Adventures in Puerto Plata, Las Terrenas, Sosua, and Cabarete
I discovered this message board a few months ago and am finding it very informative, entertaining, and addictive. Great job Robert and all others involved! Here goes post #1.
We left Edmonton, Canada on February 5th (-10 degrees – not too bad for February) for our fourth vacation in the Dominican Republic. We arrived in Puerto Plata 6 hours later to begin our 3 week vacation in paradise. We fell in love with the beautiful country and the Dominican people on our first trip six years ago. We find the people so warm and friendly. Although many of the people live very poor they seem to have a happiness about them; makes us wonder if they know a secret to life that we don’t.
For the first week we stayed at the Paradise Beach Club and Casino in Playa Dorada. Paradise is a nice resort although it is starting to get a little run down. We didn’t want to take the all-inclusive so the first morning we headed out to Puerto Plata to buy some groceries. We walked out to the highway and in no time a gua gua picked us up. Taking the local transportation is such a hoot! We always try to sit in the front because it is usually more comfortable and we get the best view of the driving chaos. Sit in the back of these little vans and you might have Dominicans sitting on your lap! Five pesos each got us into Puerto Plata to the central park.
As soon as we got off the bus we were approached by several tour guides to show us around. A simple “no gracias” was all that was required for them to leave us alone. I believe the guides get a commission from storeowners when they take you into the shops and since we had no intention of buying tourist souvenirs we didn’t want to waste anyone’s time. We had pulled a map of Puerto Plata off the Internet and were looking for Café Cito thinking we would have a meal there one day. After searching for a few minutes we asked directions from a local kid and he told us it was no longer there. (We later discovered Café Cito is now located just outside of Playa Dorada.) He insisted on taking us to another restaurant. “No problem, free, free” he said. It is so hard for us to say no to the Dominicans… so now we had a “tour guide”. A few minutes later we arrive at a nice looking restaurant but it was only 10:00 AM and we were not ready to eat. I thanked our friend and gave him a tip.
Our “tour guide” overheard us talking about finding a grocery store and the next thing you know he was leading the way. We arrive at the Supermercado and start filling our baskets until our arms were getting sore due to the weight of the numerous Presidente’s and my favorite Bermudez rum. Not to worry – our Dominican friend reappears and with a big smile grabs our baskets and follows us around the store. Did I say how much we love the Dominican people? He helps pack the groceries and carry them a few blocks to Central Park where he hails us a taxi (fare is 150 pesos). We thank our friend, give him a tip, and are on our way back to the resort to soak up the sun and sip on some Presidente’s (great beer). Maybe one of you DR1 folks can tell us what the alcohol content of Presidente is? It doesn’t seem to have the same kick as Canadian Beer.
Over the next few days we explored Puerto Plata a bit, took in the nightly shows at the resort, played some craps at the casino, but most importantly just laid around and unwound from the stress built up from work. A note of warning on the progressive roulette game at the Paradise Casino. Stay away! You know this game is a scam when they tell you “the only way you can loose is by quitting!” I was quite disturbed to see they even had a lady at the entrance coaxing people that entered to come play a “good game”. In the number of times we have been in this casino we have never seen anyone win at this game. We saw one young couple led to the cashier to deduct $750 US off their visa after playing for only a very short time. The young woman was almost in tears. Whoever the owners are, we hear they are Canadian, they should be ashamed of themselves for taking advantage of tourists this way.
After 6 days we are very relaxed and ready for our excursion to Las Terrenas and Samana which will end up being the highlight of our trip. We booked a taxi to pick us up early so we could catch the 7:00 AM Caribe Tours bus out of Puerto Plata to Samana. Sure enough the taxi doesn’t show up and we start to panic, but in no time a local bringing his wife to work in Playa Dorada sees us and offers us a ride. We get into town on time and hop on the bus (100 pesos each), ensuring we take the front seat to catch all the action. The bus driver drove like mad, weaving in and out of traffic, around potholes, motorbikes, and kids on the side of the road at speeds of up to 100 kms/hr. I don’t know how they do it. It doesn’t seem like there are very many accidents, and even more amazingly no road rage.
