Ferries, Cadavers and Santo Domingo

After a month and a half of lovely surf in Rincon it was time to kick my butt into gear and head for the Dominican Republic. Since flying with surfboards can be extremely costly I opted for the ferry that runs between Mayaguez and Dominican Republic. It's more of a cruise ship style than a passenger/cargo ferry, much to the disappointment of my wallet! The brochure and website showed a large cruise ship, with everything from a casino to a movie theatre. The reality was a run down old cruise ship, smelling of stale cigarettes. I chose what was called "aeroplane style seating" in order to save money. Aeroplane seating turned out to be a few plastic chairs scattered around the place, it was shaping up to be a very long and uncomfortable 12 hours! As luck would have it I met a lovely group of American missionaries who took me in and gave me the spare bed in their cabin. This is not the first time in my travels that I have been taken in by missionaries, I seem to find them everywhere, they can be a helpful bunch! It was rough seas and very rocky, but it seems all my time recently spent on boats has been paying off, I didn't feel even a touch of sea sickness. Getting off the boat and clearing customs was mayhem, very crowded, and my lack of spanish doesn't help. It was definitely a relief to have my old housemates cousin picking me up from the ferry dock. My advice for anyone island hopping without surfboards, take the aeroplane!

I have spent the past couple of nights staying with a group of medical students in Santo Domingo, next door to the university. On my first day I was taken into the anatomy lab to get a look at my first dead body and test my stomach. I'm not sure what I was expecting exactly, but it certainly wasn't anything like what I saw. They were so brown! The bodies spend several months being preserved in a brown liquid, so by the time they come out they almost look mummified. I had an initial wave of "oooh wow that's overwhelmingly creepy", but after a few seconds it passed and I found the experience very interesting. The worst was a big pool where three new bodies were soaking, they will stay there for a few months before being used. It definitely looked like something out of a horror movie, I took pictures but I don't think they would be suitable for posting on a blog, some how! They never have a shortage of bodies to study, as the bodies of criminals are given to the university.

Last night was my first proper look around the city of Santo Domingo, it was far more beautiful than I had expected! It has such a rich cultural history, and the architecture is so well maintained. Christopher Columbus arrived in Santo Domingo in 1492, and I think today the city is the oldest European city in the caribbean. The Catedral Santa Maria La Menor was the first catholic cathedral in America. Wandering around the cobbled stoned streets at night looking at the ancient architecture is an absolute pleasure. We went for dinner at a beautiful restaurant and being seated outside we were able to watch live music and dancing being performed in the town square. I have also discovered a new favourite drink, one I tried for the first time in Puerto Rico. It's called Sangria, and is a mix of wine with juice, sliced fruit and soda. The recipe varies from place to place, but its always delicious. I guess coming from Australia our idea of a sangria is some cheap wine mixed with that old orange juice we found at the back of the fridge, but when made the traditional way it really is delicious! The nightlife in Santo Domingo is really upper class, swanky bars and beautiful restaurants, found mostly around the colonial district. It's definitely worth a visit. The only down side of the night was having my credit card eaten by an ATM machine because I left it there too long! Tomorrow I am hoping to go to the North coast and find some waves. A big swell is hitting the islands (Puerto Rico and Tortola too) but the wind is blowing so strong it has been unsurfable. Hopefully the surf gods will smile upon me and tomorrow I can report on the quality of Dominican Republic waves. Well its time for me to go back to bed now and sleep off my morning sangria hangover!