Santiago and Mocha

Ahhh taking a break from the sunshine and free beer at the resort...

So next we went to Santiago, but spent most of the days visiting Mocha, a smaller town nearby. Mocha is where wife spent her year in the DR and has a reputation for killing dictators (2 to be exact). After our underwhelming time in Santo Domingo we were both feeling a little down about our decision to come to the DR, but that all changed in Mocha. Her host-family, who wife hadn't seen in 18 years, was ridiculously friendly. When we arrived, about 20 people of various relations fed us, talked to us, and basically gave us a chaotic latino-style welcoming. There were even some people who spoke English (kids mostly, but a few adults who were visiting from NY), which was good for my gringo ass. We returned there everyday and did some variation of the same thing (drinking and eating with 20 people in the... house! The park!! The campo club!!!).

We didn't see a whole lot of Santiago, but what we did experience we liked. On Friday night we went downtown where there was much cruising and loud music blasting. In the middle, there is a huge monument that Trujillo built (you could see it from anywhere in the city, a metaphor?). Surrounding it were people hanging out, blasting music, and selling beer from their coolers. In general, Santiago just felt more alive and friendly than Santo Domingo. We could have been biased from having people to see, but I also think we just have a tendency of liking the smaller cities.

It would seem too bad that we only spent 4 days total there. We could have spent a lot more time exploring Santiago and much more time seeing her family. But as nice as everyone was, it was also overwhelming and I think we were both ready to move on the beach...


Here are 4 things I've learned about the DR

1. Reagaeton is best heard blasted out of the trunk of your car from a souped-up stereo.
2. They have Mexican and Greek food here, but they add Ketchup and mayonnaise to it.
3. Dominicans are obsessed with cold beer. If your drink has been sitting for over 5 minutes, they will replace it with a new colder one.
4. During Trujillo's reign he changed the name of Santo Domigo to Trujllio city and made everyone buy a sign that read, "En este casa, Trujillo es el jefe" (in this house, Trujillo is the boss).