While the part was being shipped from NY, we felt like escaping repairs, associated worries and Luperon to see something from the country! We planned a visit to the capital, Santo Domingo! Early morning in Luperon is hot, humid and windless…the perfect day to drive around in air conditioned busses! Gaby of s/v SuAn brought us to the dinghy dock so that our dingy can safely remain on La Buena Vida during our absence. First, we walked to the town’s guagua terminal and take one to the mini buses to Imbert, a larger town where busses stop en route to major destinations such as Puerto Plata, Santiago etc…We buy our tickets at Javilla Tours and within 20 minutes, we are sitting in an ‘expreso bus’ to Santiago. This bus (20 passengers or so) is very comfortable, with AC, TV screen, and heavy curtains to keep the sunlight from getting in – it makes sense – but no view of the passing landscape!!!!! The TV shows some Spanish croonie singing soft ballades – well, all well entertaining?! – but alas no meringue or salsa here! It’s totally relaxing and difficult to stay awake! We are let out on some main avenue in Santiago and must buy two further tickets at the Aetra Bus booth for the final run to Santo Domingo: again, fast service! Within 20 minutes, we are on board and open the ever closed curtains to view the final stretch of the trip across the island. Unfortunately, due to the haze, the views of the mountains are not great. But we noticed the large amount of garbage rolling down the hills behind each house along the road. People actually throw everything out of their doors or windows …and it stays there, looking from the road like a like lava flow of plastics flowing down the hill. Anyhow, different country and different ways …bastante on that topic.

Around mid-afternoon, we arrive in Santo Domingo. The streets are full of people, merchants selling empanadas, shoes, watches…like a giant outdoor market! We have no problem finding our way to the “zona colonial” where our hotel is located (Merci Karin and Stephen for the city map!)….Very soon after we enter the historic are where we are intercepted by one of the many Tourist Bureau Guides who offers his help; very nice person but very clingy…although we tell him that we already have an hotel … he insists on accompanying us to the lobby of the Hotel La Colonia, on Calle Isabel La Catolica. We are wondering if these Tourist Bureau guides get paid for every tourist they bring to a restaurant or a hotel…anyhow, impossible to get lost or bored here! Our room is very cold (18C) with AC running full blast…and we reset it to a cool 25C - which still feels cold to us as the outside temperature is probably 32C! No real windows in this room, but we are connected to a large and pretty balcony overlooking the street. DomRep is a tobacco and rum country – accordingly we bought our supplies!!!! And what a joy it was to sit on our private little terrasse with a glass of Dominican rum and a great cigar, listening to meringue music from the neighbouring little bars!

We don’t loose any time: after a refreshing shower, we go to the Parque Colon, a wonderful historic plaza with huge shade trees, in front of the Cathedral Primada de Americas(first cathedral of the Americas). The lovely terrace of the Hotel Conde de Penalba was to become our preferred spot for breakfast, a cool cerveza or a flavourful café …Always animated with strollers, shoe shiners , dogs, newspaper sellers, and domino players, it felt awesome to be relaxing in this beautiful surrounding. We felt so immersed in this place that at times we scratched our heads, thinking: Are we having a boat? Are we really doing this???? It is often puzzling how difficult it is to reconciliate such different worlds!!!