After three hours on the bus we got off at Sanchez and were initially concerned how we would find a gua gua or taxi to Las Terrenas. But not to worry, where there are tourists with money there are Dominicans ready. As we were haggling with the pick-up driver over the fare, the bus backs up into his truck. But in typical laid back Dominican fashion, no one got upset but the tourists. The ride to Las Terrenas (300 pesos) was beautiful – switch backs through the lush mountains with views of Samana Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.
We had a room booked for a week at the El Portillo Apartahotel beside the El Portillo resort. Our room was very nice but we were a little concerned that we were so far away (about 1 km) from the resort. We had the option of taking the all-inclusive at the El Portillo resort but we much prefer doing our own thing so decided against it. It was a short walk to the beach through a field and Dominican back yards (chickens and all). Speaking of chickens, we were awakened each morning at 5 AM to the sound of dueling roosters outside our back door. We seemed to be the only tourists staying at the Apartahotel. There was a small bar there and every night we would drink Presidente’s, dance, and play pool with the locals. The people are just so friendly. Did I say how much we love the Dominican people? Our Spanish is quite limited but it didn’t matter. Fond memories of those evenings will be with us for a very long time.
The beaches here are absolutely beautiful. The fine white sand secluded beaches with gorgeous clear blue water seem to go on forever. During the day we took a gua gua into Las Terrenas (25 pesos each) to shop and hang out at the beach. We really enjoyed the laid back atmosphere of Las Terrenas. Most of the tourists were Europeans and a lot of the local restaurants and bars seemed to be owned by French ex-pats. We had some excellent meals at very reasonable prices (80 pesos for a delicious wood-fired oven pizza).
One morning we got up early to go whale watching in Samana Bay. We had booked a taxi for 7:00 AM and by 7:15 he still wasn’t there. In Spanish, “manana” means tomorrow, but correct me if I am wrong, in the DR, manana just means not necessarily today! Anyway, we start walking to the El Portillo resort to call a taxi (our place is deserted). We get as far as the gate, when our taxi driver shows up laughing and motioning to us that he slept in.
None the less we arrived in Samana on time (600 pesos) and went whale watching with Kim at Victoria Marine ($42 US/person). Kim is a Canadian ex-pat who is very passionate about the whales and gave us an excellent tour. She came to the DR 20 years ago, fell in love with the whales, and never went home. Thanks Ken for recommending Kim on DR1. The whale watching was quite amazing. We first watched a pod of five humpbacks – one female and four male escorts that came quite close to the boat. We only saw one spectacular breach. Later we watched a baby humpback frolic with its mother and a male escort for a while.
After whale watching we had our best meal of the trip. We ate at La France restaurant in Samana and our server recommended shrimp freshly caught that morning. We both had a heaping plate of gambas (220 pesos/dinner) prepared two different ways. Delicious!
We decided to take a gua gua back to Las Terrenas instead of a taxi. We went to the mercado, told the gua gua driver where we wanted to go, and he told us to jump in. We headed out of town in the small van – my wife and I and about 10 Dominicans. After a few minutes we noticed we passed the turnoff to Las Terrenas. My wife shouted at the driver ”pare! pare!” The van stopped and a very lively discussion broke out between the driver and all the Dominican passengers. I think they were giving the driver sh#t for giving us bad information (in order to get our fare??). If we stayed on the van we would have ended up taking the long way home via Sanchez, so we got out and were left on the road in the middle of nowhere. At this point we make a pact to improve on our Spanish before our next trip to the DR! We walk back to the Las Terrenas turn off and as usual, more Dominicans arrived on the scene to help the stranded tourists and of course take their money. Unfortunately, everyone that stopped was on a motorbike. This is a common means of transportation in the DR – quite often you will see a whole family on a motor bike - Mom, Dad, a few kids, plus maybe a bag of rice and a dead chicken in the front basket! My wife has never ridden a motorbike and wasn’t about to start in the DR! We waited awhile but another van or pick-up didn’t come along. Our best option was a motorbike pulling a 2-wheel cart, so what the heck, we jump on this contraption for the 30 km trip through the mountains hair flailing and grinning wildly. That poor motorbike groaned up the hills and we thought for sure that his engine would be toast by the next day! Fare was 250 pesos.
