Tuesday I did my final sight-seeing trip with Aunt Lori, Micah and Isaiah. First we went to Tres Ojos (literally translated Three Eyes) a system of caves and lakes underneath a park here in Santo Domingo. There are four lakes all together, three of them inside the caves (these three are "The Three Eyes") and a fourth one just outside of the cave. They were beautiful! The water was so clear that sometimes it was hard to tell whether the rock formations were a reflexion or on the bottom of the lake! The water in some of the lakes looked green. We had a great time exploring the caves. There was a small boat that we got to ride across the third lake to get to the fourth. There were bats in the cave above the third lake...we could hear them during the boat ride. I think the fourth lake was my favorite. It's the one outside of the caves...we stood in the mouth of the cave and got to gaze out at the lake (with vegetation all around it), the sky and beautiful rock formations. There were also a bunch of fish in this lake. Micah and Isaiah discovered that if the put their hand or foot in the lake and held it very still the tiny fish would come nibble at it. I put my hand in for a minute too...it felt so weird! One of the men who works there came over and let us feed the fish. He talked with us for a while and told us all about the lakes and how they got their names (I'm so glad we didn't pay for a guide!). He also explained that they used to be one big lake but an earthquake had caused parts of the cave to collapse creating smaller lakes.
After Tres Ojos we took a cab to Faro a Colon, a massive light house built as a memorial to Christopher Columbus. Columbus' bones may or may not be buried there. The Dominican Republic claims that they are but Spain also claims that they have them. Guess I'll have to go to Spain to know for sure that I've visited the site of his remains. Faro a Colon is huge and impressive. It is built in the shape of a cross. At it's center is a gorgeous marble and gold monument with a box supposedly containing Columbus' bones. The longest hallway has displays about many countries and their cultures. There is also a collection of replicas of important documents from the 1500 and 1600s, including the the marriage license of Ferdinand and Isabella and treaties for the New World.
We had a bit of a scary moment on our way into Faro a Colon. There was a long walkway leading to the building with a wall along it. Isaiah, being an 11 year old boy, of course, climbed up on to the wall and sat on it. A security guard came running down the steps and started yelling at him. We kept on telling her that none of us spoke Spanish. She didn't seem to believe that Isaiah didn't speak Spanish (she must have thought he was Dominican). She kept on yelling at him in Spanish, pointing at her badge and grabbing his arm like she was going to escort him away. Aunt Lori kept saying "mi nino, mi nino" to explain that he was her son. Finally, Aunt Lori decided to take the boys outside and told me to go ahead and go in. They started walking away...I guess the woman finally got it then because she sent a man after them to tell them they could go in. Crazy!
We got to see some great sights but we were all very relieved to be safely back at the apartment that afternoon!
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