Day 3: Domingo (Sunday)



Today, I ventured off the unbeaten path and made my way to Chinatown. It was funny (but kool) to see so many chinese people speaking spanish.  I wondered through all the side streets and was amazed to see beautiful heritage buildings still standing from the 1800's.  I made my way to a big courtyard area called the Borojol which overlooked the Rio Ozama River.  The courtyard was surrounded by historic sites such the Alcazar de Colon and La Casa de Colombus.





Borojol Plaza





Chinatown, Santo Domingo





Most shops close down on Sundays, however in the morning some of the stores were opened still. In the early afternoon, I pretty much took it easy to study some spanish, drink a cafe and smoke a cigar and at a local cafe. 

In the last 2 days I was here, there were no other travellers in the hostel where I was staying, but today a new traveller came in but when I went back to the hostel to rest later in the afternoon, there was a new traveller who had arrived.  His name is Eric he's here for a few weeks and is going to meet up with group of grade 9 students later on this week. Eric and I decided to walk around town and check out the scene and grab a bite to eat.  We checked out a cool restaurant called El Rey Falafel and I ate one of the best falafels ever. 




A very tasty falafel!

 


El Rey Falafel Restaurant



After dinner, we stopped by a courtyard situated in front of an old abandoned hospital in ruins called Ruinas de San Fransisco (it's a historical site and the first hospital of the Americas).  Although it was drizzling, the place was packed with people dancing!  They have this event every Sunday evening starting at 7.  It ended around 1130 but I think it was because of the rain otherwise I  think they would dance all night long!  So fun!

Before heading home we smoked a hooka at a hostel called Nomada hostel.  It was situated on the rooftop of a 4 story building and it had a bar setup and beds - very kool! we also stopped by a small dance place where there were a lot of old timers dancing. I danced one merengue song and Eric couldn't help but take a photo of me dancing.  Fun times!

This was my last night in Santo Domingo and it was a very fun night! Im leaving early tomorrow to go to Last Terrenas.  Buenas noches Santo Domingo..