El Centro León in the Dominican Republic

                                Story Time: 

Visiting Centro León in the Dominican Republic

Hello, my dearest Story Time friends from around the world, how are you? Today, I'm taking you along with me to visit El Centro León in the Dominican Republic. This place was quite a ride from the hotel. I don't mean to sound like a nagging or ungrateful person. I know it's all a part of the adventure. I was just tired 😪 from all the adventures that I had left behind me. No wonder I have baggy eyes in most of my pictures. This year, I've been on more adventures than I could possibly post about. Okay, that's the case most of the time, but I am working on it. I am usually used to long trips. At least it wasn't as far as a trip to Atjonie (2 hours and 38 minutes) or Nickerie (3 hours and 20 minutes). 😉Yes, my Surinamese mind had to make a comparison like that! According to Google Maps, it's a 2-hour and 14-minute drive from the El Embajador hotel to the Centro León. It's certainly a trip worth taking. You can enjoy the beautiful scenery along the road. I always loved admiring the mountains in the Surinamese jungle. The Dominican Republic also has lovely mountains.😍 I just enjoyed watching them outside the bus window, thinking to myself how beautiful Mother Nature can be in different parts of the world. I just realized that it's amusing that I love mountains, and my name, Sharona, means fertile plane.

From this day forward, I claim that my new name, while traveling and going on adventures, should be Queen of the Mountains! I am collecting pictures of mountains from different countries. And I'm not even done sharing my footage of the Surinamese mountains! I am getting distracted again. That's probably because I am bursting with stories. So, make sure to subscribe when you see the Story Time UFO appear on your screen. Visiting el Centro León amused my inner geek more than my tired face could reflect. I enjoy visiting museums and educational centers where I can learn something new. Those become a part of my beautiful memories too, just like the museum in the Netherlands, where I knew that the first university in the world was opened by a Muslim woman. Her name is Fatima bint Muhammad Al-Fihriya Al-Qurashiya, and she accomplished many remarkable things.👏 Now that's what I call an intelligent woman. Sister was slaying it in ancient times. 😎That's why I got really excited to explore Centro León, from the back of the crowd! 😤 Gasp, there goes my inner tired introvert again.

What do you expect when I continually expend my energy on so many people and things throughout the year? 😝 The fun part about this adventure is that in a foreign country, I get to be alone in a crowd. Back home, I would be the entertainment of the crowd. 😂Our group had a guide who gave us a tour of Centro León. However, before the tour started, we had the opportunity to help ourselves to some beverages. I had to have my coffee. Be sure to check out their gorgeous garden while you're there. It's also a great location to take some great pictures. Their peaceful and magnificent garden is a great place to sit down and reflect on the meaning of life after going through such an intense tour. I say intense because I didn't think it would affect me like that. However, we will address that part later. In El Centro León, various cultural, artistic, and historical items are displayed. These displays not only dive into the Story of the Dominican Republic but also that of the Caribbean. It's interesting to learn what brings us together. Suriname is a part of the Caribbean Community, but we are often overlooked due to our lack of beaches and our location on the coast of South America. But in our colonial and cultural history, I have seen many similarities. Exploring El Centro León gave me a deeper insight into that. Especially when I saw cassava bread. I often come across that during my adventures in Surinamese Maroon villages, which are located deep within our tropical rainforest. When I saw the cassava bread display, it immediately reminded me of home. A week before this trip, when I was still in Suriname, I took pictures of women baking and flipping cassava bread alongside the river.

They have an extensive collection of archaeological artifacts at El Centro León in Santo Domingo. There's even an art room, but it's copyright-protected, so you aren't allowed to take any pictures at all. I almost lost myself there for a moment, but they don't joke around with the copyrights in this area. So, you'll have to go and see it for yourself; it's worth it. Especially if you enjoy expressive art featuring the female form. I kind of liked the paintings better. I could see why they didn't play around when it comes to protecting copyrights in that area. I get it, being a digital content creator. Additionally, I had numerous written samples of mine, so I know the pain. 

The worst part is when other people take credit for your poetry. It almost gave me writing trauma. That is one of the reasons why I was inspired to write this Story: How to Heal Writers' Trauma? It didn't sit well with me that I poured my soul into my poetry, and then you posted it on Facebook, only for someone else with a larger following to copy and repost it while claiming credit for it. However, you can't copy talent. Because the moment I stopped posting my poetry on Facebook like that, the person never created a national masterpiece again 😪. I learned from my young girl experiences like that, and the visit to El Centro León further opened my eyes to how valuable the gift of creation can be. Now here comes the part of the tour that I want to tell you about. They had a display featuring some skeletons. The Story behind the skeletons is what makes me grateful to have been born in modern times. Because a woman like me, with me rocking my crown like I do, Nah, that just wouldn't work out. I'd probably get in too much trouble.

What you see in the above picture is the skeletal remains of a paramount chief. Apparently, when he died, his wife and concubines got buried alive alongside him. They said that you could notice, based on the skeletal structure, that his concubine was gasping for air before she died. The wife received a drink that knocked her out, and then she was buried. But if you were a concubine, you didn't have that privilege. Just seeing and hearing that shakes my essence to this day. My rebellious attitude would get me buried alive for different reasons. Like expressing my rights, and oh, I don't know, probably trying to run away from being buried alive. We like to talk about the strong women in history because, in a sense, it feels like they try to bring a little bit of balance to all the sacrifices women have made throughout history. Well, either they made the sacrifices or they were the sacrifices. You get my point; if you're a history and culture enthusiast like I am, consider visiting El Centro León in the Dominican Republic. You get to learn a lot, and they also have a nice gift store available, but I didn't get the time to check that out. I made a video of my experience for you guys. I hope you enjoy it, and don't forget to support my crown by simply subscribing to my Story Time channels. It's as low effort as that! Have fu,n and until next time,e right here on Story Time. Hasta la vista, I have a couple more Santo Domingo adventures to share with you soon.