Santo domingo Sept 29- Oct 3 2005 (long post)

[gardito]

Just back from my ninth trip (third this year!) to D.R. I was there from September 29 to October 3. I’ll write a brief summary of what transpired.

Before I begin, let me tell you that I was awake from 2 pm Wednesday the 28 when I had to go work 6 pm – 6 am shift. Got home, took a 2 hour nap then left for the airport.

I arrived Thursday Sep 29 at 1230 to sdq after a grueling 40 min. flight from sju on AA 815. I went with my brother-in-law (bil) in what was to be my birthday bash. Firstly, I was surprised that there was no free Brugal and no tipico trio playing on arriving. I was sad that my drinking would have to wait, since I usually enjoy a couple of drinks while I fill out the tourist card. Anyhow, quickly through immigrations, pick up our bags, exchanged US$200 @ 30.75 (not bad), waved through customs,and out the door.

I had discussed with bil during the flight whether to rent a car or not. Riding around in taxis kind of had discouraged me about driving in la capital. I had driven/taxied on the eastern part of the island and it did not seem as harried as la capital. The weighing factor that tilted us to the rental was the US$40+ that we seemed to spend on drivers/taxis per day every time I was here. So we went to the rental, got the economy Hyundai ( the jeepeta would have to wait for another trip [I mean, you have to pimp out, don’t you?]), got the US$500 deductible coverage (alas, no gold card to be had ), and out the real door this time.

“ Taxi! Taxi! “they cried, but I just kept on going . A quick check of the vehicle ensued noting just a couple of scratches to the guy doing the paperwork. Following the advice of something I read on DR1, I vigorously shook the side rearview mirrors. They were sound although the guy looked at me like I was nuts. After a couple of directions on how to get out of the parking lot, we cranked the a/c to ‘full’, put some reggaeton on 94.5 fm and off we went, not without genuflecting first along with an Our Father and Hail Mary tossed in for good measure.

I have a ritual upon landing at sdq, first is to imbibe free spirituous liquids at the terminal. This was denied to me , the reason, I know not. Next, upon leaving the airport, is to stop at this little corner colmado right before the tollbooth going to SD. I forget the name of the place, but you’ve probably seen it. Painted blue, on the corner, 4 or 5 moto-conchos and 3 or 4 shoeshine kids hanging out front. The most amazing thing about this colmado is its size: very small. But, it has huge Presidente coolers inside. You can barely walk between the counter and the coolers. (Insert fat jokes here. Yes, I’m on the heavy side). The Presidentes are ice cold here. Grab one for the road and it should last you at least to the bridges. I digress, so we stop at the colmado buy a round, and we remember that this time there is no driver, so we debate on whether finishing the beers before leaving or what. Cooler heads prevailed so we got in our car, put the cup holders to good use and headed on out.

Debates on drinking and driving are on another thread, so let’s not go there. Anyway, what I was doing was driving and drinking, there is a difference.

As we had no hotel booked, we started searching around el Malecon and Gazcue. I am partial to the area of Ciudad Nueva. Looked in at the new Hilton. Verrrry impressive, also verrry expensive. Checked out Jaragua, Intercontinental and settled for my tried and true Napolitano. This hotel is walking distance to the farthest reaches of Ciudad Colonial but right by el Malecon.

We checked in a double, stowed our gear, and went to the corner colmado. Dario, the owner, is someone I always stop and say hi to. Had a couple of pequeñas at $35 ea and off we go.

In front of the hotel we run into a taxi driver we knew from our last time, and he offers to take us around. Bil wants to go with him, and I’m like “dude, we got a car”. Bil is adamant, he wants to go where this guy wants to take us , I’m like “man, it’s not even 4:00 pm, most of these places are not even open yet, at least the better ones, er, or someone told me”. Finally I acquiesce, get in the car and … I’ll leave the details for other forums where this information is exchanged.

During that first day, the cab driver took us to Villar Hermanos on Independecia. Buffet style criollo food, bakery/deli and a decent restaurant in back. I have to say, we ate here every day as it was walking distance from the hotel and the variety of food was good. I did not have the same dish twice. The check came to about 500 pesos for mounds of food for bil and enough food for me. Bil has the ability to chow down prodigious amounts of food and has been known to have fish, fowl, and beef in the same seating.

