Meeting in the Middle

Ain't no road too long when we (my brother & sister-in-law and I) meet in the middle! 

Kyle and his wife Chelsey are vacationing in Punta Cana this week. Lest we be in the same country and not see each other, we made plans to meet in the capital, roughly equidistant between their resort and my house, yesterday (pandemic day 311). I got on the road around 6:40 and had the pleasure of sitting in morning rush hour traffic en route to our meeting point, Los Tres Ojos, pulling in just minutes after their cab. 

From there, we made the quick (although Google Maps told me it was 33 minutes!?) jaunt to the Faro a Colón. It was, of course, closed, but it's an imposing structure with tremendous meaning nonetheless. 

Our third and final destination was the Zona Colonial. We started at the Hospital San Nicolás de Bari - the first in the Americas, built between 1503 and 1508. 

We might have sat next to a table of MLB recruits at lunch, during which I introduced them to jugos naturales (fresh fruit juices) and the very Dominican quirk of putting corn on pizza. 

None of the main attractions were open, which I knew; part of the allure of the Zona Colonial for me is just wandering. We whiled away a few hours shopping, snapping photos of interesting art and architecture, eating gelato, and mulling over different stances on Columbus and his influence on world history before it was time for them to meet their cab driver and me to drive home. 

All in all I couldn't have asked for a better day off with some amazing people I hadn't seen since Christmas 2019. The hectic pace of life continues, though; today was earmarked by the first Missions Unpacked live presentation AND the first English class at Pueblo Nuevo (well, on Zoom for members & friends of Pueblo Nuevo). And tomorrow, it's back in the car for a long weekend adventure: whale watching. 

Until next time, blessings!