La Capital

Some of the best and most interesting things happen in unexpected ways. Take our previous weekend, for example: Rebekah and I had been planning to go to Santo Domingo, the capital of the DR, for quite some time. On the Friday before leaving, I happened to run into an American doctor, Douglas, at the hospital. He just happened to be heading to the capital the next day, and had some extra room in his car. Rebekah and I jumped at the opportunity, and spent the next few days roaming the first city in the New World...

On arriving in the city, we found a place to stay and spent Saturday morning roaming the old city. Many of the old churches, military outposts, and much of the original city wall is still in tact, giving you a small glimpse of the original influences on Hispañola. Embarking on a self-guided walking tour, we started at Parque Independencia, which has a mausoleum holding the remains of some of the countries national heroes. From this park you could get a great view of the Conde, a pedestrian-only street lined by shops, street-food vendors, and all the trinkets you could ever hope to buy.

We continued down beautiful flower-lined streets of colonial and gothic-style architecture.

Stopping for a quick bite to eat on the Malecon, the street bordering the ocean. Here we had our first look at the Caribbean Ocean. Before this trip, we had always stayed on the northern, Atlantic side.

A little friend also taking in the sites on this beautiful day!

We toured Fort Ozoma, the oldest military structure in the new world. We didn't end up staying long as it was getting on noon, the temperature was reaching 95, and we couldn't find any shade (sorry to all of you northerners who would kill for 95 degrees right now!).

Up until recently, the fort was being used as a jail.

Ah, how the times have changed...

The tour ended at Catedral Primada de América (the first cathetral of America) which is now the oldest working church in the hemisphere.

Saturday afternoon, we went with Douglas to a local medical fair. It was in the northern part of the city, in an extremely poor neighborhood. On the way, we passed some slums.

We also found someone else who was looking forward to cooling off!

The health fair was put on by a politician friend of Douglas, and they had two physicians, a small free pharmacy, as well as a group giving out Lions glasses.

Don't ever think that those glasses you drop off with the Lions Club are wasted!

Douglass and I set up shop with the other physicians and started helping. Here we are trying to get a feel for the available medications.

This woman asked for antibiotics for the cold she was coming down with. After spending a few minutes with her explaining why antibiotics weren't necessary, she smiled, said thank you, and headed for home.

Although we helped many people with simple infections, parasites (see below), and cuts/scrapes, afterward I found myself wondering if we'd really done some good. With no follow-up, no privacy, and little organization, it wasn't primary care as I envision it. It was probably better than the health care they would have received otherwise (i.e. nothing), but it certainly wasn't optimal. Imagine a box full of blood pressure medication but no blood pressure cuff to be found...

Sunday, we spent a very relaxing day with a friend, Ingrid. After stopping at a local coffee shop by the coast for breakfast, we headed to the arboretum. It was so nice to get out of the smog-filled city and explore trails winding through forests of lush palms and bamboo.

Our final stop before leaving the arboretum was perhaps the most beautiful Japanese garden I have ever experienced. In a climate where literally anything you stick in the ground grows, the sheer amount of green can be overwhelming.