Tuesday, October 26, 2021
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
After 19 months staying home and trying to be safe during the COVID 19 pandemic, we are finally travelling again. A little over a week ago, on Sunday, October 17th, Anita’s sister Lori and her husband Steve picked us up at our house and we rode with them to a Montreal airport hotel.
The next morning, we all got up early and took the hotel shuttle to the airport. We have all been double vaccinated for some time but naturally we still followed all the masking rules in the airport. Our flight departed on time at 8:30 and was uneventful. Although we remained masked throughout the flight, to our surprise, many people didn’t. We were less than impressed with their lack of concern for fellow passengers and didn’t understand why the flight crew took no action.
Anyway, we arrived safely at the Samana airport with our luggage intact. We had arranged a driver to take us to our resort hotel, the Bahia
Principe Grand El Portillo, near Las Terrenas on the Samana peninsula. The drive cost us $70 US. Our driver was very safe and accommodating so we gave him a $5 tip. We’re used to some hair-raising rides in many countries so we were pleasantly surprised not to be terrified by the drive through mountain roads.
Our resort hotel was situated on a beautiful beach lined with palm trees, like something out of a travel poster. The four of us enjoyed the week there and on Friday, our son Zack, his wife Annie and their two children Maia (6) and Noah (4), who live in Santo Domingo, joined us for the weekend. We all had a great time. On Sunday afternoon, our son and family drove back to their apartment in central Santo Domingo. On Monday morning, Lori and Steve departed to the Samana airport and back to Montreal and home while Anita and I rode to Santo Domingo with another driver. This time the cost was $150 US for the 3 hour trip and again the driver was safe and very helpful in getting us to their apartment so we gave him a $10 tip.
Zack greeted us and introduced us to their housekeeper, Marisol, who seemed as pleased to meet us as we were to meet her. Later, our grandchildren arrived home from school so we also met their school driver, Juan Carlos, and the building guard, Julio. They’re all great with the children. The apartment is in a wealthier section of Santo Domingo so the streets are reasonably clean and safe but not all of Santo Domingo is like that. It’s a big city and some sections are not so nice and not so safe.
Wednesday, October 27, 2021 Santo Domingo
Yesterday morning after the kids got on the “Canadian bus” (actually a van with 4 kids from 3 families) and were off to school, Zack drove Anita and I to the Santo Domingo botanical gardens for a brisk hour long walk around the perimeter before the day got too hot. The gardens are a beautiful natural setting in the middle of a big city. We walked the perimeter trail and even took a little side trip through the Japanese garden designed by a Japanese immigrant who also introduced judo to the DR. We stopped for a photo to send to our youngest son, Dylan, and his family who live in Nagoya, Japan.
Unfortunately, we got a flat tire as we were leaving the gardens. The wheel nuts were rusted on so tight that we couldn’t get them off without help. Zack called Juan Carlos, who arrived within an hour with tools and a helper. By jumping on the wrench, they managed to get the nuts loose. We hadn’t considered doing that. We got on our way on the spare while Juan Carlos took the damaged tire to a shop. It was beyond repair so unfortunately Zack had to buy a new tire. It takes a long time to get anything done here so it’s often much easier and cheaper to hire a local person who won’t get overcharged to spend the time dealing with local businesses or government offices. Anyway, we had a small travel adventure.
After the kids got home from school we walked with them to their swimming lesson at a sports club a few blocks away. When we got home, Marisol had a delicious meal of meat and chicken empanadas for us. She’s a very good cook who always presents fantastic meals in the traditional Dominican style. Once again we were in bed early. The heat and humidity here drain a person’s energy quickly.
This morning we took an Uber to the Zona Colonial where Columbus established the first permanent settlement in the Americas. He had made two previous attempts on the north coast that were unsuccessful but around 1502, Santo Domingo was established. We walked around the Zona Colonial through the small cobblestone streets and plazas all morning.
We feel fairly safe outside here. The DR has a very high rate of vaccination with the Sino-Vac vaccine. Because of its lower efficacy, already over a million people here have had a 3rd jab with Pfizer. The government here has spent a lot of money getting everyone vaccinated. And there don’t seem to be many anti-vaxers like we have at home in the Madawaska Valley. As Marisol says, “It’s free; why wouldn’t we get vaccinated?”
At a cost of 100 DR pesos each (about $2 CDN), we got tickets and audioguides to the first cathedral in the Americas. It’s not as grand as European cathedrals we’ve seen but it was interesting nonetheless. Then, for 70 DR pesos each (about $1.40 CDN), we got tickets into the first Spanish fortress in the Americas, where construction started in 1502. It has been a fortress, a prison and now a tourist attraction for over 500 years. Many prisoners died there of course since conditions were very brutal. The fortress isn’t huge but again it was interesting to see.
By 11:30 it was so hot and humid that we were done. We caught an Uber back home to enjoy another Dominican lunch prepared by Marisol and rest in the air conditioned apartment for the afternoon. Later we walked around the corner to a local dance studio to watch Maia’s ballet lesson. Most of the children were delivered by nannies and drivers. As in all less developed countries we have visited, there is great disparity in incomes here.
Thursday, October 28, 2021
This morning we walked a couple of blocks to the Blue Mall, the most prestigious and expensive shopping mall in Santo Domingo. It’s not that big but most of it is composed of high end stores like Rolex, Mont Blanc and others. McLaren sports cars were displayed in the common areas. There wasn’t much for us so we didn’t last there very long. Later we walked to a nearby building to get cash from the ATMs there, which are reliable and don’t charge as high of a fee as some others. To go into 2 mall buildings and 1 grocery store today, we had to show our Ontario proof of vaccination each time.
We’re enjoying spending time here with our grandchildren but Santo Domingo doesn’t really have much to attract foreign tourists. If you’re here for some other reason like we are, it’s okay but otherwise there’s little reason to make this part of a trip to the Dominican Republic.
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