The Dominican! 

Wednesday, May 28, 2003, we docked near Casa de Campo in the Domincan Republic. Casa de Campo is actually a huge resort complex which owns the dock, itself. Cruisers don't have access to the resort facilities except through one of Carnival's tours. The nearest town is called La Romana. We opted to take the 8-hour bus/walking tour to Santo Domingo, the island's capital. Our tourguide, Franklin, and our driver, Pedro made the most of our day. It was roughly an hour and a half bus ride each way, and we got to see much of the Colonial and more modern sections of the city. We also had a nice buffet lunch at one of the hotels there. 

Franklin's Family In order to keep us together as a group as we toured the city, our guide, Franklin, would call out "Franklin's Family ... this way!"	Alcazar de Colón This is the house where four generations of Christopher Columbus' family lived.
Dining Room While much of the furniture in the house is original to the home, some is furniture from the same time period donated to the Dominican Republic by Spain.	Señora's Bedroom This is Columbus' wife's room. Funny how they wound up with seven children even though they slept in separate bedrooms.
The Study This was a sort of library or study room.	Stepping Up The old Colonial section of town was full of steps like this.
Smile! Have to have at least one posed shot, right?	Monastery I think our guide said this used to be a monastery of some sort. Now it is the formal tomb of many of the Domonican Republic's national heroes.
Impressive Interior You can just see a hint of the Eternal Flame in the floor, the massive chandelier at the ceiling, and the painted celing, itself.	Shady Cafés This street/alleyway was lined with little cafés.
Columbus Plaza IThis is perhaps the most famous statue of Christopher Columbus. He's pointing North and there are a bunch of theories about that. Behind him is the Cathedral of Santo Domingo, where Christopher Columbus and his son, Diego, were once buried.	Main Altar The main altar of the Cathedral.
Baptismal Font The main Cathedral sanctuary is lined with these small shrine areas. I really liked the windows in this one.	Clip-Clop There's nothing quite like the sound of hoofbeats on cobblestone.
Base Naval The Dominican Naval Base in Santo Domingo.	Cafés and Bistros This street corner has a few local eateries. The black tanks on the roof hold non-potable water for gravity-assisted plumbing.
El Presidente This is the home of the President of the Dominican Republic.	Columbus Lighthouse Opened in 1992 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Columbus's landing in 1492, this monument is 693 feet long and 132 feet at its widest point. Built in the shape of a cross at a 45-degree angle, this building houses what the Dominican Republic claims are the remains of Columbus himself. On weekends, lights on top of the building beam the shape of the cross up into the sky. Unfortunately, we were there on a weekday afternoon, so I had to find the night picture on the Web.

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