In the Hills Above of Joba Arriba

While on one of my trips to the north shore of the Dominican Republic I was asked by a friend if I wanted to go with her to visit a cacao plantation, land she had inherited and was thinking of how to make it a profitable venture. It was my first trip through the high hills that climb above the ocean and is blanketed in dense, low forest. Her plantation is situated on a series of hills and ravines above the village of Joba Arriba. It was a long and wonderful hike in which we visited an elderly couple - who exuded happiness and joy - at their house among the hills and in the midst of the forest. We then went to visit a 107 year old matriarch in her family's home even deeper in the forest. Unfortunately I don't speak Spanish so I was not able to be involved in the discussion, but they allowed me to take photos of them. Eventually we made it to my friend's land and came across a couple of young men harvesting her cacao plants and a forlorn mule waiting for it's master and a load to take down the hills.