Our trip to Sosua:Casa M.reef (long)

[palomitamia]

Hi everyone,

we went to Sosua in August2006 and the children enjoyed it a LOT!

So did I but I would've prefered to stay in a small place and to explore a bit more. But never mind that, I took all my spanish books with me and while the little ones were paddling in the ocean :-) I've been learning like mad.

We did get out of the resort every day because I wanted to practice my spanish and the kiddies liked playing on Playa Sosua a lot.

We met lots of wonderful people: I like the coconut man and his little son, they are great. The one with a big truck,he stands next to all the shops on the right before you go down the stairs to beach.

He told me that he loves his life the way it is: getting up around 5-6 am, climbing up the palm trees , getting all the coconuts down into his truck and then driving to Sosua. Whenever he misses out a day or two "yo no me siento bien", wow:a real workaholic

It's a shame that the place is absolutely FULL of sankies, phew. That is quite tedious. They weren't even good enough for improving my language skills because all the sentences they use are very simple and repetitive


My children loved playing with cute dominican kiddies on the hotel beach. There were only boys though. Why is it like that? Are the girls not allowed to go out at all?

My daughter was the absolute N1 :-) She is 11y. old but she is a real tomboy+likes playing really wild games. Some people did even think that she is a boy despite of her lovely long hair.

All the boys did ask her whether she'd like to be their girl-friend, (even the 7-8 y. olds.) but she wasn't interested.

One of the boys invited us to his house. I didn't want to go because I thought that he is too small (9y.)for being able to invite us and that his parents wouldn't be really pleased when they suddenly see some strangers visiting them.

His mother came on the next day and invited us over to see her huge family: she has 8 children and the small one is a tiny little baby, a very cuddly one

I thought: wow, she is really friendly, let's go and visit them, why not?

What I heard+saw was unbelievable: she told me that she is a w...ing-girl and goes to the disco every night to find some "cliente". Well, that was the harmless bit. What came after that made me leave that place as fast as I could:

We met a beautiful little girl holding the mother's baby.The girl was 12 years old and expecting a baby in 2 months.The mother introduced her to us as "mi hija"......oooops, all right, this is still all not so bad. Perhaps it's kind of normal here to live this life as free as possible, I don't know.

What came afterwards did make me absolutely speechless: the motherhas then told me that she takes her daughter to the disco as well, so that they can make enough money together and the father is supporting her as well, with other words he is a p...

While we were talking the children've been playing with some toys we took with us as a little present.

All right then, I just apologised very quickly and said that we have an appointment and have to go back to the hotel.

The mother wasn't going to let go that easily though: she asked me whether I could give her 5000 pesos for 2 days and buy her other daughter some clothes.

And apart from that they would like to come and visit us in the hotel as well, would that be possible?

I had very mixed feelings when we finally did get out of their place.


I was feeling really sorry for the girl...and angry about her mum.But you probably shouldn't blame her mother either because this is probably the way she grew up as well, how is she supposed to be able to see through it if that's been normal to her all her life? How could we help these people?

I don't know the answers to all these questions.

After our adventures on this wonderful island we decided to try a bit of "real life" in order to find out whether or not we should move to this wonderful place (well, not necessarily Sosua).

We decided to stay in a cheap hotel for one week and live more or less like all the others: shopping, cooking,doing some washing by hand.

I did some investigation on schools. Whenever they cut off the electricity( and that did happen 4 times in 1 week) you could hear the evening-school children shouting something like *hoorray!* and running out of the school as fast as they could

The private schools might be really good but they cost lots of money.

The mother of the boy has found out about us now being in the small place and they came there every night and woke us up in order to ask for some money. I did never give them any money but they kept asking nevertheless.

The other problem was: the cockroaches in the hotel-room. Loads and loads of them every day.On the 2nd day we didn't have any electricity+water. I was trying to be tough but 3 nights later we just had to change our hotel.

So, back into a resort, this time a different one, we did enjoy our last couple of days in the DR still getting out a lot but also enjoying the advantages of the "relaxed holiday life".



Since then I do really admire the people who live there 24/7, it isn't easy at all!

