My journey into the city began on Tuesday afternoon. I left Luperon, where we are anchored this week and took a car to Imbert which branches off to Puerto Plata and Santiago. The first person I met was an American named Rodger, he is an older gentleman living in Puerto Plata but originally from the United States. I spoke with him on the car ride to Imbert about how he came to be in the Dominican Republic and what it is like living here. He came here on a sailboat which he sold long ago and has been living here for the last 8 years. The advantages of living in the D.R., he says, are that it is cheap (He is living on social security from the government and served in the armed forces), the weather is nice all year round, and the few laws they have here are seldom enforced. Rodger said, "You can drive the wrong way down the street all the way to Puerto Plata and never get stopped," however, this has both positive and negative aspects. If your home is being robbed for example and you call the police, they might show up the next day to see how you did and then ask you to help pay for their gas. Why would they want to come then, there is a ROBBER! In other words, if you have a real problem you are pretty much on your own in his opinion. Rodger's least favorite thing about the D.R. is how it is normal to pack as many people as possible into taxis and cars. It is common for 4 or 5 people to cram into the back of a small car and at least 3 in the front. Just as he told me this, our car stopped to pick up 3 more people and Rodger and I got to know each other a little bit better as we finished the drive with 4 adults now in the back seat.
Seat belts are another example. It is illegal to drive/ride without wearing a seat belt (I am told the fine is 500 pesos) but there are so few police that nobody obeys the law. There are no consequences (unless of course you are in an accident). It is also illegal to ride a motorcycle without a helmet but hardly anyone has a helmet for the same reason. While I did see some riders wearing helmets, most choose to wear them hung under their handlebars. In my short time in the city even I was in a small accident while riding a bus or "GuaGua" across the city. We got too close to a car next to us and broke his passenger side mirror right off. The bus stopped and the drivers got out but no body else got off the bus and in under 3 minutes we were on our way again. How efficient! In the U.S. an accident like that could take over an hour to call the police, file a report, collect insurance information, etc. Unfortunately in the D.R. it probably means tough luck for the owner of the car.
I arrived in Imbert and bought a van ticket to Santiago. It took about 45 min to get there and after I got my bearings I walked through the city to the Monumento a los Heroes del la Restoration. Along the way I stopped and bought a carton of orange juice and later, a huge slab of pineapple on a stick from a street vendor. You can buy almost any fruit or vegetable you can think of on the street and you can always find a street vendor. There are street vendors for food, cloths, trinkets, DVDs, watches, shoes, anything. It was getting late in the afternoon and looked like it might start to rain so I made my way back to where I knew there was a hotel and got a room for the night. The room had everything you could need including; a bathroom, shower, a bed, and a television! I watched some news in English and the end of a movie with Spanish subtitles. I fell asleep as it started raining. In the morning, it was damp outside but turned out to be a very nice day. I took a bus to the Centro de Leon museum of art and history on 27 de Febrero street. I was one of the first visitors of the day and the museum was mostly empty. There was a very interesting exhibit about the original Indian inhabitants of the D.R. including artifacts and tools found during excavation of burial sites and dwellings. There was also a gallery of modern art by the Dominican painter, Fernando Rena Defillo. Many of his paintings are interpretations of the Dominican lifestyle and culture such as the marketplace but there were also many abstract paintings of beautiful Dominican landscapes. The museum was very modern looking with high ceilings and even an escalator but unfortunately no pictures allowed.
I decided that I would go to Santo Domingo that afternoon and I was able to get directions to the metro station from the receptionist at the museum who spoke English although I tried to practice my Spanish as much as possible. Having studied Spanish in elementary, middle, and high school you might think that I would be right at home in a Spanish speaking country. Unfortunately, having never had the opportunity or desire to practice speaking Spanish regularly before this trip, I have forgotten a lot of what I had learned. I wish I had paid more attention because I sure could use it now. I am learning more every day and hope to be a lot better in just a few more weeks. It also helps that everyone here is very encouraging and many people enjoy the opportunity to practice speaking English.
I took a nap on the bus and in about 2 hours I was in Santo Domingo. Santo Domingo is a much larger city with a very cool historic district, some large parks, government buildings, malls, schools and an international airport. There are chain restaurants (McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut) just like in the US but street vendors can still be found everywhere. I walked through the city just taking in the sights. I walked around the National Theatre and the National Library inside the Plaza de la Cultura (Cultural Center) and I saw the U.S. embassy. There are some large parks in the city that offer some peace and quiet away from the traffic and honking. I started looking for a hotel around 4:30pm. I had seen a few while walking and checked in with them first. I was surprised to learn that they were all full and fairly expensive otherwise. In hindsight, I probably should have called ahead but in the end I am glad that I didn’t. Finally I stopped and asked a security guard standing outside a bank if he knew of a cheap hotel nearby. This turned out to be a very good thing.
The security guard didn’t really know how to answer so that I would understand and so he led me inside the bank where he introduced me to someone who spoke English. In about 5 min there were three guys in the lobby, including the security guard Carlos, helping to try and find a hotel. They were all surprised that there wasn’t a single hotel with a room available due to all the recent visitors in town to help those affected by the earthquake in Haiti. Then Carlos offered that I could stay with his family for the night if I wanted. After I figured out what he was telling me, I very graciously accepted. He called his house and asked his daughter, who spoke a little English, to interpret for him. He said that I could stay at his house if I promised not to leave until the morning. He was worried about my safety at night and of course I agreed.
In general Santo Domingo is very safe he told me and everyone is very nice but it is not a good idea for a foreigner to be walking around alone at night in the city. Bad people can be found in any city of course and it is important to always be careful. That problem can be amplified for someone who stands out or is traveling alone who may look like an easy target.
While I waited in the lobby for his wife and daughter to come to the bank, I spoke with Carlos about my trip to the D.R. and told him about Eye of The World. It turned out that we didn’t have much trouble communicating with just a little effort. Carlos’ wife and daughter arrived in their car and took me across town to their home. They live in a small apartment in a gated apartment complex with an armed security guard. It is common for large buildings, banks and even some residences to have armed security guards 24-7 here. On the way we stopped at their church and I met many people who spoke way too fast for me to understand but they were all extremely nice and happy to see me. I was treated like family and had a delicious dinner of fried yucca (like a potato) before bed. In the morning I had a shower and for breakfast, boiled plantano (like a green banana).
I walked down to the National Congress building and saw the southern coast of Hispaniola. From the water, I could see how big the city was. It is much too big to see in just one day but what a great inside view I already had.
On the bus ride back to Santiago I sat next to a 7th and 8th grade teacher and medical professor from the D.R. She spoke English very well and was surprised that I was exploring the city by myself and even more surprised that I had managed to find my way here by bus. She was not at all surprised however to hear my story about Carlos’ family taking me in the night before when I couldn't find a place to stay. “Everyone here is glad to help,” she told me. In her travels to the United States she said that one thing she noticed is that not as many people say “HI” and people are not as eager to help a foreigner especially one who doesn’t speak English or one who speaks very little English. She also made a point of telling me that we were both Americans saying, “I am Latin American, and you are North American.” I don’t remember being taught THAT in school, at least not in that way. She was very interested in Eye of the World and we will definitely stay in touch. In just a few short hours I was back in Luperon Thursday evening having dinner with Adam and Trevor.
What an incredible few days I had traveling in the D.R. I would never have imagined that I would meet so many kind and interesting people in such a short period of time. However small, I feel lucky to have seen what I believe is a very genuine view of the Dominican Republic.