Santo Domingo

Is the capital city of the dominican republic. Is very poor. Feels dangerous. We booked the hotel for six days, which seems too long as it is hard getting into the city while you (or I) are scared walking arround freely. They suggest you staying in old town. Old town is very small. Don’t wander arround at night, they say. Well and in las Terrenas at night after a game of pool they told me it is a very bad idea to walk home and not taking a motortaxi… Tati told me not to be so overly anxious about the place, that it’s everywhere dangerous. Yes true that, but I couldn’t let go of that feeling anyways… I guess it also didn’t help watching three seasons of sons of anarchy.

It’s weird going to a country, which the only thing you know about is the resort mass tourism, which gets so much money flown into the country and then seeing that it obviuosly only fills the pockets of a few. Well not so much of a surprise really…

The people from this side of the island are still ‚the lucky ones‘. Many Haitians on the western side of the island have an even much worse faith. After the earthquake in 2010, which the country still didn’t recovered from yet (someone told me that all the donations from arround the world didn’t really arrived where they should have…), they just recently were hit by hurricane Matthew (October 2016). It also didn’t help that the president stept down after the official period in February 2016 and the the reelections had to be postponed in october after the Hurrican.

Back to Dominican Republic: They have this tiendas (kiosks) where they sell stuff and alcohol and at the same time it’s like a bar, so you can easily mingle with the crowd, nice little cultural thing they have going on here. The people are friendly and easygoing – you only smile at them and they will help you, so no racism even though i’m just a rich bitch tourist, a walking dollar sign. Good people, I’m sorry for this whole island. It’s not a place I would come back too though…