08 August 2007

A trip to Santo Domingo

August 7, 2007

It’s been almost a week since Kristen’s 28th birthday, which we spent in Santo Domingo, the historic capital of the Dominican Republic. We went there for three days with our friends Jim and Wendy from s/v Merengue. Unfortunately, Kristen came down with food poisoning after dinner on our first night out and she had to stay in bed on her birthday. Crap! Luckily, we had found a nice little hotel with a corner room, so at least Kristen was able to be sick in style.


Our corner room in the capital.


The view from the hotel room.

Meanwhile, Hans spent the day meandering around town with Jim and Wendy looking at all the historical sites. Santo Domingo was the first big city in the “New World” and there is an old cathedral from the 1500s and lots of nice architecture. The atmosphere in the old colonial district, where we were staying, was great with lots of outdoor cafes and restaurants. We definitely plan on returning to give Kristen a second chance to look around and to enjoy more of what the city has to offer (read: good food!)

Now we are back on Whisper where the starboard galley has been taken apart to make room for a new fridge. We’ve spent the last 6 months longing for refrigeration. Can you imagine life without butter, yogurt, CHEESE, milk, cold water, jam, meat, cold cuts, COLD BEER, etc.? Our dreams are finally about to come true thanks to a friend of a friend, Sara, who will bring the 30 pound compressor with her when she arrives in the DR to visit her boyfriend. Happy hour on Whisper in one week! Thanks to the wonderful, indomitable, generous, magnanimous and generally great person know to the world as Sara.



The beach front in Santo Domingo littered with plastic.


The Ham Museum. Yes, those are hams hanging from the ceiling. Yum!


The old fort in the capital.


taking a break from site-seeing at a cafe in the main square in the Colonial Zone. The Cathedral is in the background.


An old building lit up at night.



The cathedral. Notice the satellite dishes on the roof!