DR continues

The street from the front of the apartment. 

The DR seems quite far ahead of its neighbor. And then in many ways the same. There is a metro with the cleanest cars I've ever been in and escalators leading to them. There are still broken down cars that probably shouldn't be on the roads that take your where you need to go. Taxis and then these others that are more like the tap taps fitting 6 passengers in along a specified route. There are lanes and traffic lights that are followed more than Haiti but you can tell you aren't in the US as well...though I've not taken a taxi in a big US city so maybe that is similar...there are malls with many many shops inside-from the outside they look quite run down but are bright and shiny with some of the brightest clothing and shoes I think I've ever seen (other than on the people here). 

Yesterday we went walking thru the colonial (touristy) part of the city. Beautiful architecture with a pedestrian street full of shops (not all open on a Sunday). I think we made it to the cathedral of Columbus but will have to return to go inside. Then a walk down the Malecon where the big hotels, bright lights and casinos are. 

I'm back at the apartment, sitting on the porch and listening to the neighborhood noises. It is really alive here. From the Creole coming from behind me to the Spanish I'm hearing all around from children and adults. The birds chirping as they fly erratically in the sky. The cars and motos passing by on the street. I feel more in it even with less common language.