Day 3-040
4 hrs, 2 .6 kms

Most of Dominican Republic consists of small towns spaced 10 to 20 kilometers apart. In the east though there are just a couple of mid-size cities with long stretches of boring scrub in between. In the first city, the motorcycle taxis waiting for the bus put me ill at ease as one of them tries to grab my backpack to force me to be his customer. When I say no thanks, I'm going to walk they give me this "yeah, riight..." look making me ever more uncomfortable. I head towards downtown, looking over my shoulder the whole way.

Next to the cathedral is a little museum, which seems out of place in this very un-touristy town. Inside a cheerful young lady greets me and tells me to feel free to have a look around. It's pretty basic--but as it's donation only, I'm not complaining.

As it turns out, San Pedro was actually the commercial capital of the country at one time, with much of the sugar cane flowing out and imported goods flowing in through the port here . It had the country's first telephone and telegraph office, first fire station... first female doctor... There are displays of various prominent people of the city, it's champion baseball team and pictures of how the city has changed over time.

I definitely will see the city in a different light after this museum visit. Although it's now only a shadow of its former glory, it is San Pedro is stilla city worthy of respect.

After my Parkbench concert in the plaza, a head on, looking for the wawa station. Seeing me standing on the corner, an enthusiastic man rushes out of his shop to ask if I needed help. Odd... usually folks aren't that eager to help here... He gives me directions then asks "would you like me to say a prayer so you can accept Jesus into your heart?"

... I knew there was a catch...