are not likely to forget.

I have 2 more excursions planned before the end of the year one in October and the other in November. I have not decided between Villa Altagracia, La Vega, Banao or Mao I will keep you posted going forward.

Excellent. I'm wanting to go back to DR bad. I liked the "conyo" interjection a lot. LOL. Yeah, you get off the beaten path and it can really be rewarding...