Sadly, after 5 days it was time to leave Las Terrenas. We booked a taxi to take us to Samana to catch the bus and again the driver didn’t show up! We love the Dominican people, but punctuality sure isn’t their strong-suit. We were able to hail a taxi at the road since it was mid-day. Before we left Canada, we spent some time shopping and brought a duffel bag full of stuff to give away to the kids. We picked up baseball gloves and baseballs at the flee market, and stuffed animals, jewelry kits, hair stuff, pens, crayons, paper, and coloring books at the dollar store. On the cab ride through the mountains we asked the driver to stop when he saw a group of kids so we could give away the gifts. He kindly obliged and stopped at a very poor home that had a little boy on the front step with his mother. I gave the little guy a baseball and glove and he gave me a smile that would melt your heart. I told the cab driver this could be the next Sammy Sousa. Probably the most gratified was the mother of the little guy when I gave her a lipstick, nail polish, and the Tupperware container that we packed some of the stuff in. Quickly kids ran over from across the street and we had something for them all. We made another stop and it was all gone.
In Samana, we got on the 4:00 PM Caribe Tours bus back to Puerto Plata. For some reason our most interesting experiences on this trip had to do with transportation and this bus trip was no exception. We got on the bus (sat in the front seat of course), look across the aisle, and a young Dominican man is sitting there examining and cleaning his handgun! Needless to say we looked away quite quickly… the gun-shy Canadians were a little concerned! He tucked the gun into the waist of his pants but kept glancing over at us. Finally he made his move….………. He told me to move our bag so it wouldn’t tip over. As it turns out this kid was an officer in the DR Navy (thus the gun) and was looking over at us trying to strike up a conversation so he could practice his English. He was quite interesting and we talked to him for the next two hours about the DR. He was on his way to see his girlfriend for Valentine’s Day. His English was quite good and he said he learned it by listening to Rock music. His favorite bands were The Doors and Nirvana. He told us that on that very morning they had rescued 40 Dominicans who tried to escape to Puerto Rico in two rickety 15-ft. boats. We also met a man from Connecticut who recently married a woman from the DR. He was in the middle of a 3 month visit and cut in on our conversation because he desperately needed to speak some English. He also provided for some interesting conversation. Local public transportation is the way to go if you want a little adventure! It is also very cheap – a taxi for the trip would have cost over $100 US one way.
The bus driver kindly dropped us off at Playa Dorada and we walked back to Paradise. It was back to the same old thing – games around the pool, evening shows, casino, etc. We really missed our bartender friends Jose Manuel and Janne back in Las Terrenas. I can still hear Janne singing with all her heart along to the Bachatta song “Perdido”.
The next day we moved to Casa Marina Reef in Sosua to spend our last 10 days of vacation. The grounds of the resort are beautifully landscaped into an old reef along the ocean. Three whirlpool tubs are built into the reef and everyone congregates there in the late afternoon to have cocktails in the tubs and watch the sunset. Not too many stories here unless you want to hear about drunken, obnoxious tourists. This was spring break and we were woken up a few times almost every night. A few giant splashes were guaranteed every night as drunks jumped, fell, or were pushed into the pool. The people beside us would come in at 5:00 am, slide open the balcony door and announce something in French to everyone in the resort at the top of their lungs. The people above us were so drunk they didn’t realize they were on the wrong floor and tried to get into our room at 2:00 am on 2 different nights! We knew it was them because we could hear the high heel stomps and the toilet flushing shortly afterwards. It is always a good idea to ask for the top floor in these hotels so no one is peeing on your head. Oh to be young and foolish again. If I could only remember, I probably did the same type of stunts or worse 20 years ago. On the bright side, there sure was lots of eye candy around!