Back to the hotel at 1 am, asked the cab driver how much we owe him. Comes back saying it’s up to us, anything will be fine. From past experience, I say US$40, figuring I had the guy from around 4 pm to 1am, deduct everything he has drunk on my account, figure out his cut from the places he’s taken us and deduct that too. He answers that US$50 would be better. I give bil US$20 and tell him to do whatever he feels like, since he was the one who got us there, then I bail

Two alka-seltzers and I’m in lala land. End of first day.

To be continued …

E.

[rafael]

I am pretty sure the colmado you stopped at is called Wanda. Parada wanda or similar. That is my first stop upon landing at SDQ as well. I used to stop at Pio Pio which was even closer to the airport and had cold beer and girls running around with hotters type outfits on. The girls were rarely anything special but the beer was cold and on saturday and sunday afternoons they would have live bachata groups. It was a cool place to hang out on a weekend afternoon.

Hermanos Villar is probably the most poplular luch spot in gazcue. Personally, being a really picky eater, I have never eaten there but have had more than a few beers while accompanying others that love the place.

The Napolitano is a decent place and the second story terraza is nice and mellow. Wednesday night is Mariachi night. Nice place for a quiet date.

[gardito]

Woke up, had breakfast at the hotel. Bil and I decided to walk off some of that meal, so we headed on out to Farmacia Vivian on Independencia to buy some stuff that was asked of us.

On our way through some side streets, we passed some houses selling shoes and clothes. Mostly second hand stuff. Even the farmacia had neckties inside. I thought how curious. On our way back, we had to pass in front of the Palacio de Justicia (courthouse). We hung around, watching citizens run around commenting on the various hoops they had to go through to get justice served. I heard a woman commenting that she had to buy a blouse and then come back. That’s when it hit me. Those second hand clothes were for people that were not ‘presentable’ enough for court. I bet they even rented them out.

Back at the hotel we decided to just go out and drive. I headed down the Malecon towards San Cristobal. After the exits to Ind. Park Herrera, the traffic died down somewhat. Took the exit to Haina just to see what it was like. BTW, I saw no cops on the road, except for the ubiquitous 125 dirt bikes with 2 PN on them.

Haina is a small port town with a lot of motoconchos. I dare say that I saw a ratio of 3 motos for every car. Got up to the power plant, EGE Haina and then turned around.

Upon entering the city, I showed bil Mirador Sur. This is a park that runs on the south side of Anacaona avenue. We saw the entrance to El Meson de la Cava. Nice restaurant in a cave. I had been there 3 times in the past. Kept on motoring around when I saw an Orange store (cellphones).

I had read about getting pre-paid sim cards for your cellular. This not only avoids those nasty roaming charges, but also gives you a local phone number where locals can contact you. I inquired within but could not make the transaction as I did not have my passport with me.

Driving around, we passed in front of UASD (university). We stopped and had cokes while admiring the comings and goings of various students of the female persuasion. After a while, we headed back to the hotel

I decided to go walking to the Orange store on Conde to get my sim card. While waiting for my transaction to be completed, I had a couple of pequeñas and chatted with a couple of guys from NY.

Armed with my new sim card I went back to my hotel to pick up bil and have chow at Villar. While at Villar, I made some calls to friends and family.

That night we headed to the casino at the Jaragua. Needless to say we lost some money at the tables, but nothing to cry about. Afterwards we rolled. End of day two.

Day three : how I almost got to La romana, Boca Chica parking attendants, how to go 100 mph in a Hyundai, Festival Presidente warm-up and more ...

Guys, tell me if you want me to shorten this up or you want to hear my outtake on almost everything I did. No offense will be taken. E.

[DavidZ]

Keep it coming!!!

[gardito]

Day Three

After breakfast we decided to go to La Sirena, a supermarket just off Ciudad Colonial. This is where I buy the things I bring back home. Beer, coffee, vanilla, dulce de leche, etc. Let me give you a tip: buy where the locals buy. You don’t happen to go to the tourist places where you live to buy stuff, do you? So happens when you’re on vacation: BUY WHERE THE LOCALS DO.

After la Sirena, it’s almost 12 o’clock. Time to gas up the car since gas stations close at noon on Saturdays. After gassing up, we headed out of town to Boca Chica. The Idea was to see the beach, which we didn’t. When we got there, there were so many people vying for our attention to park in their parking lots/spaces, that we didn’t stop. But we had fun, lol. This guy ran after our car for about a block. I was laughing so hard, I almost hit another car.

From there to San Pedro. Nothing out of the ordinary here, only a beautiful structure on the waterfront. Must’ve been some sort of public place back in the day. I also saw the generating barge (power plant out on the water), it looked like it was down (off).

