Day 3-034
Day totals: 16 hrs, 11 .8 kms

After a painless border crossing... I'm back in Dominican Republic. I was really growing to appreciate Haitian resilience and cheerfulness... But, to be honest, I didn't have any desire to stretch my visit farther. No need to push my luck.

A few days later I hear that the streets are in flames. There are violent protests in the big cities regarding the elections.

Yeah... I'm glad I didn't push my luck.

I finally reach the city of Santiago, with it's long, clean boulevard lined with factories, a shopping mall, stadium... restaurants of all sorts. Welcome back to the developed world.

First order of business is to find cybercafe where I can save and upload all my pictures and video clips. I definitely wouldn't want to have to go back to Haiti to re-take those pictures!

It's getting a bit late as I approach downtown Santiago . I suppose I could do a quick tour and then contine on to Puerto Plata to spend the night. But this feels like a city that has quite a bit to offer--not just a plaza, church, and a couple shops in the center like most other Dominican towns. I really should take my time and explore this city right.

But finding a cheap hotel turns out to be a challenge--which is unusual. Normally I can find a hotel within minutes. Here, people keep pointing me off in different directions until it gets dark and I feel uneasy wandering around with all my stuff.

Finally I get pointed in the right direction where I find that all the cheap hotels are crammed into one side street. I opt for a "mid-range" hotel of 14 dollars... still a huge upgrade from my 25 dollar hotel in Haiti.

I was hoping for a nice evening stroll ambling through town. But as soon as shops start closing up, and the Chinese owners head home (chatting with each other--never with Dominicans) the city starts to feel unsafe . I stop to grab my favorite Dominican treat: frozen yoghurt blended with 3 frozen fruits of your choice... sit in the plaza for a little bit, then head back to the hotel.

Next Morning

I explored Santiago pretty well back in 2006. Today I'm going to reexplore the city... with a camera. First stop: the suspension bridge over the river with a lush mountain backdrop... then on through the bustling vegetable market... up to peaceful military fort overlooking the river. Here there are busts honoring DRs leaders.

One bust shows an indian woman, Anacaona. I'm intrigued--as Amerindians are not usually included in displays of Dominican history. I ask a man sitting nearby, but he doesn't know who she is.

Luckily, there's wikipedia. Turns out Anacaona was of a cacica or chiefly family and a poetess and writer of ballads. When the Spanish arrived she was involved in a cordial interaction with the Spanish, until it became clear that the Spanish were only planning to enslave and destroy the Tainos . She was capture and given the option of being a concubine for the Spanish... or death. She chose death.

A somber reminder that the culture an civilization that we see today was built on a foundation of unspeakable cruelty.

I continue on through town, stopping for breakfast... 5 times! Hot chocolate with a pastry... eggs with fried cheese and plantains... a dish of freshly cut fruit salad... another frozen yoghurt... Yep, my taste buds are very happy to be back in Dominican Republic.

The cathedral is opening for visiting (which is rare here in DR). It's a recently renovated building with a crypt underneath which looks like it could be a meeting place for some secret society. On the walls there are paintings of different scenes from the life of Jesus, according to the Bible. Jesus raising someone from the dead... Jesus in the garden... Jesus on the cross. But what's unusual about these paintings, is that each has a scene of Santiago in the background! The iconic bridge, fort or the towering monumento de los heroes .

Okay... I get what the artist is trying to do here. The massage is "Jesus is/was here" you know, in an abstract, philosophical sort of way....

But then I think: Imagine, it's the year 3000 and the official religious belief is that a long robed blonde guy named Jesus actually lived, did miracles, died and rose from the dead in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Nobody questions this belief, because, hey... look at the ancient paintings! what more proof do you need?

This sort of thing has happened before...

My last stop is Santiago's iconic monument, the Monumento a los Heroes de la Restauracion. Built on a hill with a tall building with a white pillar on top, it was originally built in by order of dictator Trujillo in 1944 in his own honor. After his assassination it was turned into a monument honoring those who fought for DRs second independence after it was briefly recolonized by Spain. From the top of the hill you get a great panoramic view of all the city an surrounding mountains.

At the base of the monument are various other, more cheeful monuments... one dedicated to guys on park benches reading newspapers... another to the carnival costume: a duck beak and giant horns... another to a very busty woman--I guess a famous Santiago entertainer.

It's been quite a pleasant morning here in Santiago.