27 Sep Sunny (Day 71 Stop 17)
After more than ten days of sailing, the Peace Ship "Ocean" has overcome the rough seas and the violent seasickness reaction, and by this time, we have crossed the Atlantic Ocean and traveled from Europe to Central America. And across the Caribbean to Dominica.
The Dominican Republic was the first country on our trip to Central America. It is located in the eastern part of Hispaniola, the second largest island in the Caribbean Sea after Cuba, and borders the Republic of Haiti to the west. The capital is Santo Domingo and the port of call for our circumnavigation on the east coast of the country.
From Columbus to the land in 1492, it was ruled by Spain and the United States, and by its next-door neighbor, Haiti, before gaining independence in 1844 with Spanish as its official language.
The port we docked at was located in Santo Domingo's Old Town, the original European colony, where traces of the colonialists of yesteryear can still be seen today, and the Old Town became a World Heritage Site in 1990. Tell the world about the vicissitudes of history.
From the shore, the port hall is very beautiful, and as soon as you enter, there are several shops, and there are stalls directly on the floor of the hall. There are many costumes, all kinds of them. What really interests me are the various handicrafts. Because I saw similar works in ethnic minority areas in China. There are some hand-sewn square cushions with patterns very much like the hieroglyphs of the Dongba people of Yunnan on the mainland.
Further inside, several Dominican beauties were waiting, dressed in navy blue skirts with three white trims at the hem and placket, white gauze sleeves trimmed with blue trim, and blue and white ruffles at the neckline. On the head is a blue and white yarn pattern bow headdress, a tall figure, pavilion, charming. Their dancing posture reminds me of beautiful Spanish girls.
After leaving the port and driving through Santo Domingo, we are going to find the cocoa tree and taste the "freshly cooked" chocolate. [laughs] [Rabbit New Year]
One of the most interesting and enjoyable parts of your stay in Dominica is visiting a cocoa plantation and chocolate factory. This time we didn't Chinese a guide, it was a local guide. He took everyone in a medium-sized bus, which left the port, first through the rich area, turned a corner, walked through the industrial area, and then drove north. (I myself feel like heading north, I don't know if it's right), the car drove for more than three hours to a manor, which is a cocoa plantation and chocolate processing factory.
The cacao tree is a tropical tree species that grows only in hot and humid climates. It first grew in the tropical rainforest in the northern part of the upper Amazon River in Central America, which is now Ecuador, and belongs to the American tropical plane tree. After the native species spread to the Mexican Empire of the Olmecs, they were gradually domesticated and thus passed on to the Maya and Aztecs. When Spanish and Portuguese colonialists invaded, their sailors brought cacao trees to colonies in Africa and Asia. At present, cacao trees have grown on both sides of the equator, mainly in narrow areas within about 20° north and south of the latitude equator. Cacao trees prefer fertile, water-permeable soils, but in the tropics, soils with these conditions are usually scarce. Because it requires a hot and humid growing environment, it is highly susceptible to fungi, viruses and pests. As a result, its production is not very high. But the global consumption is large, so its price has not been low.
According to reports: the main cocoa producing countries are Ghana, Brazil, Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador, Dominica and Malaysia, Indonesia and so on. The main consuming countries are the United States, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Japan and China. In 1922, Taiwan Province of the mainland successfully introduced and tested seeds, and Chinese mainland is now mainly planted on Hainan Island.
Cocoa and chocolate, as a favorite food, have only developed for a few hundred years.
Long before Columbus arrived in the Americas, the inhabitants of tropical Central America, especially the Maya and Aztecs, knew about the use of cacao beans. For the ancient Mayans, cocoa was the food of the gods. They not only made cocoa beans into beverages, but also used them as a medium of exchange ---- currency. It was not until the 16th century that cocoa beans were introduced to Europe and later to the rest of the world. It is refined into cocoa powder and chocolate; More refined cocoa butter.
The transmission of cocoa from outside Central America to Europe, Asia and Africa has been documented to be tortuous and lengthy.
Before the 16th century, cocoa was not known to people living outside of Central America, when it was not a raw material for cocoa drinks.
In the first half of the 16th century, cocoa spread to Mexico through the Isthmus of Central America, and then to the territories of present-day southern Brazil, and soon became popular with the locals. They collect ripe cocoa fruits, mash the seeds and process them into a drink called "choktori" (meaning "bitter water").
In the mid-16th century, Europeans came to the Americas, discovered cocoa and recognized it as a valuable cash crop, and they developed cocoa drinks and chocolate based on "Chokoteri".
At the end of the 16th century, the world's first chocolate factory was established by the Spanish government at the time, but at first some aristocrats were reluctant to accept food and drinks made from cocoa, and even in the 18th century, a British aristocrat regarded cocoa as "a riffraff from South America".
Cocoa was named very late, and it was not named until the 18th century. Later, because chocolate and cocoa powder became the most important energy supplements on the sports field and played a huge role, people praised the cocoa tree as the "divine food tree" and the cocoa drink as the "fairy drink". In the 19th century, Cubans also used cocoa as an aphrodisiac. In the 20th century, American culinary authorities strongly recommended the "stimulating effect" of cocoa, believing that it had the effect of relieving "indigestion".
Historically, cocoa (the main ingredient in chocolate) has been regarded as the best quality, and this tradition has been maintained to this day. In modern times, the effect of chocolate has also been amplified, among which eating chocolate can make people "happy", and eating dark chocolate can prevent various cardiovascular diseases.
Globally, cocoa is not produced just to satisfy people's appetites. Currently, there are about five million to six million farmers growing cocoa trees in the tropics, who are completely dependent on selling cocoa beans in exchange for income to feed their families. In addition, 40 to 50 million people depend on the cocoa confectionery processing industry for their livelihoods. According to expert research, in some countries, for many farmers, cocoa trees are like ATMs, and when they need to raise school fees or medical bills, they will pick some cocoa pods and sell them for money. Therefore, the cacao tree plays a vital role in local rural life.
Nowadays, chocolate and other foods made from cacao are popular all over the world and are one of the favorite delicacies. The Dominican Republic has the third largest cocoa export volume in the world and is one of the few cocoa producing regions in the world. Chocolate made from the cocoa is exported all over the world.
Entered the territorial waters of the country and hung the flag of the country
See Santo Domingo from the sea
Port of Santo Domingo
Shiga and the girls who welcomed us
Handicrafts in the port shop