Internal Tourism: Part 1

Ever since my camera got here, I’ve wanted to go to La Zona Colonial. There are buildings and history that since I left 6^th grade I have forgotten and now that I’m leaving to Maryland, I’ve been wanting to see… those things that seems as only tourist get to see now (with how fast life has become in DR)

Well, Friday, after a nice lunch with ex-coworkers at El Conde Street - just like we always do: Pizza Hut/Conde on Fridays- I decided to do some internal tourism. With my tourist gear which included shorts, t-shirt, cap, iPod and camera, I parked in Isabel La Catolica Street (Near HRC) and started walking.

The first thing I saw, and one of the things I had gone there for was La Catedral Primada de America in El Parque Colon, the first cathedral built in the Americas in the early 1500’s, One of the things that most impressed me, besides the architecture of the Cathedral, was the great amount of tourists that came inside, and how amazed they were.

Once I looked at everything i could see inside and out of the Cathedral, I decided to keep walking before it starts to rain (it was partially cloudy) and before my camera went dead (which eventually did). I went through the hall where Segafredo and Patio de la Moneda is, which actually is El Conde and eventually got to Las Damas street, which is considered as the oldest street of the Americas.

As I walked through this obvious important street, the tourists kept walking by me by groups of ten or more. A few steps north and I ended up at El Panteon Nacional, where the remains of some of the most overachieving Dominicans rest. As you walk in, you can feel the mystic and importance of the pantheon.

At that point, and after a few hundred pictures my battery went dead. I have an extra, but I left it home. I was walking towards the Plaza España, home to the Alcazar de Colon and some other historical places. But I will definitely be back and try to see as much as I can before I go.

I recommend anyone who has some spare time to go visit La Zona Colonial. It is pretty clean and the buildings are well kept, and even pay a few bucks for the local tour - you'll probably hear things you didn't know.