I decided to stay an extra night in Santo Domingo and use the Sunday (Mothers Day) for a well-earned rest in the Parador. I enjoyed a good breakfast and then a laze in my nice warm room. I ventured into town at 11.00 a.m. It was still freezing. I wore hat and gloves and lots of layers. I caught the end of the Cistercian Nuns’ Singing Mass, had a coffee and then emerging from the bar, I found the procession starting for the Sto. Domingo festivities. There were incense swingers, boys dancing, brass band and finally the statue of the Saint himself and the chickens of the legend being paraded through the town. All the locals were dressed up to the nines, as if attending a wedding. I took lots of photos. The police contingent, also in Sunday best uniforms, were trying to keep people away from the procession route along the narrow main street. It was a wonderful chance opportunity to be in Sto. Domingo on this feast day.
Sitting in the sunny cloister back at my own Parador in the late afternoon, I met Carol Damm who described her quilting and dyeing projects in her granddaughter’s school in the U.S. and showed me photos of these on her iPhone. She had spent last night in the Cistercian Nuns’ Albergue in rather cramped one star conditions, and had now moved to the four star Parador as a Mothers Day treat to herself! She had contrasting photos of the two sets of accommodation.
Then, we went back to the main Parador for dinner: Cannelloni stuffed with spinach and salmon, Merluza en Papillote with leek and green asparagus, Agua con gas and David Moreno blanco. There were complimentary appetisers of soup in a shot glass, pate and hummus on the side. The wait staff were walking around the dining room very fast and the service extremely efficient.
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