Dominican Rpb: A carnival in Santiago

[18/02/18] After my camera stopped working, I deemed the resolution of this issue to be my first priority. And where in the Caribbean could I find a good assortment of cameras, lens and stuff?
Probably, Santo Domingo is the best bet.

The next best place is the second largest city of the country - Santiago de los Caballeros, which happened to be quite close.

Coincidentally, on arrival there I found myself in the middle of a carnival. The dressed up actors were strolling down the main streets, banging drums and deafeningly cracking whips on the pavement.

The sidewalks were constipated with crowds of gapers so I just joined the procession, pretending that I totally belong there. The audience was quite peculiar - if you, the reader, ever saw the latinos gangs, you can visualize that.

These guys were everywhere, walking around in groups, all covered in tattoos and golden jewelry, wearing their pants much lower than they're supposed to be worn, etc, etc.

The city is teeming with the police and private security guards, all are armed with at least a shotgun (I can't help but remember guards in Bangladesh armed with grenade launchers, lol).

At night the streets become deserted, the only exception is the gangs roaming around, being the reason why nobody goes out.

^{I know, there are pretty clear directions on the left, but I didn't know Spanish well enough at that point}

Anyway, I made it to the hostel I booked and at first could not find the entrance, because it looks like a kind of hidden door (about 20 cm thick), which is hard to spot unless you know exactly where it is supposed to be.

On the inside there is a directive advising to keep the door closed at all times. All that adds to the authenticity of the city.

Next day I started looking for the lens and having talked to the local photographers I learned that, unsurprisingly, I'm not gonna find anything in Santiago, only in Santo Domingo if I'm lucky.

However, I also learned that my camera and lens were fine all along, the problem seems to be in the battery. Indeed, after I recharged it, the camera proceeded to work. It is unclear now whether I'm gonna have to change it or not, but it would be much easier and cheaper than buying new lens.
For now it seems to be working, which is great.

Next day I left for Puerto Plata and rejoined my pals Florian and Alexis, who found a hotel in a remote but amazingly beautiful place a few kilometers away from the town itself.