On Sunday we went to the the campo, or country.  We spent the afternoon eating fried yucca and walking around the mountainside.  We picked cherries, pears, grapefruits, cacao, and avocados off of trees.  I didn't get sick from eating any of these things, which is kind of miraculous, considering. 

The last of the Tres Ojos, underground lakes in the middle of Santo Domingo.This is the only one that has an opening over it and you have to get there by taking an underground ferry.

The house in the background was where 4 generations of Colons (Columbus').  The back of the house looks out on the port and the front looks onto a giant plaza with restaurants and shops.

Remnants from the Trujillo era, when Santo Domingo was called Ciudad Trujillo. 

The Botanical Gardens in Santo Domingo

This is the first Spanish  fort in the New World

From the grounds of the oldest church in the New World. A storm was brewing as we walked around Santo Domingo, the capital city.

I want to say a little something about how great the naps are here.  The afternoon siesta is not a myth--well it is in the sense that the whole world doesn’t actually shut down for it, but it definitely exists.  I don’t take one every day, but when I do, they are always fantastic.  There’s nothing quite like sprawling out on your bed, directly under the fan, and just dozing off for half an hour.  The best part of the whole experience is that there’s no shame in it.  During the school year, if I nap in the middle of the school day, I always feel a little guilty, like I’ve been over-indulgent and lazy.  When I talk about it, it’s always in the same tone; baffled that I found a sliver of time and apologetic that I used it for a nap.  Here, when I come out of my room with the announcement that I napped, it’s met with not just approval, but praise!