My 4 1/2 months in DR in 2003 looong post

[jonfromva]

First I want to tell everyone sorry for the delay in this report and the time it will take to complete this as I will have to do it in installments.Oh and did I mention I was very longwinded. I started following DR1 around Sept 2002.It was thru this message boards help and Kens help that my plans to come to the DR to get some dental work done became a reality.(work that I will say up front was very successful and saved me a very great deal of money doing it here and not in the US)After delaying my trip 3 times and a great deal of e-mails between Ken and I(and conversation between Ken and his and now my dentist Dra Wendy Juma)I was set to arrive at POP on April 8th.I had made resv.at Rockys and when I got there Marco and his ex girlfriend met me with the sign with my name on it at the airport.After going to Rockys and relaxing for a while Marco told me he would have to let me stay at his overflow hotel. I am pretty sure it was Romanofs,Rocky got me in without having to pay thier normal room rate because of an arrangment with his overflow clients.After getting setteled in I headed back over to Rockys where of course I meet Sonya,Ted,Esmerelda,Stella and a man staying at Rockys (had a different name I cant recall it now) but after traveling from Chantilly VA to Rockys here is this guy staying at Rockys that lives around 6 to 7 miles from me here in Oakton VA.Small world isnt it. To all of those who I will affend by not breaking up this in enough paragraphs(if any)sorry in advance I have been reading the board and know this is a pet peeve to some. The 1st thing I want to do is thank Ken for his unselfishness in assisting me.He had me an appt with DRA Wendy Juma the day after I got there.He sat with me for over an hour talking to me at Rockys(4/9/04) before we went over to the Dentists where he sat there for 2 1/2 to 3 hours helping me translate with Wendy about my treatment plan and then afterwards took me to western union to show me where it was at and to change some money and also advised they have a very fair rate of exchange most of the time.He spent almost 5 hours with me that day,did it all just to help me out and then we discussed about getting together for lunch or dinner sometime but I only saw him 1 other time the whole time I was there(except seeing him in the distance about twice going to or coming from the gym I suspect)and that was when I went to the DR1 party on April 19th at Rockys and met his very nice wife Barb.I think Ken is maybe a little dissapointed this has taken so long to get posted (he never said that) but I go into so much detail(oh and did I say I was a bit wordy)that I thought I would get this done in a rough form and then type it all out at once but I can see that day isnt coming anytime soon so I will try to type it out a little at a time that way I may in time get it all out.Just a few DR1's I meet during my trip was of course Rocky, Eddy (condosdominicana)Johnny Honda (may he RIP) Talked to Robert at the 4/19 party meet mainer(spanish teacher in Virginia at the time living about 20 miles from my house in Loudon County Leesburg I think)sat near Hillbilly(but was never introduced(hey I can be shy)I think Escott(or Scott or Loud fat american whatever you want to call him was ther but didnt meet him and I think this is the reason that the rest of the trip I would see him quite often looking at him thinking I know this guy I think but who is he)Now I have got the face and the name together if I see him next time I will introduce myself as the guy who would be looking at him with a puzzeled look on his face when I was there on my last trip.I meet the mainers and I saw both Mr mainer and Eddy (sport bar also)coming out of my dentists office at different times during my treatment.They must like Wendy also as does Ken whos original post on getting work there started me on my oddessy to the D.R.Oh and also Hillbilly post about how lucky Sosua was to have her in Sosua as she was very qualified as he used to be her Professor at 1 time and he he said to go only to (I forgot the initials)xyg or xxu as they were the university that put out the most qualified dentists. A belatted thank you to Hillbilly(who is from West Va my neighbor state)Please excuse me for this post going all over the place but I want to go into as much details as I can and after not being there since Oct 1(1st trip 4/8-7/3 and second trip 8/15 to 10/1) things are starting to be forgotten and my mind is going in all directions putting things down as I remember them)I promise next time I will try to keep a journal.Bottom line very happy with my dental work had a fantastic trip meet so many decent and nice people that I couldnt count them all and as you could imagine learned quite a lot about the the country and the people.Dental work if done in USA about 23k to 26k.Done in the DR with a very lovely and sweet person who was so concerned about weather I was in pain or not this question she asked me ALL THE TIME.To many times but I sure was happy she was looking out for me in that respect)I have a lot to share about my trip and if people want me to I will try to get out much more of this trip report if it is desired.You guys and gals know being down there for 41/2 months in the DR there are plenty of stories to tell.By the way I am 44yo male(duh)R.E.Agent back here in VA just to let you know a little about where i am coming from.I called Ken this before and now I will repeat it again,Ken you are truly a gentelman and a scholar.I will not forget your generosity.And I almost forgot to thank all of the contributors to DR1.I can not provide the words to thank all of you enough and for you Robert for having this fantastic and very informative post.If you want to pick this post apart(hey I have been reading the boards and it seems like sometimes people just have nothing better to do)Please just do me a favor let the people who will enjoy it enjoy it and keep the flaming to yourself.Oh wait a minute I forgot this is DR1.Let the games begin LOL.Bye for now all you good people Jon

