Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

The second stop on our July 2012 cruise was at La Romana, Dominican Republic.  One of the excursions was to the capital city of Santo Domingo, specifically to the Ciudad Colonial.  This area has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.  This portion of Santo Domingo was the first European city to be built in the Americas.  The trip from La Romana to Santo Domingo took about ninety minutes by tour bus.  Upon leaving the cruise port, we followed DR-3 west along the coast.  The route is a combination of city streets in La Romana, but improves to a divided highway in the countryside.  While there is a freeway-style bypass around the major city of San Pedro de Macorís, the road becomes a city street again. complete with traffic lights, in the beach town of Boca Chica.  

The highway crosses one river on either side of San Pedro de Macorís.  On the east side, the highway crosses the Rio Soco near its mouth.  Along the bypass on the northwest side of the city, the highway crosses the Rio Iguamo on the Mauricio Báez Bridge.  Completed in 2007, this is the longest cable-stayed bridge in the Carribean with a main span of 1,280 feet.  

Soco River and Caribbean Sea

Mauricio Báez Bridge over the Rio Soco

Once in Santo Domingo, we turned off the highway and after a series of wide turns on narrow streets crossed the Rio Ozama via the Puente Flotante or Floating Bridge and entered the Ciudad Colonial.  

Rio Ozama

Our tour guide, Wellington, directs our attention to the
former home of Hernán Cortés (now the French Embassy)

Palacio Consistorial

Christopher Columbus statue in Columbus Park

The Cathedral of Santa Maria la Menor is the first cathedral in the New World.  It was constructed between 1521 and 1540 using a mix of Gothic and Baroque architecture.

Side entrance of the Cathedral from Columbus Park

North façade of the cathedral

Interior of the cathedral

The National Pantheon of the Dominican Republic was originally built in the early 1700s as a Jesuit church.  During the Haitian occupation of 1822 to 1844, theatrical events were staged to clandestinely promote independence.  In 1956, it was remodeled to serve as a mausoleum for national heroes.

Eternal Flame

Wall of Heroes

Entrance Hall

Guards in dress uniforms at the National Pantheon

Built in 1753, one of the oldest sundials in the Americas stands outside the Museum of the Royal Houses.  It has a morning and an afternoon dial.  Both dials are visible from the former government offices and were used for official time keeping.

Sundial

Museo de las Casas Reales
(Museum of the Royal Houses)

Alcázar de Colón or Columbus Palace is a two story residence and government office.  It was ordered built by Diego Columbus, the elder son of Christopher.  In 1509, Diego was named Governor of the Indies and Viceroy of the Indies in 1511.  Construction began in 1510 and continued for two years.  The building now houses a museum of colonial artifacts.

Viceroyal Palace of Diego Columbus

Portion of a tapestry in the Entrance Hall

Servants dining room

María's bedroom

Living Room

Diego's bedroom

Diego's bedroom and balcony

Diego's office

Reception Hall

Music Room

Family Dining Room

Balcony overlooking the Spanish Plaza

While the western balcony overlooks the Spanish Plaza, the eastern balcony overlooks the ancient fortified walls and the Rio Ozama.

Avenida Francisco Alberto Caamaño Deño

Old masonry fortifications

Puente Flotante or Floating Bridge

Foundations of a more elaborate fortification

Modified fortifications to allow four-lane avenue

Fortress wall

Diego's balcony in Alcázar de Colón

Puente Matías Ramón Mella

Leaving the city, we detoured past the Columbus Lighthouse.  The massive building in the shape of a cross was dedicated in 1992 to mark the 500^th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of the New World.

Faro a Colón  or Columbus Lighthouse

Rio Dulce in La Romana from the ship

One additional comment about the culture of the Dominican Republic is that I saw kids and young men playing baseball or walking to or from playing baseball everywhere I looked.

There is not an official site for the Ciudad Colonial.  However, UNESCO has a site at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/526/ and the government has a a site at http://www.dominicanrepublic.com/.