We made a day trip to Sosua 3 years ago, but this time we had more time to check it out. Sadly, the local economy looks a little depressed. Since 9/11, we heard that many hotel properties have closed. Plazas that 3 years ago were full of shops are now totally vacant. All-inclusive resorts don’t help much either in our opinion because a lot of people will just stay at the resort. We really have to wonder if the tour reps are partly at fault. When eating at the buffet, we overheard 2 couples saying that they liked it here, but unlike Mexico, it just wasn’t safe to go outside the resort. Who would spread crap like this! Would tour reps say this to keep people from finding out about cheaper tours offered in town? I don’t know. We have never felt unsafe in the DR (well maybe for a few minutes when we saw the handgun on the bus). Of course you have to use common sense when walking around at night – no different than any North American city.
Unfortunately we were forced to take the all-inclusive at Casa Marina Reef. The food was OK and they had Presidente on tap, but as my wife says “diarrhea is part of the all-inclusive experience”. I felt fine and so did my wife for the most part, but you just eat too much, or belly up to the trough, as we would joke to each other. We could be wrong, but we think these all-inclusive resorts suck a lot of money out of the local economy. Sure, a lot of jobs are created at the resorts, but how many bars and restaurants suffer as a result? Plus the tourists are missing out on a lot of the local flavor. I would like to hear the thoughts of the DR1 family on this one.
We did make a point of supporting the local economy however. We visited Eddy’s Sports Bar a few times because we were suffering from hockey withdrawal. Eddy was nice enough to put on an Edmonton Oilers game for us and we had a good chat with him. We took a look at his Condo’s the next day and thought staying there next time we visit Sosua would be a good option.
We also went to a local restaurant for a pizza.
We took two day trips into Cabarete – about 10 minutes away (10 peso each on the gua gua). This is a cool town - lots of young people, nice restaurants, and a great atmosphere. It was quite a sight on the ocean in the afternoon. Literally hundreds of wind surfers and kite surfers are on the water doing their thing. I had a blast boogie boarding. There are no reefs to worry about - the only danger is the distinct possibility of getting hit in the head by a kite surfer!
The second time we were heading to Cabarete, a gua gua didn’t come along right away and a taxi driver (I think it was a publico because it had a red sign) said he would take us for the same price. We jump in the back, but now have to wait for the car to fill up. After a while two people get in front. We are anxious to leave so we show the driver 50 pesos and try to explain we will pay extra if he leaves right away. Off he goes and a couple minutes later a Dominican woman waves him down. Not wanting to give up the fare, he stops and tells her to get in the front! Now there are 4 Dominicans in the front and 2 silly looking gringos in the back. This just wouldn’t do. We quickly figured out he thought we had purchased the back seat for ourselves. After convincing the driver we would still pay him the 50 pesos, he let the woman get in the back seat with us.
If you visit Cabarete, make sure you see it in the evening as well. We stayed for dinner on the second visit and really enjoyed the ambiance. The restaurants set up extra tables on the beach and lights, candles, and live music add to the dining experience. Late that afternoon, we were enjoying happy hour at one of the bars when the music suddenly stopped, and five young Dominican girls appeared in cute matching red outfits. On goes the latest Latin pop hit and they are doing a choreographed dance for us. We were so entertained; we were actually disappointed when they didn’t pass a hat around at the end.
Well I think that is about it. Sorry for going on so long, but after getting so much out of DR1, I wanted to give something back. It has taken 2 weeks to get over enough of the Dominican Blues to write about our trip. As I write this the thermometer is plunging close to – 30 degrees and the wind is howling. The tans are fading fast – but not the memories of the beautiful country and the wonderful people. Oh, did I say how much we love the Dominican people?
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Outstanding!!!!
Great Report
Absolutely wonderful report!
