After a couple days just reenergizing and getting adjusted to the 3 hour time difference, it was time to head into town for our first sightseeing trip. A personal taxi driver was called up and all 7 of us loaded into the little car. I have yet to see a child in a seatbelt and since finding a minivan that would hold us all was pretty much impossible, I had no choice but to join the masses and cram all 4 kiddos, myself and Senora X in the back seat. Senora A was in the front with the driver. We turned a 5 passenger car into an 8.
Driving in the D.R. is kinda like NASCAR mixed with the old game Frogger. The object of the game here is to drive as fast as you can, while barely missing the hundreds of MotoConcho (motorcycle taxis). There really is no specific lane for traffic, just however you can get to where you are going is the lane you go in. I find myself holding my breath a lot, but the taxi driver noted that you rarely see accidents. He is right, I have not seen one yet, but just the idea that all my little ones are without seatbelts still freaks me out.
Our first stop was downtown Santo Domingo (the capitol). Like most town centers that I have come across in my world travels, this one had many of the same components. A large church, lots of people sitting around on benches, big statues, and tons of pigeons. How do pigeons know that they are supposed to crowd the town center around the world and poop all over the place? Spain, Italy, Bosnia and now D.R.-pigeons. I personally do not like them. Ok, enough about the birds and back to the real amazing sight- Christopher Columbus’s first and second house. It is fascinating to imagine how old the houses are and wish that I had paid more attention to my history teachers. Our guide did a great job of giving lots of info and dates, and after paying him, all that I can really remember is that there were a lot of really old buildings and a great history in that area. The buildings are big, and the walls that protect them are high. The girls were such troopers walking all over the place and baby R is happy as can be as long as he is wrapped tightly to my body. After a long day of walking and sweating, we picked up some Domino’s Pizza and went back to the house.
Driving in the D.R. is kinda like NASCAR mixed with the old game Frogger. The object of the game here is to drive as fast as you can, while barely missing the hundreds of MotoConcho (motorcycle taxis). There really is no specific lane for traffic, just however you can get to where you are going is the lane you go in. I find myself holding my breath a lot, but the taxi driver noted that you rarely see accidents. He is right, I have not seen one yet, but just the idea that all my little ones are without seatbelts still freaks me out.
Our first stop was downtown Santo Domingo (the capitol). Like most town centers that I have come across in my world travels, this one had many of the same components. A large church, lots of people sitting around on benches, big statues, and tons of pigeons. How do pigeons know that they are supposed to crowd the town center around the world and poop all over the place? Spain, Italy, Bosnia and now D.R.-pigeons. I personally do not like them. Ok, enough about the birds and back to the real amazing sight- Christopher Columbus’s first and second house. It is fascinating to imagine how old the houses are and wish that I had paid more attention to my history teachers. Our guide did a great job of giving lots of info and dates, and after paying him, all that I can really remember is that there were a lot of really old buildings and a great history in that area. The buildings are big, and the walls that protect them are high. The girls were such troopers walking all over the place and baby R is happy as can be as long as he is wrapped tightly to my body. After a long day of walking and sweating, we picked up some Domino’s Pizza and went back to the house.
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