Rooi Domi 20150312 029 smallOn Thursday March 12, 2015 we went to the area of Santa Cruz. We had permission from the family that lives in the plantation house to park our cars next to the house. From there we first went searching for a well that is marked on the Werbata map. Apparently the map is not very accurate in this area because at the marked spot there was no well. We found a large round well about 30 meters from the marked spot. On top of this well there had been placed a very large windmill. The tower was still there but the mill is fallen down. There was a bit of water in the well.

On the other side of the marked spot on the map we found an even larger well, partly collapsed. This well seems to be from a more recent date than the other one and is for that reason not the one that is marked on the Werbata map. This well also had water in it and by throwing stones in it it seems to be deeper than in the other well.

Via a dirt road we walked in the direction of Rooi Domi. There we left the dirt road and went into the rooi. The vegetation was reasonably open although we encountered a lot of Palu di lechi in this area, but not so dense that we couldn't find a path through it.

Surrounding the rooi is a large Manzaliña forest with sometimes very large trees. A pleasure to walk through. We found two of the three dams that are visible on the Werbata map. The first one where we left the dirt road, the other one a bit farther in the road. The third one apparently disappeared, because there was not even an elevation in the underground where the dam should have been.

We crossed another dirt road and continued in the direction of the large dam, that we visited in 2011. At that time the reservoir behind (actually in front) of the dam was filled with water. At this moment the reservoir is completely dry. We took a break on top of the dam and then went to the well inside the reservoir. From there we went uphill in the direction of the ruin of an apartment building and from there to the dirt road. We followed the dirt road till we crossed the rooi again and followed the rooi from there back to the plantation house. A nice hike with in total three wells, two dams and a very nice Manzaliña forest.

  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_001Our track from plantation house Santa Cruz through the rooi and back
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_002The same track on the Werbata map (1909)
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_005The skull of a goat
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_006A large round well
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_008Inside of the well
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_009The windmill that provided the power to pump up the water from the well
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_010An impressive Manzaliña tree
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_011A strange object in the area of Santa Cruz, a tanker trailer
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_014An even larger well, partly collapsed
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_015Look into the very large well, more modern than the other one
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_017Suicide tree?
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_018Manzaliña forest
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_019Nice green tree
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_020Head of a stone dam
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_021The stone dam with Karel on top
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_023The same stone dam
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_025This tree made a detour while growing up
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_028A large brasilwood tree
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_029Rooi Domi
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_030Nice Manzaliña trees on the side of the rooi
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_031The large dam
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_032A very large reservoir but now completely dry
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_033Taking a break on top of the large dam
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_034Karel and his sis sit a bit to the side of the others
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_036A well
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_037Deep and with water
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_039This is how the Palu di Lechi strangles a tree
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_040Prickly pear with a lot of flowers
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_042A twin flower
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_043Close-up of a Prickly pear flower
  • Rooi_Domi_20150312_044Back at the plantation house