October 31
Hello everyone!
One of the reasons for moving to Santo Domingo from El Salvador was to have the chance of living close to the Caribbean Sea. Even though we were only about 30 minutes away from the Pacific Ocean when living in Santa Tecla, we didn’t go nearly as often as we thought we would.
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| Quetzal sculpture on the Malecon |
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| Part of the food market at Ciudad Ganadera |
It turns out, we probably won’t be visiting the Caribbean Sea that often either. Not in Santo Domingo, at least. Many reasons for this, but the main one being that you don’t really want to be in the sea here. Choppy waters and piles of plastic pollution put paid to that.
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| Santo Domingo sits along the Caribbean Sea |
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| Rubbish pile in the water off the Malecon |
It’s nice to walk along the shoreline, mind. Much of the capital’s shoreline on the western side has a long section of pavement above the rocks. Others may call it a promenade, a boardwalk, a corniche. Much of the Spanish-speaking world calls this a malecón.
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| It stretches about 12 km to the Colonial Zone |
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| Some of it is a bit away from the main road |
I’ve been down here a few times: mainly for running, and once to eat and discover that most people here think eating at 7pm is very early. But this Saturday morning was our first time taking a stroll along the shore.
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Running past Obelisco Macho in the
half marathon earlier this month |
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Eating a meat plate at La Parrilla steak house -
the Malecon and sea are behind my head |
The Malecón was built in the 1930s and became a popular spot in the 1950s, when a large number of casinos and hotels were built with views of the nearby ocean. Those, along with the two large obelisk monuments, are much closer to the Colonial Zone than where we walked with Mini and Maxi.
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| Less visible: chicken bones that Jack Russells are keen to savour |
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As well as Obelisco Macho, there is also Obelisco
Hembra elsewhere on the Malecon |
Once we got going, it was an enjoyable walk. There are a lot of intriguing things along this long stretch of road. Closer to the Colonial Zone, there is an amusement park and a fort. Just on our little stroll, we passed a go-kart track (that seemed to be hosting some sort of fitness competition, complete with people dressed in Halloween gear) and some oversized chairs that were inexplicably facing away from the sea.
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| Definitely want to go-kart in the future! |
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| Their view was...a busy road |
Apparently a popular pastime is to bring your own plastic chair down to the front, cross the road (which is very busy on weekdays) to go to a corner shop known as a colmado, buy some beers, again cross the road, then toast your survival by sitting in your plastic chair (facing it the right way) with your beer, watching the sun fall and the noise level rise.
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The colmados mostly have green signs due
to sponsorship by a beer company |
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| Kids' playground |
The reason we were near the western end of the coastal walkway was so I could investigate a new place: Ciudad Ganadera. Essentially, a local produce market.
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| Grassy section of the Malecon |
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| Across the main road from the Malecon is the 'food market' |
Well, that’s what I thought it would be. When we got out of the car, the first thing we saw was a stadium. Google Maps tells me that it’s a horse riding field. There is a concert there, according to a large banner.
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| I wasn't VIP enough to get in. I didn't try, in fairness. |
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| Around the side there was a herb and plant section |
I wanted to go as the pop-up produce market in Santa Tecla’s Ministry of Agriculture complex, across the road from where we lived, was genuinely one of my favourite places in El Salvador. I could practise Spanish whilst buying local produce at a better price and a much higher quality than in the supermarket.
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| Tecla's fruit and veg stalls |
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| Huge haul, all for less than $10 |
We’ve found the quality of produce in Santo Domingo’s supermarkets to be a mixed bag. Our nearest supermarket, Nacional, has mostly decent fruit and vegetables. It is a slightly higher price than at other supermarkets such as Bravo and Sirena, but a much better quality. Low bar, mind.
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| I couldn't find a picture of our Nacional - this is a recently built one |
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One thing they do well and at good value are
avocados - this was less than $1 and creamy |
So I was intrigued to see what this large local produce market would be like. It has some items that are harder to find, such as purple cabbage. It did have some nicer-looking tomatoes, and dozens of halved squashes (probably ones that didn’t make the Halloween cut).
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| Colourful! |
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There are also many meat stations.
Near the fruit and veg, naturally. |
Most of the prices, however, were the same if not slightly higher than in the supermarkets. Global inflation has made prices rocket, I know that. We are living on an island, so in theory there are ‘island prices’ attached to items (I don’t buy into that, as this is a pretty large island with diverse terrain, but that’s a different story). But I don’t think 4 smallish tomatoes for a dollar makes a lot of sense. I don’t think many of the prices make sense.
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| Plenty of green plantains for sale! |
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| This collection of meat is just over $35 |
We may not be visiting the ‘City of Livestock’ that often whilst living in Santo Domingo - ultimately, not worth the drive. The Malecón, however, will probably come into the rotation for dog walks and hopefully soaking up some stunning Dominican sunsets in the future.
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| Santo Domingo's southern shoreline |
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| Fish market in Ciudad Ganadera |
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| The view's the other way! |
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| As the Sun sets, life on the Malecon gets going... |
Love you all,
Matt
