Santo Domingo

Punta Cana used to be cut off from the rest of the island but since the construction of new roads, getting around is now quite easy. A taxi ride to the bus station and a bus so air-conditioned that I wear two layers of clothes, gets me to the capital in 3 hours.

Santo Domingo was founded a few years after Columbus' landfall in 1492 and boasts the first street pattern, the first cathedral and the first university in the New World. While lacking some of the timeworn atmosphere of Havana in Cuba, it's a vibrant bustling city of 2.5 million people.

The Colonial centre is the soul of the city's history and Parque Colon (Columbus) is the focus of much human life, with a non-stop parade of people watching. These three men are playing merengue, an up-tempo music style with evident African roots. Not that this seems to impress the young lady advertising a local restaurant! In the same plaza we see a Dominican version of a "beer bike" which some European cities are trying to eliminate but flourish here. No one promised the Dom. Rep. to be quiet.
But there are some quiet corners and I enjoy resting in Parque Duarte, a few blocks away, and the colourful back street housing.

A brisk walk westwards leads to the Malecon, the waterfront where people relax at weekends. The fresh sea breeze is a good foil to the powerful Caribbean sun.Read more