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DominicanRepublic
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| "Cross Roads..." This weekend we took a trip north close to the city of Puerta Plata and went to a retreat center known as Cross Roads. High in the mountains this very serene, natural, quiet place is perfect for just one person or a group looking to get away. Run by a veterinarian and his wife they have set up this entire place of solitude. See their website for more information and the history of Cross Roads . And just a note...any photos that I have posted here or statements that I make do not do this place justice...I have to say this is the most beautiful and "natural" place I have ever been. This weekend we also went to several Hatian Batey's and performed what is called a "Milk Ministry." A weekend of service and relaxation. |
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| This is just one of the many gorgeous views from the Cross Roads. Doesn't it just look like something from Jurassic Park...I expect to see just a pack of dinosaurs walking across the fields. |
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| If you ever felt like just crawling underneath a rock and being a lone for a while...well you can do that at Cross Roads. This bed and room is built within and under a huge rock! |
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| Another shot of the scenery. |
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| One of the many dogs at Cross Roads. |
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| The pool and it's waterfall. |
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| A walkway. |
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| "Tripod"...the three legged dog of the complex. |
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| Another place to be quiet by yourself of with someone else. |
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| Spiral staircase. |
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| Jess and Steph in the pool. |
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| Steph. |
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| A lizard on the Mahogany table...I couldn't get close enough to take a good photo...so I took this on at night with a flash which reflected off of the red wood and made this effect. |
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| Everything was so colorful... |
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| Margarita...on our way to do the "Milk Ministries." |
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| The back of the truck we had to ride...the hill was so steep to get to the Cross Roads that few cars could make it up. |
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| A Hatian Batey |
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| A man in his home...very few homes had windows and were almost completely made of tin. If windows were put in the homes then the rent that they had to pay to whoever owned the land increased...so the houses were like ovens with very little circulation. |
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| The middle of the batey...the residence had no bathrooms so they went in the adjacent sugar cane fields...part of the ministry of Cross Roads and other service organizations that come build latrines for the many bateys in the area to help with sanitation. |
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| A boy. |
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| A home. |
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| Another home. |
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| Joe...need I say more. |
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| A cute girl. |
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| Whenever we went to the bateys or campos the children came out of the woodwork and just flocked to us...here we are driving to another batey and the children were trying to climb onto the back of the truck...the guy on the back of the truck had to keep kicking them away and off. |
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| At this batey they had a church and school...all the children were gathered and organized in the church...they sang songs, played games, and were very very loud:). |
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| And then they were filled into an assembly line where they were handed bread, eggs, and milk. The rest of us had to stand at the other end to keep the children and others from coming back in. |
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| Our mode of transportation that weekend. |
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| This beautiful type of artwork was all over the Cross Roads center done by the owners who does a lot of glass art work...and pays people of the city and batey's to collect glass. A lot of the art work of the center is also made by local people and is available for sale with the money's made returning to them. |
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| Another beautiful walkway. |
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| A sun. |
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| Pretty. |
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| Another pretty flower. |
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| What was really cool about Cross Roads was the "naturalness." They had outdoor showers with no coverings, with some coverings (as shown here), and even the indoor showers would sometimes open up over a cliff or into trees. |
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| A view from inside the above shower. |
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