Today was a great day! Woke up and ate breakfast at the hotel buffet. After breakfast Wascar picked us up and we went to old Santo Domingo. We went to the Colonial Zone, and Main square of the old City and saw the First Cathedral of the Americas. We went into to the Cathedral but there was a Mass that was going on celebrating International day of the children, so we were not able to tour around but it was amazing! From the Cathedral we walked to Fort Ozama, where we we able to see some amazing views of the city and the old jails. From there we walked down the famous Calle de Lamas to the National Pantheon. This is where most of the famous Statesmen are entombed. It was an amazing church, with an eternal flame and gorgeous alter and painted ceiling. A little more walking and ten on to Christopher Columbus's home - Alcazar de Colon. All of the structures have been kept up quite well especially realizing that they were all built in the 1500's. Another interesting sights as that typical in most ancient cities, the streets were very narrow and the homes and stores were extremely close together. There were some residences that were built into the hills, very sparsely furnished decorated...
After touring around the old city we went back to Wascar's house for another fabulous Dominican lunch. We met 2 of his brothers, and other family members and then went back to the hotel to sit by the pool and relax. We went to local restaurant for dinner, which was located right on the water, which was a delightful way to end the day.
Day 3 - leaving Santo Domingo and go to La Romana
Once packed all of the suitcases and the 4 of us into Wascar's truck we were on our way to La Romana. Today the weather was not perfect, so we thought it would be best to just go directly to La Romana instead of touring around. It was about a 1 hour and 20 minute ride, with occasional down pours, but we got here just fine.
Leslie (from last year's) trip had already arrived, so we met up with here and chatted for a bit and then went to the other side of Casa de campo and had lunch at Wascar's cousin's home. It was absolutely stunning! It was all open air and right on a private golf course! We had a delicious homemade lunch along with wine and Dominican coffee, and great conversation! After lunch Wascar and Kevin went to play golf at the Teeth of the Dog and Gary and I went to the beach. We dodged a few rain showers but the water was warm, the sand was soft and I was wearing a bathing suit and not a winter coat! We went back to the house and met up with Dr. Bob and the rest of the crew!
This year's team is much smaller - only 9 people. The 4 Providence Rotarians, Andy (from California), Leslie (from Toronto), Julie (from Canada), and Bob and Cindy (from Maine). We ate dinner and then went down to the Marina to celebrate the Chinese New Year with Dragon Dancing and much celebration! Went to bed...
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