Sosua

korejdk · #1 10-02-2009, 10:12 PM

As many residents recently posted, this small paradise hase been the subject of tremenduous bashing by non-residends...and my impression is that almost none of the bashing posters are men...
I understand that each traveller is entitled to their own oppion yet I believe that in order to judge a place you need to visit more then once, so if you weren't impressed on your first trip why bother to go again ?!?

CFA123 · #2 10-02-2009, 10:21 PM

korejdk,
i live nearby but generally avoid sosua. playero maybe once a month to pick up a few things & maybe lunch once a month with someone in sosua. the beach is nice, but i find the vendors very annoying, and the beach is overcrowded on weekends. the ambiance at night in what i know to be the main area of town is of no interest to me.

with that said, and in all seriousness... tell me what i'm missing that i might enjoy.

korejdk · #3 10-02-2009, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CFA123

korejdk,
i live nearby but generally avoid sosua. playero maybe once a month to pick up a few things & maybe lunch once a month with someone in sosua. the beach is nice, but i find the vendors very annoying, and the beach is overcrowded on weekends. the ambiance at night in what i know to be the main area of town is of no interest to me.

with that said, and in all seriousness... tell me what i'm missing that i might enjoy.

Well, none of the beach vendors bother me, once you tell them "yo vivo aqui" they will not bother you again...really! The week-end is when the Santiagueros are coming over but that never bothered me...Ambiance at night is what you make it, what YOU make it...want to feel NY'ish/Majami go to that place at the exit of Cabarete that has the water flowing, if you have Dominican friends go & play pool at that place on the first floor across Bamboo - yes there're 99% Dominicans over there but I always have a good time in that place...bored on the beach ? ask the chicos in front of no 64 "Daniel told me that we can rent the boat, tu primo El Capitan esta aqui?" - if you are good at haggling you can get a 1 h snorkling trip with you driving the boat for 40-50 bucks...I absolutely love Sosua...there's so much constant energy, this place is growing so fast when the world economy is so bad...I did write this before...I took my ex to Aura in Juan Dolio( Matilda thank you for your help ) , but once we were done ( she loved Aura, thanks again Matilda ) I couldn't wait to drive back to Sosua...So CFA, my believe is that everything is related to one's perception about the environment.

J D Sauser · #4 10-03-2009, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by korejdk

So CFA, my believe is that everything is related to one's perception about the environment.

Exactly, some like it some don't. It's not about bashing, or men or women it's about each owns perception, preferences and standards.
I live in POP... it's not paradise, but I would need to get paid a lot to live in Sosua. Even when I bank there, do some business there, buy my Wurst at any of the 3 German butchers and prefer Moser's bread. If it wasn't for "my" girls going to school there, I would be seen much less often than I currently am (which is several times a week but only until sundown).
Yes, the beach is nice, and I can handle the vendors too. But there are other things I don't feel great about on that beach and a lot has to do with the type of foreigners "hanging" around there and their "activities" and behavior.
Is it only a red light district along the Clisante strip and only at night? Well, I beg to differ. The lot lizards seem to be roaming the area from Charamicos to most of El Batey, day and night. One can ignore them and their "activities", but it is quite obvious. Prostitution is not just a 5 minute activity, it also reflects upon the society... families crumble, kids grow up with false ideas and values, etc.
Growth? Well, define growth, since you mentioned the word economy in the same sentence. But that's not just a Sosua issue, maybe not even just a DR issue either.

So, that's my perception of it and you the OP, may not agree, but it is not intended to be bashing just because your opinion and perception being different.

... J-D.

daniel san · #5 10-03-2009, 10:33 AM

Everyone hates Sosua but I bet if they cleaned it up and changed the entire town to make it a 'family' destination, it would be the same people complaining about the good ole days and how great Sosua was.

korejdk · #6 10-03-2009, 11:06 AM

JD, you have my respect based on your previous posts - my post regarding Sosua is based merely on my visits so are not based on one's living "there" experience, however it does trully reflect my experiences in Sosua...I noticed that chicas on calle PC judge you by you bodywalk ( or whatever but they do ) before they decide if you're game...They can "smell" a newbie yet they never bother a resident.
I just adore Sosua period. On my last trip I got the grippe, so for the last two days of my trip I just sat under an umbrella sippin' lemonade with a cin of brugal

but I was most happy...

