When we were in el El Valle we saw a great big house at the top of the hill. That, and a rumor of a lake called “Laguna del Diablo” got us searching for a road, which we eventually found close to Playa Rincon. We started up that road but eventually it got really bad, too bad for our car Izzy to keep going up without some major damage, so we took a break to open a coconut, and that’s when a pick-up truck full of workers came down the hill after the end of their shift. As I moved the car out of the way, Gabriel made small talk with them, asking if they knew where the lake was, etc.. Within a few minutes, we had the number of one of the workers who was going to take us on a personally guided hike to the lake the next day. WOOHOO! So we came back up and Victor and his son took us on a hike through what’s yet to be the most virgin part of the Dominican Republic I’ve seen so far. There are some roads up there, but most of them are pretty new, including the Ruta de Jengibre, which you’ll find on google as “Carretera La Loma Atravesada” as the project is to eventually connect Playa Rincon to Playa El Valle. So far though, what you’ll find up there are mostly local farmers who live off the land and rarely need to go anywhere. The land is farmed in part, and completely virgin in others. It’s paradise. We got there very early in the morning and when we finally had a view of the lake, it was covered in fog (pictured above) But as we got closer to it, and the sun came up over the hills, the fog burned off to reveal a rather large and beautiful lake. We were alone, Gabriel, Victor, his son, and I, save for a few fisherman trying to catch their sunday lunch. Our voices echoed on the walls of the hills opposite us, carried by the reflective stillness of the lake. The birds chirping away. Of course, we’d come a long way, and it was warm, so a swim was inevitable. But Gaby had to take it a step… Continue Reading