We made it to Santo Domingo! After an early start, everyone arrived very tired but our excitement motivated us to explore the oldest city in the new world.  After we ate some lunch and got settled, we started with a tour of Diego Columbus’ house.  Then we walked around the city center with our guide as we learned about the geological formation of Hispaniola, the first church in Santo Domingo, and the production of Larimar- a light blue stone only found in the Dominican Republic.

After some down time at the hotel, we ate dinner at a very typical Dominican restaurant next to el Parque Colon.  The streets of Santo Domingo were bustling with life.  Meregnue and Bachata blasted from every street corner, performers garnered the attention of passer-bys as well as epic chess and domino matches, and Dominican children played in the streets.

Afterwards, we celebrated Omar’s fourteenth birthday with a huge cake.  Per family tradition, his cousin, Hamza, pushed his face into a piece!

At the end of the night, half the group went to bed and the other half saw a 4-D movie about Sir Francis Drake and pirates.  The group is excited to travel to el Peñón to meet the community that we will be working with tomorrow.

-Kate & Jason