I think that I heard our guide say that the building behind the horse is the site of the oldest University in the “New World”.
Buildings in the “Colonial Zone” were definitely quite old with many having been constructed in the 1500’s.
Leaving the Cathedral we had walked a number of blocks past street vendors and old buildings. All along the way our guide was providing a running commentary of the history of the area and the buildings. Perhaps it was my lack of sleep but after a while not as much sank in as I would have liked.
As we came down one street there was an increase in the number of school children and pedestrians in the area of one building. Soon learned that this was our next destination, the Panteon de la Patria.
Mural by the Spanish artist, Rafael Pellicer, called “Ascensión a los Cielos” (Ascension to Heaven) and “El Juicio Final” (The final Judgment.)
Once we had visited the Panteon de la Patria, we met on the stairs at the exit sign and then headed off for more sites and Dominican history.
A Dominican four seater: Believe it or not, when all of the parts were present in operating condition, this would be considered a four seater motorcycle. There is a seat for the driver, room for two behind the driver and room for a baby or smaller child sitting on the gas tank. A bit hard to believe but we did see such scenes in the Dominican Republic. On our way back to the resort we passed one such bike with a male driver, a woman passenger behind him, and a male passenger behind her and a baby sitting atop the gas tank – and cruising along at top speed on a busy main road! Having now made that exclamation mark observation, I must admit to driving my 100cc Yamaha motorcycle, with tenting gear and luggage, from Winnipeg to Montreal and Toronto and back in 1967 to see Expo ’67 in Montreal and my aunt in Toronto (total distance = 5000+ kms in 2 weeks) so maybe considering this a 4-seater isn’t all that insane :-).
