Excursion to Santo Domingo
Today I will talk about excursions to Santo Domingo.
We leave Punta Cana towards Santo Domingo. The first interesting place that we meet on our way is the basilica in Higueia, the temple of St. Altagracia, the patroness of the Dominican people. January 21 is the celebration of this saint, a non-working day. Former Pope John Paul II came here many times to celebrate this holiday. Very interesting and unusual architecture of the temple. Inside there is an icon of St. Altagracia and everyone entering the temple rises to the altar, puts his hand to the icon and asks for help or some innermost desires.
On the way to Santo Domingo, we stop at the fish market, where they cook amazingly delicious deep-fried fish with a side dish of tostons, sweet potatoes and avocados. The cost of the dish is 200 pesos (6 dollars), the weight of the fish is 1.5-2 libra. I don’t know places in the Dominican Republic where you can eat fish cheaper and tastier. Again, you need to prepare for the fact that you will be the only one among the whites.
We drive into Santo Domingo, the first interesting place on our way is the Aquarium, where a collection of some of the inhabitants of the Caribbean and the Atlantic is collected. Good-natured and shy iguanas roam the territory of the Aquarium park. Not at all like on the islands of Lake de Oviedo, in the Jaragua National Park, from which they had to flee, but that's another story and excursion. The collection of marine life is quite rich - large sea and freshwater turtles, sharks, small aquarium fish, piranhas, barracudas, stingrays, beautiful colorful fish, spiny lobsters, moray eels, huge deep-sea fish, Napoleons, flying fish, ball fish, stone fish, lionfish ……………………… I can’t list them all.
Next on our way is the Columbus Lighthouse. A monumental building built in 1992 and consecrated by Pope John Paul II. The lighthouse was built in the form of a Templar cross, in memory of the fact that H. Columbus was a knight of the Knights Templar. Inside the lighthouse there is a chest containing the ashes of H. Columbus (according to Dominican legend). In addition, the lighthouse houses exhibition rooms of the countries that participated in the construction of this facility.
The next point of our visit is the historical part of Santo Domingo - the Colonial zone. The countdown of the time of the capital has been conducted since 1496, when Bartolomeo Columbus, brother of H. Columbus, built …………………………. But these are details. The main and central square is Columbus Square or Park, where the monument to Columbus stands and the Cathedral is located. The cathedral is interesting from the outside and beautiful inside, you can see a lot of unusual things in it. The temple is very old, built from 1521 to 1543. Then we pass along the street past the house of the cardinal and come to the military fort - Fort Ozama, which is considered the oldest military building in the New World, made of stone (1503-1505). Then you will walk along Dam Street, the history of which will be told by your guide. You will see the monuments, the houses of the conquistadors, who went on expeditions from the island to the countries of Latin America to exterminate the Indians. Visit the National Pantheon, where prominent figures and heroes of the Dominican Republic are buried, hear the story about the flag of the Dominican Republic. Further, our path lies to the Casas Reales Palace, where the royal reception hall, the governor's reception hall, the reception hall of generals, captains, where the royal pharmacy was located, were located. All this has been preserved in its original form, quite an interesting exposition. Then visit Alcazar de Colon, the palace of Diego Columbus, son of H. Columbus, who became the governor of this island, the first of the Columbus dynasty. And why did H. Columbus not become governor, although he had an agreement with the Spanish king and queen? Your guide will tell you about this and much more. In the Palace of Diego Columbus there are many interesting exhibits that allow you to imagine the life and life of the nobility of that time, almost all of the exhibits are genuine. Five generations of Columbus lived in this palace. In addition, there are many other interesting places, for example, Maria Toledo Square, the wife of Diego Columbus, Casa del Cordon - the palace of the monks of the Franciscan order, where the first two children of Diego Columbus were born, the Mint, Casa de las Gargulas, etc……… . And of course, it is worth wandering along the pedestrian street El Conde, where restaurants and souvenir shops are concentrated. Here you can bargain well and choose souvenirs that you like. And don't forget the rum, coffee and cigars at the supermarket, it's the cheapest place to buy.
Further, if there is still time and energy left, you can visit the caves of Los Tres Ojos, but personally I don’t really like them, they were formed a little more than half a century ago as a result of an earthquake and there is nothing special there.
The tour is interesting for curious people who are interested in history, it is very rich in terms of places to visit and informative.
