Click pictures to navigate this website. Imbert lies inland from Luperon on the highway between Puerto Plata and Santiago. We booked a "Water Falls" trip through Rosa Van Sant. The falls are just outside Imbert. You are taken by truck to the "Water Falls" where guides trek you about 1 km. to the base pool. From there it is a strenuous climb up through the cascading water. Our guide offered 7 levels ( 12 are possible) from the base. You can be trucked to the top and come down 27 levels. In many places, you climb ladders or ropes up, but the real fun is sliding down. The more adventurous can leap into the gorges below. Part of the tour was a side trip to Imbert proper. We stopped beside a quiet river bed to catch of breath. Like wrestling, football or basket ball, Dominicans like the "sport" of cock fighting. Here the handler has placed blunted spurs on a bird. They don't want tourists tossing their cookies. As soon as they are set loose, the combatants go after one another with a vengeance. In the early rounds, brown chick was the aggressor and scored points for maximum attacks. Black chicken held his own with superior aerial defenses. Soon the battle of Britain was underway in earnest. The fight was stopped and called a draw. Yes, you can call it barbaric, but I must admit that it was exciting. Imbert is close enough to Luperon that many visitors come down by simple motor-scooters. The people of Imbert do stone carving that is remarkable. Here a young artisan is roughing out a small statue. This stone is soft enough that it can be worked with a small bastard file. The rough pieces are handed off to more skilled workers who lovingly add fine details and smooth finish the works. Naturally, there are hundreds of pieces to browse and purchase. This is the place to start practicing haggling skills. Two tough bargainers have finally confused themselves. Everyone has a good time and the sales pitch is low key.  No shoppers were killed or injured while shooting this film. Admiral Judie looks more like a deer caught in the headlights rather than the confident shopper. Even as we go out the door, one last low low price is offered. Where the heck would we store it on the boat? Sorry ... Same trip, we stopped at a Brugal (read rum) farm. People could get their picture taken sitting on a Brahma bull. The bull and I had an understanding. I wouldn't sit on him and he wouldn't sit on me. We also stopped at a Dominican style Starbucks. Our guide patiently acquainted us with the local custom of grinding your own brew. To the chants and singing of the customers, we began the solemn ritual. Victim one. Victim two. Victim three You get the idea! The coffee tasted great. Just up from the "Starbucks," was a live petting zoo. Someone tricked me into draping this snake around my neck, because it would make a neat photo. I tried to invoke the Brahma bull deal but you can see nobody bought it. Just as I was enjoying the notoriety, this parrot hopped onto my shoulder to inform me that "Yes - the snake is poisonous and bites when you awaken it!" Enough of snakes, it was on to the cigar factory. Dominicans make really great cigars. Aficionados say that they are as good as Cuban product, so I bought some for a friend. He liked them! That's my hand rolled sampler being completed now. It was very smooth but being so fresh had a tendency to not stay lit. Well all good things come to an end, so a rum punch for everybody and back to barracks.