Saturday, November 8, 2008
Since this was our last day to have use of the rental car, we decided to go to Santiago for the afternoon. We had to meet the Budget Rental Car agent in Imbert at 5:40 PM so he could take us back to the apartment. We chose to meet him at the halfway point.
Santiago is the second largest city in the Dominican Republic, and is located about 1 hour drive over the mountains and into the center of the Cibao Valley. The valley stretches across the island between the mountain ranges, from one end of the island to the other. We learned of the strategic importance when we learned some of the history of the island. It afforded the Dominicans a view of the Spanish troops who had invaded the island. The Restoration War allowed them to reestablish their independence by the year 1865. They celebrate their independence every year on February 27 with a huge carnival. We toured the monument in the center of the city and took some pictures of the valley from the top of the monument.