J D Sauser · #7 10-03-2009, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by korejdk

JD, you have my respect based on your previous posts - my post regarding Sosua is based merely on my visits so are not based on one's living "there" experience, however it does trully reflect my experiences in Sosua...I noticed that chicas on calle PC judge you by you bodywalk ( or whatever but they do ) before they decide if you're game...They can "smell" a newbie yet they never bother a resident.
I just adore Sosua period. On my last trip I got the grippe, so for the last two days of my trip I just sat under an umbrella sippin' lemonade with a cin of brugal

but I was most happy...

Thanks for the nice comment, Korejdk.
I am glad you enjoyed your vacation. I think most are, including those whom you may suspect of bashing the town you have come to love so much. It's not that people want to run the town into the mud with words, it's that most would like to see a safer, more attractive, "cleaner" Sosua (and other the like towns) which could attract more vacationers to enjoy the beauty of the land and sea over that of the local girls and boys (I am in no way implying that YOU are coming here for all the wrong reasons, btw).
I have seldom observed working girls to actively incommode tourist besides being quite obviously visible. The "working" boys however, can act a bit less discreetly.
The girls, consciously or not, do have a certain antenna to tell potential customers apart from people they have no chances with, resident or not. Actually, at times, they can even show a certain respect for those who will not be seen in "those" bars or having a history of trading "novias".
Still, you will certainly understand that some vacationers who come here on the promise of a quite vacation on a Caribbean beach with kids and the grandma, may come to recent these girls and boys mere existence.

I for one, am more concerned about the type of foreigners this side of the "our" tourist industry attracts, vacationers and "residents" alike, and the impact the whole sex "industry" has had on local families and their often work related accidental offspring and it's future. This without mentioning again, corrupt "law", pimps, bums, drug peddlers and consumers and all the related delinquency.

Thanks! ... J-D.

CFA123 · #8 10-03-2009, 12:28 PM

korejdk,
i appreciate your effort to educate me (really). i'd like to add some places in sosua as options but pool halls don't do it for me; as someone that lives here very many $40-$50 snorkel trips would break the bank pretty quickly; not sure what you mean about the place at the exit of Cabarete where water is flowing.

Sosua during the day isn't so bad. It's potentially a phenomenal place. Nice beach and large enough to offer a variety of dining options and bars... but in my opinion, not a place to live or visit often until there's no longer the feeling that you're either in or need to pass through a red light district or dangerous area to enjoy yourself in the evenings. It just seems to cater to those looking for that type of entertainment.

I'll give you a few places that I have been to and didn't find so bad in Sosua at night. Ruby's, Sosua Ocean Village restaurant, Parada el Choco, and Hideaway Bar when they have their latin dance nights.

I have been into Classico's, Seacrets, La Puntilla de Pier Giorgio, La Roca, Eddy's, etc, etc... but depending on the type establishment either found the ambiance wasn't something I wanted or the food quality not good enough to return.

If anyone can add to the list of good places to try... I'm all ears.

Eddy · #9 10-03-2009, 07:51 PM

On the way you wish to live. Been in Sosua since 1983 and wouldn'd live in Puerto Plata (yuk) Santiago or Sto. Dgo. even if they gave me free rent. Just do my business, don't hang out in hooker bars. My friends are professional business people (Dominican and others). If I go out at night, no one hastles me, everyone is friendly and respectfull. Sometimes I wonder if there is another Sosua. People who travel here once or twice a year are nowhere near qualified to give advice.

Kyle · #10 10-04-2009, 08:52 AM

i think the problem here is relationships and bonds. i'm a regular traveler to sosua but i have dominican friends there now (barrio types and professional types). so what kind of vacation i have depends on me.
i think most people tend to do the same old thing everytime they visit. and for God's sake learn spanish !! it opens doors......