Today, as we usually do in a new city, we took a walking tour – in the Zona Colonial, the old walled city founded in 1496. Today’s theme was the first of everything – fort, university, street, church, hospital… in the Americas. Interesting fact – didn’t realize this was where a few conquistadors (like Cortez) stopped by on their way to plundering other native populations.
For us, it was mainly plodding along through the old town. We started with an amazing breakfast at our hotel (the reviews were correct), found our tour guide (I got outvoted by the other participants, so the whole tour was in Spanish), afterward we checked out what else we could discover in the capital – a museum of Larimar (a blue stone only found in the DR – and a nice chat with the the local tour guide who invited us to visit her family this weekend on the beach – too bad we already have commitments), the oldest fort (even more history! Not much of a fort, mainly used to hold political prisoners) a chocolate factory (and making our own tasty chocolate bars), a true Dominican lunch (rice, beans, meat, and salad, that brought back even more memories since this was what Siri lived on for two years – well, not always the meat or the salad, OK it was mainly just rice and beans) and then evening mass in the cathedral – which at the end of the service no one left – as we all took sanctuary from the torrential downpour. Had planned to go out later in the evening, but still raining, so cards and drinking tea indoors it is.
Tomorrow we plan to stop by the Peace Corps office, walk along the waterfront (the Malecon), check out more parks and museums and maybe try out the local beers. A packed agenda. 🙂
Fresh fruit to start the day – papaya, watermelon, cantelope, and pineapple with juice from carribean cherry – aceralo. A full 5-course breakfast.Who knew? We had dessert for breakfast- fried banana!Walking Tour started at the Royal palace park next to old city wall complete with cannons to defend the city – and statues of horses and bulls – some of the animals the Europeans brought to the islandFlags displayed proudly everywhere – Got the whole history lesson of the DR from its founding in 1496 to independence in 1844 with lots of countries who invaded along the way – including the US twiceOn a tour of the oldest everything in the Americas – ruins of the first hospital in the Americas – now a parrot nesting siteEven the manhole covers are embalzoned with the proud colonial nameAnd then there was the dictator, Trajillo, who in the 1930’s named everything after him, including the capital city (as shown here by the metal aquaduct cover). It reverted back after he died. You know you have a dictator if they start naming stuff after themselves – or start putting their signature on moneyAt the historic 1500’s fort with the ferry to Puerto Rico in the harbor in the background – maybe a trip for next timeSiri hanging out with the localsOn the tour – a list of all the journalists assasinated in the 1970’s by President Balauger – who retured to power in the 1990’s (!) when Siri was last here.Old town was built like a Spanish city with these hidden courtyards behind the walls of each city blockAnd more quinciera photo shootsMust be a popular photo shoot location – in front of the cathedral – for all ages, definitely not a quinceria, probably another birthday partyFound a free book library in one of the public squaresAt the Larimar museum – found out this stone gem was ‘discovered’ by a local Dominican and a Peace Corps volunteer (!) in 1974 – they found some on a beach and then went up into the hills to find the source of these blue transparent rocks.Making our own chocolate barsYum!Evening mass in the cathedral – started with a 1/2 hour adoration of the eucharistIn one of the chapels in the cathedral was the nativity scene – reminded us of playmobile charactersMade it back home just as the rain lightened up a bit – got to try out our rain gear!
Siri and David Adventures 