Paraiso del Sol, Islabon, Sabeneta.... - Page 2

CommTHOR · #11 06-21-2006, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dwight

Hope i'm not boring you with all the detail.....I can shorten it up if you want.

Boring? Quite the opposite. It's trip reports like this that make it worth visiting DR1. You'd never find the real life moment by moment stories like this on expedia or whatever. It's like I'm down there when I'm reading your report.

Dragonfly32837 · #12 06-21-2006, 09:29 AM

Right. I agree. This trip report sure beats the old "food was great, rooms ok, beach was nice" thing people normally write about. I wish I was a better writer and able to write about my trips. Hopefully I will get inspired by reading some more trip reports like this on DR1...

Dwight · #13 06-21-2006, 08:49 PM

Thanks for all the nice replies!I'm just trying to relay the things I was seeing and feeling....and writing this report helps me re-live my experiences.

jojo2130......I don't know where La laguna is, so I don't think I was there. Juans Shack....is that on the river? If so then I was there on my first trip.

Since you've been to El Gusto....can you confirm my description of the place? I don't want people to think I'm making this stuff up!!Hahaha!!!

While there, a couple at the other table was having dinner.The food looked really good.They had a very large bowl of soup and a platter of "something"...it looked good whatever it was. One of them ate from the platter while the other had half the soup...then they traded and finished the meal. I should try that with a "date" here in Canada....might save a few bucks!!

jojo2130 · #14 06-21-2006, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dwight

Thanks for all the nice replies!I'm just trying to relay the things I was seeing and feeling....and writing this report helps me re-live my experiences.

jojo2130......I don't know where La laguna is, so I don't think I was there.
You just walk down the beach in the direction of Sabaneta and the restaurant is alone on the beach at the mouth of the Yasica River. Sorry , I said la Laguna , I should have said La Boca restaurant. They fry fish on open coals there and serve Pina Coladas in Pineapples ! You can also rent a horse and ride there. Be careful swimming where the river meets the ocean though. And changing tide , can be dangerous.

Juans Shack....is that on the river? If so then I was there on my first trip.
Juan is 1/2 down the beach from Camino to La Boca restaurant. tell him Jose sent you ! He is a good guy

Since you've been to El Gusto....can you confirm my description of the place? I don't want people to think I'm making this stuff up!!Hahaha!!!

Doesn't exist, (Just Kidding)
Absolutely accurate. My wife and I have eaten there a few times. Actually I can't remember which of us but one of us dropped a beer onto the rock floor !
Musta been her , couldn't have been me ..........

While there, a couple at the other table was having dinner.The food looked really good.They had a very large bowl of soup and a platter of "something"...it looked good whatever it was. One of them ate from the platter while the other had half the soup...then they traded and finished the meal. I should try that with a "date" here in Canada....might save a few bucks!!

This Could have been me and Fran ! hehehehe !

Dwight · #15 06-21-2006, 11:14 PM

I needed to go to Rocky's.....so, on Tuesday I hit the HOT highway leading to Sosua. I had brought with me a "taste of Canada" for Hillbilly and Rocky (maple syrup) made by the local Mennonite farmers in my area. If I had needed to go to Santiago to find Iris at the university, Hillbilly had offered his assistance in finding her.I just wanted to bring a little treat to say thanks. He gave me enough phone numbers to fill a small directory! haha.

Since I didn't have to travel to Santiago, I thought I'd leave it with Rocky. I wanted to go there anyway to visit and do some shopping.

Outside the hotel I negotiated a price for the trip with a motoconcho driver...he wanted 300 pesos but we settled on 150 pesos. I confirmed the price 3 times with him before getting on. It was a very hot ride....the heat coming off the road surface combined with the hot wind made for an uncomfortable trip. The moto guy drove with one hand and cupped his other hand about 5 or 6 inches in front of his face to stop bugs from getting into his eyes and nose. A bit scary.

When we arrived he changed the price back to 300 pesos. Some of these guys pull that scam all the time ...it had happened to me before. Not this time! I told him he would never get repeat business this way and I would never use his services again(and I didn't... although he still asked me everyday). I gave him 150 pesos and walked away.

