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Dominican Republic Vacation |
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| Santiago: Our next phase of our trip was to Santiago which is the "Bread Basket" of the Dominican Republic. The "Valle del Cibao", or central valley has some of the most lush and fertile soil in the Western Hemisphere. Most of the countries fruits and vegetables and of course tobacco products come from this fertile region. We stayed one day here, and had a chance to sample some of the excellent cigars. We also stayed in a fantastic hotel called "Camp David". It's a hotel that has an incomparable view of the entire valley, and the city of Santiago in particular. Years ago, the dictator of the Domincan Republic, Trujillo used to stay here, and they actually have a few of his cars in the lounge. Definitely worth a stay if you're in the country, especially as the room rates are only about $20 a night. Also for anyone who is going to bring back cigars, beware of the fakes. Almost all of the cigars that are sold in the tourist areas, other than the large resorts are very obviously fakes. And there are probably fakes that make their way into the resorts as well. So, I recommend making a trip to Santiago, and going to the E. Leon Jimenez factory. The benefit of this factory is that you can actually buy the cigars and bring them back to the states. And it is probably the best factory that you can do this at. All the other well-known brands are located in the Zona Franca, which means they are solely for export, so they can't legally sell anything to you. Buy a box of the "La Aurora: Belicosos", you won't be dissatisfied.
(Cigar roller in the E. Leon Jimenez cigar factory)
(Johnnie sampling the merchandise, this is one of the cigars that the roller had completed recently. Take a look at the monster cigar that the roller has in his hand. Scary.)
(Rollers hard at work making some of the best cigars in the world.)
(L to R: Jeff, Marcos, Renez and Johnnie: Posing in front of our current favorite cigar factory.)
(The view from our hotel balcony at Camp David)
(The same view at night. Incredible huh? And only $20 a night, and some of the best food in the city.) |
