Today we were in Santo Domino in the Dominican Republic. This is our first time here and I wasn't sure what to expect. Santo Domingo was founded Aug 5, 1496 by Christopher Columbus's younger brother Bartholomew. It is the site of the first university, cathedral, hospital and customs house in the New World. The fort (Fortaleza Ozama) was built in 1502 and is the oldest standing fort in the Americas.
Our shore excursion today was "A Walk through Santo Domingo's Old Town". Before the walk we were taken by bus to visit the "Columbus Lighthouse". It is a mausoleum monument to Christopher Columbus. Completed in 1992 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Columbus's first journey to the New World. It is capable of projecting lights in the sky in the form of a cross. We were then bused to the gates of the Old Town. It is a Unesco World Heritage site. We walked the cobblestone streets and visited some of the sites there.
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| Approaching Santo Domingo before sunrise. |
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| First color of sunrise. |
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| The harbor is at the mouth of the Ozama river |
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| The Don Diego cruise terminal. It is across the Ozama river from the Old Town. |
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| The fortification walls around the old city |
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| The sun is trying to appear. |
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| The mouth of the Ozama River contains the port |
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| Our welcoming entertainment. |
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| First we went to see the Columbus Lighthouse" |
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| It has 2 halves with an open top walkway down the middle |
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| Seberal important Columbus dates |
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| The mausoleum containing bones of Christopher Columbus. |
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| The main Count's Gate to the fortified city |
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| The gate from the inside |
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| Replicas of Columbus's 3 ships |
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| Navigational tools from early 1500's |
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| A map showing Columbus's journeys |
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| 15th century map of the world |
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| Our group on our stroll, |
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| Inside the National Pantheon of the Fatherland - tomb of famous writers, politicians and heros. It was built as a Jesuit church 1714-1746. |
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Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación - a Catholic cathedral |
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| Columbus Park with his statue. |
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| Back to the ship. |
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| The Columbus Lighthouse from our ship. |
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| This is the Old Town area that we strolled through. |
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| Pulling away from the pier. |
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| The city skyline. Santo Domingo itself has a population of just over 1 million people and the Metro area is about 31/2 million. |
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| The sun is getting near to setting. |
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| Just about down. |
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| Take a look at the greenish spot in the middle. |
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| A close-up of the middle of the previous photo. I got another shot of the "Green Flash" this cruise. slightly distorted because of the vibration of the ship. |
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