Santo Domingo 2.-7. day more and photos

Our intention for this trip was to have a real vacation, but it would be foolish not to use at least one day just for sightseeing.
We used our last day here to visit 30 km away Santo Domingo. We felt uncomfortable and had the impression that at any moment we could be robed or exposed some kind of trouble.

Catholicism has deep roots here since the first cathedral in America, the first university, the first military fort etc. were built here. Since some parts of the city are extremely insecure tours can't be done without a local guide or the police who are charge for the tourist security.
Street vendors stopped us trying to sell us jewelry of dubious quality. If you want to buy something you have to be willing to bargain. Bargaining is a part of the game, some kind of ritual.

You can however still find specialty stores with high-quality jewelry made of Amber and turquoise blue stone Larimar that can only be found in Dominican Republic. You can buy very nice paintings typical for this area full of beautiful colors and symbols of their ancestors.
At the end what's there to say when the feelings are so terribly divided. We were astonished by the natural beauty, and if you're willing to live in the tourist reservation you'll probably have a wonderful time. However, if you're free, sociable person and have no prejudices then this great division between people (racial, financial and every other) will hit you hard and cast a shadow on everything a nice you had experienced because it's impossible to pretend that you hadn't seen all that misfortune around you. That is something that leaves heavy and sad impression on you.
The trip back home was a long and arduous again, but that is not an obstacle for the next travel.
See you somewhere else!

President's palace

Street art

School

Columbus Statue

Columbus House