After San Pedro, the road led us to La Romana. A small traffic jam right at the entrance to town, coupled with the hour (3:30 pm), led us to turn around and head back to SD. On the way back, we took the autopista at San Pedro. The road is straight, level, empty and NO COPS. This is where we took the Hyundai to task. Suffice to say, this car is a champ. We’re talking 140 – 160 kph (90-100 mph) from SP to BC. I suggest you do not try this at home. The virtually empty roadway along with the nature of it (straight & level), permitted this kind of behaviour.

Back at the hotel, I was reading the Listin Diario and found that Presidente was having a warm-up to the Festival at Plaza España in Ciudad Colonial. Los Hermanos Rosario, Michel and Sergio Vargas were going to play. Needles to say, this was the spot to go to. The place was jumping & the music was awesome.

Afterwards we cruised down Ave. Lincoln just to see what all the talk was about. I don’t know if it was the late hour (1 am) or what but everything was toned down. Some groups of people just having beers or eating next to their cars, everyone having a mellow time. Back home (PR), we call this “la fiebre”. Groups go out to show off their cars and race them. Lot’s of reggaeton music and flashy “fast & furious” types abound, but that was not to be had here, oh well. Back to the hotel.


to be continued ... E.

[gardito]

Day Four

Sunday saw us with ½ tank of gas and nowhere (that I knew of) of getting any, so we had to scrub the trip to Santiago. I knew that I could get there, but I wouldn’t have gas for the return trip. I know, I could come back on Monday, but I didn’t want to make a mad dash from Santiago to SD so I wouldn’t miss my flight (2:30 pm).

So, went to Thesaurus book store. I had read about this place in DR1, and found it out to be very nice. After 1 ½ hours, me and bil emerged with 7 or 8 books in our hands and about 2500 pesos lighter in our wallets. As we headed out we passed through this neighborhood with beautiful houses. I later found out the name of La Julia. This is down the street of Thesaurus. Let me tell, THIS is where I want to live if I move to the DR.

In the afternoon, I walked out on el Malecon. Sundays they close off the street and it turns out to be a family affair. Kids in the street, riding bikes, playing basketball, etc. Clown shows, families eating, drinking and having a merry time. All this made me homesick. Thinking back, it was the perfect way to end this trip.

Back at the hotel, it was packing time. I usually pack the night before so I don’t have to mess with it in the morning. The plus side is: you don’t have to get up early (in case you had a few too many the night before).

Last day

Monday found us checking out. No surprise charges with the bill at the Napolitano, something you always have to be on the lookout for EVERYWHERE you go in this planet. Gassed up the car and had lunch for the last time at Villar Hnos. Said bye to our waiter and thanked him for all his troubles. This guy went out of his way everyday for us and we appreciated it ($$) accordingly.

Going to the airport, bil wanted to stop at colmado Wanda (thanks Rafael), but it was on the wrong side of the road. We ended up stopping at this huge (but empty) place with a thatch roof right before the over pass exit to the airport. I’m sorry, but I did not get the name of the place. There was no power, but the beer was cold. Rushed to drop off the rental car and check in at the airport. No problems there. Exchanged pesos back into dollars at the airport (33 to 1).

If this is your first time to the DR, here’s a rule. ALWAYS save at least one receipt when you exchange money (dollars for pesos). It is needed to change them back. You only get to exchange a percentage of the money you exchanged in the first place, so, IMO save them ALL. Another thing came up while exchanging back. I gave them a Vimenca receipt and they did not accept that since they were Banreserva(?). Luckily I had the original from the airport with me.

Through security, presented my passport to the young lady gave her my tourist card stub… wait a minute, where’s my stub! I had it just a minute ago. It must be here somewhere. I had to empty my bag and all this time the young lady is amiable. I’m saying “you’re going to leave me here” and she’s saying “no we’re not (looks like tales of our shenanigans reached here before we did, hmmmm) we want you to leave and come back real soon”. She was such a sweetheart. Yeah well, a 35 min jump and we’re back in SJU, back to the real world.

This trip, I met a lot of people, said hi to some old acquaintances, went places I hadn’t been before and did some of the same things that I always do. That’s why I always come back, because I feel at home. The biggest difference this time was that we had a car. I think that this made my trip even better. I will rent a car from now on.

Thanx for hanging with me through this long post, E.

[Potato_Salad]

gardito, thank you for sharing your wonderful experience!!!

I enjoyed readings your posts very much!!!