Hi, ...Week four....Pics are available here.
This week we made a trip to Santiago De Los Caballeros and Jarabacoa. Santiago is the second largest city in the country and boasts a population of around a million. Some say ¾ million Dominicans, and ¼ million illegal Haitians. Apparently there are many illegal immigrants here, and with miles of unprotected borders, undetected movement between countries is easy.
We booked a tour with a travel agency and the bus picked us up at 7 am. It made several stops along the coast to pick up tourists like us, many of whom were German or French. Our guide had a busy time communicating with everyone in three languages.
We made several stops: a cigar factory and museum, a ceramic factory, a horseback ride, a waterfall hike, and a walk around a famous museum and monument in the center of the city. It was nice to be chauffered around from place to place, and even though we were captives for 12 hours, it was very relaxing, not rushed, nor uncomfortable.
The cigar factory was pleasant, although we got the feeling that the actual place where most of the cigars were made was more of a sweat shop. The guide claimed in four languages, that each worker was only required to make 150 cigars a day. However at the pace they were working, a cigar in less than a minute, it seems like they would making a lot more in a day.
The ceramic factory had fewer workers, with only two potters at their wheels. A couple of guys were busy hauling sand and clay around and mixing it, for later use. The largest number of workers were painting the finishes. Of course there were tons of items, finished or half finished, baking in the sun, or drying in sheds. The display area was filled with touristy items, some of which would be impossible to bring back.
The horseback riding was a bit of a disappointment, merely trotting around the streets of Jarabacoa for 15 minutes. If you have ever trotted for more than a few minutes, you know bone-jarring discomfort. However, the hike up to the waterfall where some of Jurassic Park was filmed was exciting. We could see down into the canyon and made the descent to below the waterfall. The Dominican lunch they provided was great, the usual beans and rice with chicken and grilled pork cutlets.
The Monument to the Heroes of the Republic was a great spot. Unfortunately we had only 20 minutes to look around, and it took that long to climb to the top of the monument and return to the bus. We were really impressed with the panoramic view of the city, and of course, being very curious I spent longer than the 20 minutes exploring and Kris had to go and find me so that the bus could leave. I really wanted to spend more time looking at the dioramas and historical info available on the four gallery floors.
On Thursday night we went to a local Dominican restaurant with friends from the apartment complex for a smorgasbord. Brent, an American furniture entrepreneur organized the meal, for ten of us. He and his wife Donna, have been here since the middle of December. It was fun, a bring your own wine event. We also went with the same group to the Super Bowl, at the local Irish pub in Cabarete. They had a large screen TV set up on the beach and plenty of tables for people to sit out under the stars and watch. Too bad the wrong team won.
With the windchill, it was +26C yesterday, .... ;-)
Dunc & Kris
