Orientation
The town is located about 40 km west of the capitol Santo Domingo. It population is about 140,000. The town has a center plaza, Parque Indepencia. The city follows a grid pattern with the park in the center. The town is famous for being the hometown of the notorious Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo who ruled the country from 1930- 1961.
Map of San Cristobal.
Picture of San Cristobal from Trujio’s House (Former Dictator)
The population: The people of San Cristobal work in construction, in free trade, motoconchos (motorcycle/taxi drivers). 20% are unemployed.
Salaries/Money exchange:
Typical salary for a construction worker is 300 pesos/day, for a secretary is 2500 pesos/month, for a physician 15,000 - 30,000 pesos/month. Attendings in public hospitals make about 20,000 pesos/month ($800/month).
At the airport, there is a good exchange before you go through customs. Casinos and hotels will also change your money. You can use other exchanges in San Cristobal or Santo Domingo, however they may give you one or two pesos less per dollar. Currently, the November 2005 exchange rate is 32 pesos to 1 US Dollar.
I paid for everything in pesos in San Cristobal. You may pay for hotels with cash or credit card in Santo Domingo. There are several ATMs in San Cristobal that dispense pesos, including at the large supermarket near the Cuduco’s (Chase bank charged me $6 service charge plus 3.5% service fee).
Map of San Cristobal:
If you leave San Cristobal and do not know how to get back to Las Arecas, most taxis will know how to get the Juan Pablo Pina Hospital or Constitucion Street in San Cristobal. Learn how to orient yourself from there to get back to the Cuduco house.
