Last night, just as we were ready to go to bed, the power went off. This is a common occurence, as the country can only produce two thirds of the power needed at any given time, so at least one third of the population has no power, at rotating intervals. What this meant for us was no ceiling fans, and since there are no screens on the windows at Eco Village, it made for a very hot night for most of us. The boys, we found out later, since their room is in the building occupied by the owners, had power all night, as there is an inverter on that structure. The only solace we had was that the nearby bar with insanely loud music was much quieter last night.
The power returned in the middle of the night, but when morning came, we were exhuasted, but had to be up and ready for the day. Breakfast was at 8:00 and then Karen came to take us into the capitol, Santo Domingo. Our first stop was the large market where tourists (and missionaries) buy souveniers. Karen took us to the booth where she has a great relationship with the staff, who gave us a 50% discount of the price tag, right off the bat. They also served up cold orange juice and small cups of coffee to enjoy while we shopped. The kids were excited about shopping and so was I, as I expected to make a dent in my Christmas list. There was so much stuff crammed into a small space that it was overwhelming. Finally, the kids started to find things that they wanted and the baskets began to fill. I was on a mission and the proprietor could see that, so when Jonathan asked where there was a pharmacy nearby, they asked what he needed and ran down the street to get it for him, and refused to let him pay. I can only guess that they thought if he didn't feel well, he might not let me spend as much money! Finally, everyone had what they needed and our purchases were wrapped up and bagged. The kids laughed at me and teased me for buying so much, but in the end, though I had two large bags, I bought very little for myself. One thing that was for me was a silver necklace with a stone called larimar which is indigenous to Hispanola (The D.R. and Haiti comprise the island of Hispanola) and is only found here, in just one mine. It is a light blue stone, similar in appearance to torquoise. Larimar, was named by the man who discovered it for his daughter Larissa and for the ocean as "mar" means "sea." I got Ellison a smaller version of my necklace so we can match and she wore hers to supper.
After we left the market, we headed to the historic city center or Zona Colonial, the first Colonial city in the New World. We settled into a restaurant directly across the plaza from the Catedral Primada de America (Primate Cathedral of America) whose first stone was set by Diego Columbus, son of Christopher Columbus, in 1514. It was completed in 1540. Need I even mention that lunch was pretty darn good? The service, however was a bit slow, so we had a lot of time to chat and visit with Karen. She is an U.S. missionary from St. Petersburg Florida whose job is to run the nursing home that is part of the Church campus here in Boca Chica. It is mostly referred to as "The Hogar", "hogar" being the word equivelant to "home" as opposed to "house." Karen has been here for almost five years. After lunch we walked over to Cathedral. We were at first denied entry, as we were thought to be a tour group, and the guard wanted to charge us admission. (Karen told us later that there is no admission, but as with so many things here, people in authority tend to make up the rules to suit themselves.) Karen explained that we were not touristas, but missionaries, and we were allowed to pass. I did note that shorts and tank tops are not permitted, so I imagine a lot of tourists are probably turned away for that reason. The Cathedral was beautiful, with stunning arches and spectacular stained glass windows that really shone from the sunlight in the mostly dim space. Sallly took an especially long time looking at all of the details and art work. When Ellison grew restless, Jonathan took her outside to feed the pigeons on the plaza. Before we left, we took a few moments to pray in that very special holy place.
Karen took us on a brief tour of this very historic area, beginning with a walk down the first paved street in the New World, Calle de las Damas. It was laid in 1502 and got it's name from Mrs. Diego Columbus and her lady friends who strolled the road each afternoon and had complained that the dusty or muddy street was ruining their dresses.(Damas means woman.) We walked a little while and saw some different places, and happenind upon two sights at once, one of interest to the girls, the other to the boys. A bride and groom with flower girls were having pictures taken near an ancient wall that had cannons. Guess who was interested in which sight?
Finally, we headed back to the van to return to Eco Village. Our drives through Santo Domingo were quite fascinating, I must say, with many sights you would never see in the States. There were four people on one moped, people pushing carts of coconuts with machetes ready to cut them open, jeans on sale for $6.00, huge fruit carts... it was truly an adventure. As much as we enjoyed it though, the unairconditioned van was really hot, and we were ready for a swim when we got back. Everyone jumped in the pool just in time for the rain storm, but it barely dampened their spirits. I stayed inside, waiting for it to stop, and when it was just sprinkling, I ventured out, still in my street clothes. Rhett and Nick splashed me so much I finally just jumped in and swam in my clothes the rest of the afternoon. We had quite a good time. Connor and Nick had breath holding contests, they all played with Jonathan's underwater camera, and they all took turns playing some with Ellison, who just wants to be with The Big Kids as much as possible.
After showering and getting dressed, the kids and I started to have a de-briefing of our trip, but our guests for the evening arrived early. Four kids from San Jose (the Episcopal Church here in Boca Chica) along with Molly and four of her friends who flew in today to help with VBS next week joined us for supper. (I am so glad that their VBS wasn't this week... ) We enjoyed pollo fritto (fried chicken) pasta, salad, tostones (fried plantains) and bread with doughnuts for dessert. After supper we turned on some beach music to teach our new friends how to shag, I gave Laura and Madison a crash course in Cha Cha and then we heard from Connick who played both of their songs. Finally it was time for our guests to go as they had to get home before the lights are turned off in the streets. We stayed up to talk and de-brief a little, and, following prayer, we went to bed.
Home tomorrow!
Yours in faith, Dorothy
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