I just had to write about this unforgettable aspect of life in the DR so I don't forget about it... (Disclaimer: I don't take my iPhone out in public to take pictures, so most of these photos are off Google, but I thought they were a good representation.)
Public transportation is such an
aggressive, alien concept here for me! Cars are always smashed up centimeters
from each other with motorcycles with men, women, children and babies piled on
them, weaving in between other vehicles on every side. There are carritos públicos that are like little,
beat-up taxis that go the same route up and down the road carrying 7 people at
a time- 2 in the front passenger seat and 4 in the back. You get used to the
idea of getting up close and personal with strangers really fast if you take
that route!
There
are also guaguas, or buses, that
people pile into as well. Some are bigger and size and a little nicer quality,
with specified stops on the side of the road where people get on and off. Other
guaguas are smaller, and there the cobrador, or money-charger, hangs out of
the window yelling at people anywhere on the street to get on and piling in as
many passengers as possible. Certain types of these smaller buses are called boladores, or “flyers,” because the fly
down the road at ridiculous speeds until they can collect another passenger or
someone yells to be dropped off near their destination. Another option is the
metro, or underground subway system. It’s a whole other little world down
there, though it’s not nearly as complex as the ones I’ve been to in New York
and Mexico City. There are only 2 metro lines in Santo Domingo that go 2
directions each, and the distance is limited, but it can come in very handy
sometimes! If you get on at a busy time though, you are cramped in with people, and you’d better book it off at your stop
before the doors close!
The
benefit of using one of these public transportation methods instead of a taxi
when you don’t have a car is that the rate is about 100% less. For example,
this evening we called a taxi to take us to a devotional at a church
meetinghouse about 20 minutes away and were charged 250 Dominican pesos ($5.48
US dollars). We took a guagua back
from the devotional and walked a little ways from the main road to our
apartment, and spent only 25 Dominican pesos each (55 cents in US currency). The
metro only costs about 60 pesos ($1.32 USD) for both ways, in comparison to
about a 400 pesos ($8.78 USD) in taxi both ways for a short distance.We have to
be really cautious about the modes of transportation we use to be safe, and
avoid traveling at night, but we feel pretty proud of ourselves once we make it
somewhere alive and feel like we’re getting the hang of it!
Then
there’s the option of getting around with the senior missionary couples, if
we’re lucky! We’ve been blessed to have them offer to take us to and from
church every Sunday, home from the institute building a few times, and a couple
of other places! It’s pretty entertaining to witness elderly American couples
maneuver the streets of Santo Domingo. We may have taken a few extra detours
along the way a couple of times, but overall it’s pretty impressive to see that
Dominican defensive attitude come out of these sweet missionaries on the roads!
On the other hand, our trips to meetings with our local Dominican Self-Reliance
Manager is like a rocket ride zipping to whichever chapel we’re going to. But
he knows what he’s doing and we make it just fine.
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| Gotta love the fruit vendors on the road! |
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