I received an email about a trip to the Dominican Republic one month before I would have to leave. I was already going to a different part of the country a few weeks later, but one of my favorite friends was going on the trip and I didn’t want to pass up the chance to visit more of a country I hadn’t yet visited.
I knew very little about Santo Domingo before I finished reading the email, but I said yes. I would figure it out. There was only one problem: I didn’t have my passport. It was being renewed and was somewhere in limbo.
Thankfully, my passport arrived just in time and I boarded a flight from Atlanta to Santo Domingo. I got my first stamp in the new book with extra pages! I followed the sign that said “USA Journalists” and was escorted by members of the ministry of tourism quickly through immigration, a definite perk of this trip. As soon as we exited the airport, a wave of heat smacked me in the face. I was now entering Caribbean time.
We checked into our first of two Colonial Zone accommodations and took to exploring the area. Immediately, I associated the architecture with that of other old cities like San Juan and New Orleans. But it’s also what I imagined Cuba to be like, despite the fact that I haven’t yet been.
Power lines ran crisscrossed all over the streets like I’d seen in Asia. You’d see locals hanging out in front of corner stores that sold everything from empanadas to beer to cleaning supplies.
I enjoyed walking down the pedestrian street full of street art and seeing the many squares around town where you could get your shoes shined, join a not-so-official tour of the city or even get your photo taken with pigeons. Just another day in the Dominican Republic.
This is the first of many stories from my trip to the country, coordinated by BVK and the Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism. All thoughts, photos and stories are my own.
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