The smoker is smoking! First time this season…🤗

Last post from our Punta Cana vacation. We arrived at the airport and were greeted by a very long line for security and passport control. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a sign on a door: VIP Security and Passport Control—$30 per person. We walked through the door, paid, and were through security and passport control in about 30 seconds. We exited directly into the duty-free shop. Best $30 I’ve ever spent.

Before dinner, we had another Escapology experience…

Our last day was Jamie’s birthday, and we started it perfectly: a big breakfast with a spectacular ocean view, followed by a walk on the beach and a relaxing massage.

Our vacation has come to an end. I may not have been able to swim in the ocean, but I will never get enough of the music it makes—the calming rhythm of the waves following you as you walk along the beach.

Last stop of the day was at one of the DR’s award-winning chocolatiers. Had no idea that most of the cocoa used by the best chocolatiers globally come from cacao beans grown and processed in the DR. We purchased a bar of everything. The lab will have a chocolate tasting at group meeting on Monday!

I’m a sucker for stone bracelets these days. Since relocating to Durham/Chapel Hill, Carolina blue has become my new favorite color. When I saw this larimar bracelet, I had to have it. The sales pitch was extraordinary of course. And then I was presented with a certificate of authenticity (that I couldn’t read). Once I left the store and checked Amazon, it became clear that I paid 4X too much. Oh well… —CEC Larimar is a rare blue gemstone found almost exclusively in the Dominican Republic, especially near Barahona. A blue variety of pectolite, it is prized for colors that resemble Caribbean water, from pale sky blue to deeper ocean tones with white, wave-like marbling. —CGPT

The Catedral Primada de América in Santo Domingo, begun in the early 1500s and consecrated in 1541, is the oldest standing cathedral in the Americas. Built of coral limestone, it blends Gothic, Renaissance, Plateresque, and Baroque styles. Inside are ornate chapels, carved altars, paintings, tombs, and a treasury of colonial religious objects. Several chapels hold the remains or memorials of bishops, archbishops, and prominent Dominican leaders. One notable figure is Fernando Arturo de Meriño, priest, president of the Dominican Republic, and later archbishop, whose bust stands outside. The “married bishop” story likely refers to controversies around Meriño’s personal life and children. —CGPT

These are royal palms, or palmas reales, part of the visual identity of Santo Domingo and the wider Caribbean. They thrive throughout Hispaniola and have long been planted in Dominican plazas, gardens, boulevards, and government spaces to signal elegance, shade, and tropical civic pride. In Santo Domingo, they frame colonial walls, churches, parks, and official buildings, linking the city’s Spanish-era stone architecture to its Caribbean environment. Their tall, column-like trunks and arching crowns create a ceremonial feel, which is why they are so often used in formal public landscapes across the capital. —CGPT

This is the Christopher Columbus statue in Parque Colón, the central square of Santo Domingo’s Colonial Zone. It stands beside the Catedral Primada de América, the first cathedral built in the Americas. Columbus is shown pointing outward, symbolizing exploration and arrival in the New World. The figure at the base represents the Indigenous Taíno people, making the monument both historic and complicated. Parque Colón remains a lively public space filled with guides, musicians, vendors, visitors, and pigeons, while also reminding viewers of the deep consequences of European colonization in the Caribbean. —CGPT

This is the National Pantheon, or Panteón de la Patria, in Santo Domingo’s Colonial Zone. Built between 1714 and 1746, it began as a Jesuit church before serving many purposes, including tobacco warehouse, theater, and government building. In 1958, it was transformed into a national mausoleum honoring Dominican heroes and distinguished citizens. The red carpet, flags, honor guard, and eternal flame give the space a solemn civic character. Today, the Pantheon stands as both a memorial and a symbol of Dominican identity, connecting colonial architecture with the country’s long struggle for independence, sovereignty, and national memory. —CGPT

Lunchtime entertainment… Merengue was developed in the Dominican Republic in the 19th century and became closely associated with Santo Domingo as the capital helped formalize it into a national symbol. Its roots blend African rhythms, European contradance, and Caribbean folk traditions. Early elites dismissed merengue as rural and too sensual, but it spread through popular dance halls, military bands, and later radio. Under Rafael Trujillo, merengue was promoted aggressively as Dominican national music. Today, Santo Domingo remains one of the best places to experience merengue as living culture: social, rhythmic, joyful, and unmistakably Dominican. —CGPT

At Fortaleza Ozama, the plaques recall Santo Domingo’s walled complex, begun in 1505 under Governor Nicolás de Ovando; the Torre del Homenaje served as a prison, and the main portal was built in 1787 under Carlos III. Another plaque honors Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo, chronicler of the Indies, warden of the fortress, captain, city attorney, and author of the General and Natural History of the Indies. Overlooking the Ozama River, this oldest European military fortress in the Americas blends conquest, governance, captivity, and memory beneath the fiery blooms of the flamboyant, or royal poinciana, tree on historic Dominican ground today. —CGPT

The last surviving riverfront gateway built along the Ozama River in Santo Domingo circa 1496. —CEC🤗😂

This is the National Palace in Santo Domingo, the official seat of the Dominican Republic’s executive branch. Completed in 1947 during the Trujillo era, the building was designed by Italian architect Guido D’Alessandro in a neoclassical style, with a prominent dome, grand columns, and formal gardens. Today it houses the offices of the president and key government ministries. Although not colonial, it stands near the historic heart of Santo Domingo and reflects a later chapter in the nation’s political history. Its elegance, scale, and guarded presence make it one of the capital’s most recognizable civic landmarks and symbols. —CGPT