Contemplating Christopher Columbus

C

CFA123

Silver
May 29, 2004
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420
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Watching the sun come up over Cabarete Bay this morning, I began contemplating how things must've been really different when Christopher Columbus landed near Puerto Plata back in December of 1492.

I've read where they had difficulty communicating with the natives at first. So, I suspect like many of us, in hindsight, he wished he'd learned Spanish before he arrived. The hotels at Playa Dorada would've been a lot newer back then, for sure, and I guess Hemingways would've been the happening spot back then.

I bet he thought it was a really funny coincidence that there was a waterpark with his name on it! I'm not sure when it was built, but from it's condition today I'd say it must've been built 10 or 15 yrs before he arrived.

Water and electricity were probably just as spotty as they are now & La Sirena wasn't on the Malecon.

I'm thinking traffic wouldn't have been too overwhelming as most people didn't have money for cars or motos back then. (most old pictures I've seen just have people on horses and donkeys)

Sosua, pretty much didn't exist as the Jews didn't arrive until the 1940's, but I guess seeing the kiters in Cabarete Bay must've been pretty exciting to them as they sailed past. On second thought, with Cabarete's winds being so strong, they probably zipped by without having much time to enjoy the scenery.

I heard that his brother, Bartholomew, came later when he saw some pics Chris uploaded on Facebook.
j15wck.jpg


There's not much on the internet about Bart except that he stayed for several years. He probably got a job as a waiter at Lax or maybe on an animation team somewhere.


If anyone else has thoughts of what things must've been like, I'd appreciate hearing from you. Oh, and anyone know what the exchange rate was back then?
 
R

rice&beans

Silver
May 16, 2010
4,293
374
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A glimpse into the past......

CFA123 said:
Watching the sun come up over Cabarete Bay this morning, I began contemplating how things must've been really different when Christopher Columbus landed near Puerto Plata back in December of 1492.

I've read where they had difficulty communicating with the natives at first. So, I suspect like many of us, in hindsight, he wished he'd learned Spanish before he arrived. The hotels at Playa Dorada would've been a lot newer back then, for sure, and I guess Hemingways would've been the happening spot back then.

I bet he thought it was a really funny coincidence that there was a waterpark with his name on it! I'm not sure when it was built, but from it's condition today I'd say it must've been built 10 or 15 yrs before he arrived.

Water and electricity were probably just as spotty as they are now & La Sirena wasn't on the Malecon.

I'm thinking traffic wouldn't have been too overwhelming as most people didn't have money for cars or motos back then. (most old pictures I've seen just have people on horses and donkeys)

Sosua, pretty much didn't exist as the Jews didn't arrive until the 1940's, but I guess seeing the kiters in Cabarete Bay must've been pretty exciting to them as they sailed past. On second thought, with Cabarete's winds being so strong, they probably zipped by without having much time to enjoy the scenery.

I heard that his brother, Bartholomew, came later when he saw some pics Chris uploaded on Facebook.
j15wck.jpg


There's not much on the internet about Bart except that he stayed for several years. He probably got a job as a waiter at Lax or maybe on an animation team somewhere.


If anyone else has thoughts of what things must've been like, I'd appreciate hearing from you. Oh, and anyone know what the exchange rate was back then?
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure Puerto Plata Billy would have gotten ahold of him and showed him the ropes....probably stayed at the Portifino or the Lomar, then night time at Long Beach....Crystals ..etc...they all had a blast, eventually they went to Cabarete where he introduced them all to Richard Branson......(who by the way said)...."Hey what took you so long to discover this place?"......Columbus replied...."If I owned an Airline like you, I would've spotted this years ago".....and they both laughed, while they sipped Rum and looked at the ocean......(mind you....they were both getting pedicures at the time)....as time went on Billy talked them into making the Trek to Boca Chica.....this took about 2.5 weeks.....once there he passed them on to his good buddy Ronnie....who hurriedly rushed them to his Beach House Bar....and immediately started giving them advice about everything...which was greatly appreciated by Christopher and his crew,.......as time went on Christopher started working out at the Pit Bull, and loved his new buff look.... A good time was had by all...........PS......Ronnie has told me this story many times......he said Christopher Columbus and his crew were great guys!... when Columbus returned to report his travels, he left out a few details..(for obvious reasons)......but I'm pretty sure this is how it went down........:cheeky::cheeky::cheeky:
 
C

CFA123

Silver
May 29, 2004
3,517
420
83
I have to rethink this whole thing.
Apparently Columbus arrived more recently than I realized.

Christopher Columbus, the original sightseer of the Dominican Republic's
North Coast, named the area's first city Puerto Plata or "Silver Port"
in 1942 due to the effect that the sun made on the water as
his ship approached land.

Source: NY Surf Film Fest
 
C

catcherintherye

Silver
Mar 2, 2008
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"In nineteen hundred and forty two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue." As any school-child can tell you. His voyage just happened to coincide with WWII. Hey, that rhymes too!

Funny stuff CFA. Keep up the fine humor. With all the wet blankets about (well, actually, she's just one wet blanket, but she makes her presence known on many threads), we need every laugh we can get.
 
J

jrhartley

Gold
Sep 10, 2008
8,190
580
0
65
I didnt realise I was so annoying lol Please let me know when im allowed an opinion...I will be sitting on the naughty step
 
C

catcherintherye

Silver
Mar 2, 2008
2,902
544
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jr, you are always allowed your opinion, and the only time you are annoying is when you use "s" instead of "z", but I understand that many people make the same mistake.

(By the way, that is a joke, for those of you of the British persuasion.)
 
C

CFA123

Silver
May 29, 2004
3,517
420
83
Don't ask, don't spell.

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jyhUZ89zhDg?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jyhUZ89zhDg?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>
 
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