[MaineGirl]

Hey, I remember you! I am the Spanish teacher from Leesburg. Since then I moved back to Maine! Glad to hear everything worked out for you.

[Robert]

I was wondering when you was going to post.
Glad it all worked out and you had a good time.
When are you coming back?

[mainer]

Yes, Jon from Va, and I was the one who was from Maine. And you were gonna bring me a CD into Rocky's. I am in Kentucky now, still trying to figure out why.

I even took my kids to Dr. Juma. She did well with them.

[jonfromva]

Hello Maine Girl AFTER I posted I saw that I had put in the wrong name(though they are a bit alike)I tried to edit it but I am new to posting on these boards and it looked like if I tried to edit it before anyone posted it would be deleted but hey Im learning but sorry about that and thanks on the congratulations on a successful trip and I hope you the best on all your concerns down in the D.R. Robert yeah sorry it took so long but it got to the point if I didnt do it now I wouldnt be able to give a very good account so I jumped in.Also sorry about calling your web site a post I got ahead of myself but we all know the DR1 is not a post(I hope haha)I am not sure when I am coming back but I think sometime this year is within reach.Maybe I will get down there for another DR get together because I am missing out on too many of these %#*& get togethers.oh sorry about the anger there.Hi Mainer Im sorry I never got that CD to you (just to make sure no one gets the wrong idea this was a cd of mine that I had a few copys of and wanted to give the mainers a copy of)We met at Rockys with your wife 1 day and we talked but I had moved to club residential after 9 days at Rockys so didnt have cd with me then.And then I only saw you 1 more time walking out of Wendys office during the rest of my time in the DR.I am glad your children were well taken care of by Wendy.Thanks everyone for your replys Jon

[Hillbilly]

"I told you so!"

Glad all went well Jon. Perhaps you are going to be the first of a wave of dental-tourists!!

I just knew that Wendy would be good to you.

Proud prof.

HB

[Ken]

Jon, enjoyed your post, but noticed you omitted mention of your constant companion during your stay here.

After you left, I told Wendy you were pleased with her work and will now tell her you gave her a rave review on dr1. I know she will appreciate it. It is not often that a dentist gets as big a challenge as you provided her.

Next time you visit, we need to have that dinner together that didn't materialize on your first trip.

PS: On those snowy, cold days of winter, do you ever wish you were back in Sosua?

[jonfromva]

