Monday
Groan, laugh, etc.!
Went for a walk. Outside a huge truck repair place, had a sandwich and donut at a small puesto (food booth).
Kept walking. Still hungry, stopped in at a restaurant. Had some sancocho (a rich and complex stew), white rice, green salad, and a cola. Someone there paid for it.
Walked to the port, down the street.
On the way back, I was going to take a different route. However, the side streets looked sketchy, and after the recent crime spate, I decided just to go back on the same street. Not even more than around halfway down the first block, some dogs barked at me. I shooed them back, and walked on the street between the curb and the parked cars. I felt something sharp hit the back of my leg, thinking it was either my bike gears or some luggage on the bike. Kicking back somewhat, I then kept on walking, but felt it again. I kicked back again, and kept walking. Now I could see that it was one of the dogs that had bit me!
Getting back onto the sidewalk, with the dog retreating, I looked at my leg. Some sizable bite marks, but thankfully not any deep wounds. I washed off my leg, and kept walking, sore. My leg still hurts, especially when I walk.
Later, on a walking tour, (it was sunny and it's supposed to rain and t-storm the upcoming days), I went by some government buildings, more industrial areas, shopping centers, residential areas. Overall, most areas of Santo Domingo don't appeal to me that much. The people seem distrustful (understandably), most things are behind fences, etc.
The Airbnb host had said that my planned arrival wasn't available, so I decided to go early. When I got there, I put my stuff in the room, which oddly didn't have a working lock. On the way out, I asked if the wifi needed a password. The host said that there wasn't wifi. I said that the listing indicated that there was. The host said he was sure that it didn't (I later checked, and confirmed that it did so). As I was going to head out anyways, the host said that he was going to cancel the reservation.
In need of another place for the night, and already getting on, I went looking for wifi. Found a pastry shop. Overpriced and bland pastry, rude staff, only half an hour of wifi. Quickly booked another place.
As it got darker out, I found another wifi spot. Went looking for the Airbnb address. Got a message from the host saying that she was out of town, and unavailable!
Quickly booked a third place for the night, as the sun set.
Got a message from the third host saying, "Sorry--" Uh oh! But in this case, at least there was a backup plan, and the host had a relative who let me in. Now indoors!
As I've mentioned before, I feel that things often work out fine despite some issues along the way.
This place even has AC, the first at a Dominican Airbnb that I've seen!