At Rocky's I met with Marco and handed over the "loot".We were having a nice chat and were joined by one of his hotel guests.He ordered a burger and fries and it looked so good I ordered one too.(...and it was good,I couldn't quite finish the whole thing though). While Rocky went to email Hillbilly the hotel guest told me his objective was to get as drunk as he could today...and to leave the country as soon as he could! I not sure of the reason...but I think he'd achieved about 50% of his first goal! haha!!

I wanted to buy some "Larimar" jewellery for my daughter and asked Rocky if he could recommend a shop with reasonable prices. The other "guest" needed to change some dollars and the store was close to the exchange house so he decided to take us there. He also brought his big dog "Bruno" along for the outing.Bruno is a very handsome and well mannered Rhodesian Ridgeback...although he may not be so well mannered under different circumstances...like maybe trying to break into Rocky's!lol

Well, as dogs will do, Bruno was "marking" his territory on pretty much everything standing upright along the way. The other "guest" didn't think this was appropriate and started to chastise Rocky over his dogs behaviour!

Rocky's response was priceless. "WHAT?!......do you expect him to wear a diaper on the street? He's a DOG...for GAWDS SAKE!

I was bringing up the rear and just about doubled over from laughing...but had to be careful....because I wasn't wearing a diaper either!! Hahaha!!!

He took me to Patricks Silversmithy...a nice store with a good selection of jewellery.The lady behind the counter knew Rocky and Bruno and they chatted while I looked in the display case.Bruno seemed content to lie on the cool cement floor near Rocky's feet and the lady was leaning over counter complimenting him on how nice he was, how well behaved he was, what a good boy he was, etc.,.....I could swear that dog was smiling!lol

I couldn't make a decision on what to buy so that's when Rocky the "Fashion Accessory Consultant" took over. He pointed out some pieces and we looked at them on the counter.He said he couldn't tell me exactly why he liked them...just that he did. I agreed with his selections...and bought two beautiful Larimar pendants in silver settings. To make it even better, I think I was given the Rocky and Bruno discount as well!

When I gave one of the pendants to my daughter she said it matched the Larimar ring I gave her last time. She also said..."Look at me...I have lots of BLING!!. So...thanks for the "BLING" Rocky! You should have business cards..... Fashion Accessories Consultant. Just teasing....thanks for your help!

Said goodbye on the street after Rocky told me the public cars were much safer to travel in and recommended I take one back to the hotel instead of a moto or gua-gua. He showed me where their stand was and told me the fare should be 40 pesos. I walked around Sosua for a bit...stopped at a real estate office and told them I wanted a job(I'm a realtor here), the lady was German and didn't speak much English and told me to come back after 5pm.haha! I was only joking with her.....hmmmm, at least I think I was!

The guy in the Public Car wanted 300 pesos....GEEZ, not THIS again.I expected to pay more than the 40 pesos Rocky told me....so, we settled on 100 pesos. I confirmed it at least 3 times before getting into the back seat. Once we were underway for a few minutes he changed his mind, saying it was a long way and it would cost me 300 pesos. I just about flipped-out because this same tactic had been used on me so many times.I pulled 20 pesos out of my pocket and threw it into the front seat while telling him to stop the car. He looked surprised...but saw that I was very serious. I told him I would get out and find someone else to drive me and he could keep the 20 pesos for driving me this far(about 1 km.)unless he wanted to continue for the agreed upon amount...and no more B.S. He took me to the hotel for 100 pesos.

I rested at the hotel for a while...the evening would prove to be an eye opener.

continued..

Rocky · #16 06-21-2006, 11:27 PM

You sure know how to tell a story.
I had forgotten some of the details, until now.
I had pancakes that very night, smothered in Maple Syrup, thanks to you.
Glad your daughter like the pendant.
I think that dude who was with us, the one who needed to change money, was on his way to Santo Domingo, as his flight was leaving from there.
I remember him him being unhappy about something, but can't remember why.
Maybe it was because he had to leave.
Hillbilly had a friend pick up his syrup within a couple of days.

Was great meeting you.
Hope to see you again, and thanks for the great trip report.
Regards, Marco.