Another history lesson

Monday was our only day to play tourist, so we set off on foot in the morning with a vengeance. Our destination was Zona Colonial, or Colonial Zone, for all you Gringos.

Christopher Columbus landed in Hispaniola on December 5, 1492. The native Tainos are believed to have numbered around 600,000 and to have migrated to the island by canoe from South America. They almost disappeared in the next few decades. Some were massacred by the Conquistadors, some fell prey to disease, and some were worked and starved to death. Although there are some who claim to be descended from the Taino (who interbred with the Spanish and African slaves) there are certainly no full-blooded Tainos left today.

The DR, because of its strategic location, has been invaded and controlled at different times by Spain, France, England, Simon Bolivar's Gran Colombia, Haiti, and the United States. It became an independent nation in 1844, when a group of revolutionaries seized power from the ruling Haitians.Seventy-three percent of the population is of mixed race, combining Spaniards and other Europeans, West African slaves and natives. Sixteen percent is white and 11 percent black, including Haitians. The mixed ethnicity gives Dominicans an interesting diversity of skin colour and facial characteristics.

Santo Domingo is the capital of the Dominican Republic and was founded in 1496 by Don Bartolome Colon, the younger brother of Christopher. It is the oldest city in the New World. As we entered the Zone, the streets became narrow and  walking on the paths somewhat perilous.

One gets a feeling of history and immense age; these houses and streets must be several hundred years old.

The closer we got to the centre of the Zone, the more picturesque and winding the streets.

The walk to the Zone took us about an hour. 

Lucky I had my Skechers Shape-up sandals on my little feet, or I'd have died.

Tomorrow, more juicy bits from the Zona Colonial.