SANTIAGO
> Tucked between the Cordillera Central and Septentrional Mountains,
the Cibao Valley has long been the center of Dominican Republic
tobacco. Tequia Experiences offers two cigar tours of the region.
> The Chateau de la Fuente tour leads you through the Fuente famil...
Seijas lives and works in La Romana, on the far side of the island from Santiago, where the lion’s share of Dominican cigars is made. It’s a small town ringed by high-end resorts, like the luxuriant Casa de Campo, and in his downtime Seijas indulges in his favorite hobby—golf—at Teeth of the Dog, a dramatic oceanside course that ranks among the finest in the world. “I always have a cigar with me on the golf course, and especially after the round,” Seijas says. “If you play well, it helps you celebrate. If you play poorly, it helps ease the pain.”
In the up-tempo life of Luis Tomás Méndez, there is no gear slow enough for golf. Since the mid-1990s, when he purchased tobacco fields at fire-sale prices, his business has swelled rapidly; born as a mere tobacco supplier, the company produces millions of lovely premium cigars each year. La Caya shipped 5.6 million in 2007.
Méndez’s workdays begin early, but by late afternoon he lights out for the hills surrounding Santiago for rigorous spins on his mountain bike. On weekends, he sometimes flies to Florida to gun his Jaguar in events sponsored by American GT, an international racing circuit. Méndez ranked seventh in the 2007 standings. The competitions are intense. But car races, Méndez says, are different from rat races. In steering clear of one and speeding toward the other, he savors the same rhythms that a traveler might enjoy on a Caribbean vacation, or in the smoke rings of a fine cigar.
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