driving from Santo Domingo to Sousa,and other stuff

[andres]

I was going to the DR in a couple months and was to be driving to Sousa from S.D. Can anyone suggest any interesting points on the way?
I also was wondering where in DR do they make cigars? Is there a specifior region?How about the rum (Brugal), where does it come from? How about a good map to show the route from sd to Sousa ?
How about driving from Sousa to Samana? Is it far? Is it worth it? I've seen pics of Samana area ,it is very beautiful.
How about mail service in Sousa. Do they have "mailmen" who deliver door to door like in the states? Do people go to a central post office?
Is there anyone in Boca Chica online who has AOL instant messenger that would let me pm them? I had questions about there?

Thanks

[ricktoronto]

There are decent online maps of the DR (try google) and there is a very good lamianted map of the DR available through booksellers like Barnes and Noble for about $11.

The route from SD to Sosua is on main highways, via Santiago and will take under 5 hours. If you don't want to drive, the Caribe/Metro buses are comfortable and dirt cheap. If you drive and get lost that would be a miracle.

Are you looking for a job as a mailman? I only ask becasue it is interesting to see your question about that here but I am sure they deliver mail - whether mail actually gets to the DR to BE delivered, well, that is a whole other story. (Answer not too often or not too fast or both).

You can PM me from here (use the PM button) about Boca Chica - if I don't know about it in Boca it probably doesn't need to be known - however AOL is uber-dorky so I wouldn't use AOL IM. I use MSN messenger on occasion but reluctantly and with only 2 permitted "buddies".

Predicting your answers in advance - they do deliver mail in Boca Chica and the road from SD to Boca Chica is the Las Americas autopista that runs more or less straight about 45 km, due East. If that is the Boca info you need. If not send me an e-mail .

[andres]

I wasn't worried about getting to Sousa, or about the route. I'm going to be traveling with a native, but I was wondering if I was going to be passing by or close to something interesting on the way. There must be something going on in 4 hours.
I believe I read somewhere that Santiago produces some of the better cigars in DR. Where are Ashton, Uppman or Onyx cigars made. Someone there must know.
I mailed some stuff to a friend of mine in the DR , that's why I was wondering about the mail thing.I know he recived it, I was just curious about door to door delivery.
I didn't know about the pm button. Thanks. But what happens if you're not online?

[ricktoronto]

Originally posted by andres
I wasn't worried about getting to Sousa, or about the route. I'm going to be traveling with a native, but I was wondering if I was going to be passing by or close to something interesting on the way. There must be something going on in 4 hours.
I believe I read somewhere that Santiago produces some of the better cigars in DR. Where are Ashton, Uppman or Onyx cigars made. Someone there must know.
I mailed some stuff to a friend of mine in the DR , that's why I was wondering about the mail thing.I know he recived it, I was just curious about door to door delivery.
I didn't know about the pm button. Thanks. But what happens if you're not online?

I am not positivie but en route in Santiago I believe there is a Brugal factory and in the general area, including Santiago there are cigar factories - whether they allow tours or not I can't say.

Your friend is truly lucky he got actual mail as reliability is not a usual feature. Critical documents need to go FedEx or UPS.

PM sends a message like this one, but limited to 1000 characters to me and I get an e-mail there is a PM waiting for me. You can also press the e-mail button and send an e-mail directly to me. It is not like AOL IM or similar.

But I am constantly in Boca Chica and will be back ther on the 11th ( I just left on the 7th of this month) so if you need Boca-specific info, don't be shy, ask here, PM or e-mail/