Wow I shouldnt have had that last beer.I reread my post and thought next time write that post before your 3rd or 4th beer.I want to break this down a little. Ok first places I stayed.4/8 Romanofs Big room no tv or a/c around 20-25 dollars(sorry cant remember)the place was just fine, stayed out late playing pool with before mentioned buddy from Oakton and Stella after pool went to a few bars so just came back late slept and checked out next day Next on to Rockys.4/9 to 418.Cant say enough about this place.15 dollars a night,large bathrooms,clean rooms and a feeling that your are a welcomed member of the Sosua family within a very short period of time.I came to stay just a couple of days there while checking out a condo and was so relaxed there and enjoying my stay so much I didnt even really start looking at places for over a week.Oh and its not so bad to have 1 of my 2 favorite restaurants about 20 feet from my room.Talk more on that when I write about a few of the places I ate at later but let me just say I really enjoyed shooting the **** with Marco and Ted and Julia until she left to work closer to where she live(Palm Cove I believe)What a great place as all you DR1's know who have spent time on the North Coast. Ok Next on to Club Residential Talked to Beatrice and was able to get a break from 420 a month to 390 a month(13 dollars a day)but that didnt include electric.that averaged about 3 dollars a day with the a/c on in the br at least 60 percent of the time(so total about $16 a day)I was also able to get this rate till my departure date on 7/3.(later when I thought my dental work might be done earlier Fritz (Fritz and Beatrice manage the place)advised me if I didnt do the full 2 1/2 months after the 2nd month 6/19 I would have to pay a daily rates of 35 a day elec.included of 30 a day and pay my own electric so I just decided to do the whole 2 1/2 months.At 16 dollars a day this place is great at 35 well not so bad really but to much for what I was used to paying there.My impressions about C.R.The condo was fantastic our ground floor units patio opened up to the 2nd pool.Pool about 20 feet away.Grounds were really nice,Security was good you have your own key to get in and out the fenced in grounds and they had a gaurd there from 7pm to 7am everyday.Safe in the room(not large enough for a laptop)but decent size.Had a really nice size fridge and 4 burner stove and large pantry for grocerys.It was a really nice kitchen layout and we did a lot of cooking there.Ran out of propane twice while we were there and after letting Fritz know both times got new propane in short order(once ran out while we were cooking and was replaced so quick dinner barely skipped a beat.When we got there the toilet was constantly running told Fritz about it and it was fixed in 1 or 2 days(pretty quick)But after that repair the water shutoff valve(which they turned off to repair the toilet)started leaking packing nut washer not sure which but I told Fritz about this within 1 or 2 days later.This was never fixed and I only told Fritz about the 1 time as it really wasnt that big a deal to me I just left the shower floor towel under it.I think if I would have mentioned it again it would have been fixed.No big thing,because overall I will say it was a very good value for the money.Club Residential is located just past Europa on the same side of the street heading towards Caberete.Restaurants on site.Never ate at thier on Grounds Rest.except for coffee once or twice(I had run out in the condo)and that was fine.Now the bar ther they have 2 for 1 frozen drinks between 4-7 and for 70 pesos you got 2 banana mamas or pina colada>I took advantage of this far too often as they were very tasty and they are a good part of the reason I put on weight during this time(not counting steak at Rockys at least 3 times a week) Just to let everybody know I did talk to Eddy about a condo and nothing with a/c was open and this was something I decided I had to have.(His condos were very nice though just like Eddy was) Ok to recap,cant advise much on Romanoffs as I was there for just sleep 1 night(I did miss not having a TV to switch on when I got back that night)but hey as far as I know some rooms might have them. Now on Rockys this is a place I highly recomend for anybody coming in to the DR.My learning curve was shorten quite a bit by begining my trip here.And his food is great but more on that later Club Residential Very nice place to stay if on long term stay.It really was a very nice place. But it just doesnt have the same feel as Rockys where meeting people and making friends happens daily.This just wasnt the case at C.R. even though I did meet some nice people there it is nothing like Rockys(So for me short reason is we all know about the ex-pats that eat at Rockys often not to mention the DR1's thatcome to D.R.on vacation.So for short term stay Rockys is number 1 for me I think C.R. is number 2. Now on my return trip on 8/15 I flew into Punta Cana on a USA 3000 charter out of Baltimore. 1 way including all taxes was $189.45 but the 150 dollars for our van to get us to Luperon wiped out the savings over flying with A.A. but I thought Hey I sure will see a lot of the country on the drive to Luperon.Stayed at the Luperon Beach resort for 15 days and will post a review on that shortly and on the Europa where I was at between 9/1 and 10/1 (Yes I had all the fun of that earthquake down there just like you DR residents and vacationers did on 9/22)Ill write that down in a bit.Thanks Jon

[jonfromva]

Hello Ken and Hillbilly You both posted as I was writing my trip cont. But you are right Hillbilly what I forgot to post in my other 2 posts was what it cost me in the DR for the work.I did say that I had a estimate of 23k to 25k here in the US but forgot to let everyone know that it cost me around 2700 us dollars in the DR.Yes that is a little over 10 percent of what it would have cost me to have it done here at home I say around 2700 dollars because the peso went from about 27 to$1 all the was to $34 to $1 while I was there so hard to get exact figure but anyone(if they can get the time)who needs extensive dental work can pay for the flight,dental work,lodging, recreation and food and drinks and still save THOUSANDS of dollars.And with your confirmation on Wendys ability after Kens post about her that pretty much made up my mind on giving this a try.Thanks again Hillbilly Ken yes I didnt know if I could write this without that coming up but oh well.Thank you for passing on that info to Wendy and since your were there helping me you know it was quite a lot of work she did for me.Anyone who wants to know what I had done e-mail me and I will let you know or if enough people need to know I will post the details here.Yes Ken dinner next time for sure.And yes even though we have had snow on the ground here for over a week from a storm over a week ago(its too cold to melt)thats not the only thing thats makes me want to be in Sosua its the spirit and the people that really makes me want to get back there soon.And I will sometime this year.Thanks everyone Jon