Santo Domingo-ing Away

​Holy Week in the Dominican Republic is synonymous with one of two things: the beach or the mountains. 

While we as Lutherans value gathering together with our church families for the holy days of the triduum, beginning with a Maundy Thursday service this evening, the early part of a week with no work/school nationwide was perfect for an overnight getaway to Santo Domingo to see friends Franco & Kelsey and their 16 mo. old daughter Anza one more time; I've known them since they were just novios.  

We made an 8 min. detour on the way into town to see Parque Logístico CCN, the enormous, new-ish (2022) distribution center/factory complex owned by the parent company of my favorite grocery store and where Franco works when he's not at his corporate office. 

After passing through airport-esque security, we started by peeking into a warehouse with 70+ semi-truck bays (A-C on the map below) for incoming deliveries and shelving stacked 5-6 levels high with product that'll eventually make its way into stores.

Franco, a project manager, then took us to see his multi-million dollar baby, the bakery (L). He made multiple trips to Europe to help acquire the machinery and personally took the plastic off when it was installed on the floor. From observation windows on the 2nd level, we tracked the process from mixing, kneading, and laminating dough to proofing, baking, packaging, and, finally, prepping for delivery. Without giving away any trade secrets, suffice it to say I was reassured that the croissants, rolls, buns, artisanal loaves, cookies, cakes, doughnuts, and more I buy at my local Nacional are both fresh and sanitary. 

Tuesday's outing: the Colonial Zone. We dodged intermittent rain showers to see Prado en las Calles, an exhibition co-sponsored by the Prado art museum in Madrid and Santiago's own Centro León. Reproductions of famous works were displayed in plazas and on walls lining the area's historic streets. 

Anza enjoyed chasing pigeons, especially after Kelsey bought her a 50 peso plastic cup of dried corn to toss. 

The weather cleared up as we strolled some souvenir shops, and Josh & I even had time to cap off what turned out to be a lovely afternoon by sharing a scoop of gelato. 

Kelsey had suggested checking out the zoo Wednesday. We timed our arrival so we could see the bird show. It was more informative than engaging but ended with the opportunity to take a free photo with a macaw (instead of paying the tourist trap price of $5 or more to do so on the beach). 

The whole place was much larger than the multiple posted maps, each with the attractions numbered differently, made it seem. We definitely should have taken more advantage of the train instead of walking nearly 10,000 steps to see crocodiles, flamingos, lemurs, lions, tigers, zebras, water buffalo, hyenas, anteaters, multiple African antelopes, ostriches, cassowaries, emus, reptiles, and even such exotic creatures as bison. 

Maybe we'll road trip to see you next time you're in the Midwest, dear friends! 

Until next time, blessings in Christ!