Day 3-027
2 hrs, 2 .6 kms

Back in 2006 Matthew and I made a stop in San Cristobal. I was impressed by Matthew's spontaneity in striking up conversations with banana vendors, flour mill workers--and pretty much anyone. He showed me that pretty much anyone can be an "interesting encounter" if you put enough energy into the interaction.

Now I'm back, and although I've never developed Matthew's style, I'm looking forward to re-experiencing this city.

First order of business: get myself my pineapple fix. One of the cool things about Dominican Republic is that you can buy fresh fruit, peeled and ready for you right on the street. A find a fellow selling pineapple out of the back of his truck, and negotiate for him to slice up a half for me. A few meters further I grab a "skim Ice" a 10 cent popsicle stick sold by wanderig vendors. I feel a little guilty wondering how many of these he'll have to sell in a day to actually make a profit ...

After wandering around a bit, I finally find the market Matthew and I explored back in 2006. It's a vast, sprawling street market covering many blocks, with random pieces of tarp stretched across the street--a very African feel... except that here there's enough space in the alleys to walk comfortably, unlike in Africa where everyone is squeezed tightly together.

I notice a lot of folks speaking Haitian Creole--which I didn't notice 10 years ago. There's also a very casual feel here with shorts and flip flops being the norm. This helps with profiling potential thugs: I figure a thief is not going to be wandering around in flip flops!

Overall, feeling much more at each. None of the dire warnings I received about getting robbed have come true... so far...