So my thoughts about moving to this island did stop bothering me too much but they are still there :-) Who knows, one day we might find a good way of doing it and then I'd be really happy to meet some of you (Hillbilly, AZB,Mathilda, mountainfrogg etc.) in RL.

By the way: keep posting, I enjoy reading your stories and opinions

Next time I would love to go and see some *non touristy* places like Santiago, La Vega, Bonao.......

Sorry if this was a long&boring report.


Take care,

Palomita

[Tallman1680]

Palomita, poor you and your family but you know what next time you came back here visit the capital and get to see some of the middle class area.
they live more like the US and Europe and they have their back up power, and their children live a normal life.

[palomitamia]

Hi Tallman,

we might go to some big places next time, thanks for your advise.

I didn't mean to sound negative though: it was a very interesting experience for all of us and we did enjoy our stay in the DR most of the time

cheers, palomita

[Malibook]

It's sad the way some people will exploit their children in order make some pesos but many poor people have honour and class and would never do this.

I admire and appreciate poor people who make some attempt at earning an honest living.
That's why I like to help out the shoeshine kids and the ones selling CDs, even though I don't need my shoes shined nor do I need any of their CDs.
I like to buy some CDs from the kids to help them out and to have more presents to give away.
I don't haggle and I don't say how much I pay and I find they are generally honest and don't try to rip me off.
People who try to rip me off are basically calling me a stupid gringo idiot and they can go screw themselves and starve for all I care.

I just hate it when people ask for free handouts, tips, presents, etc...
I am quite generous but only when I decide to be and never when told to be.

People who are genuinely kind and friendly and help me out and refuse any tips are the ones I like to give nice presents to.

[tarrantino]

So Palomita did you like Casa Marina? I find that it is a nice resort to stay in because of the central location and if you don't want to go off resort you don't have too or you have the option of exploring the town.

In hindsight,did you ever think that, the little guys job was to get people to come to his home for the express reason of "hitting them up" for money.

I know that there is a lot of poverty in the DR, but not all poor people "hustle" you for money and some people have to do whatever they can to make money.

I am glad that this experience isn't going to stop you from going back and meeting people some good honest hardworking folk like we have.

[palomitamia]

Malibook: I have a similar attitude. Whenever someone starts begging for things they don't get anything. It's different with children though. Most of them are honest and SO cute!
Money is a bad idea imho( it kind of shows "I am reach and your are poor, so come and take this, I can afford it), so I buy them something to eat.

I prefer giving people presents and not cash. That way everybody can feel like equals and not like "the prince and the pauper". They give me tiny presents as well: one of the little ones gave me his last lemoncilla (or is it called lemoncillo?)

Tarrantino: I did like the resort......a bit Well, I am not a real resort person but it is a nice place: children enjoyed it a lot! There are so many things to do...and so many lovely children to play with They did even enjoy watching the shows which I did manage to avoid by leaving them with my friends and enjoying some peace and quiet in the hotel room with my books.

you are right though, the little boy's been sent by his mother. what a shame really! such a cute little boy.......and that is all he learns for his future. It makes you really sad when you see there are some innocent kids involved in all this dirty business and you don't even know how to help them. The only thing that might help a bit is to talk to them.

We did talk a lot when they came to the beach to play with my little ones. Nearly all of them wanted to have some money but one of the boys said "don't give them any money, they always beg and that's no way to behave" Wow, I was really impressed by that and we just started talking about this sensitive topic trying not to hurt anyones feelings explaining to them why I don't give them any money and listening to their opinions about the "good and bad tourists": the BAD ones don't give them any money but we are an exception anyway, haha....just because we give them food and some clothes Oh, those kids, they were really great talking to!


I know that there are lots of great folks out there(AZB does sound really convincing ) and I hope we can meet some of them really soon.

Cheers, Palomita

[suitelady79]

I really enjoyed your post and found it to be quite insightful and interesting. I have also been toying with the idea of a possible move to a Carribean Island where the cost of living is much cheaper and the possiblity of a war is not looming (it might be too soon to talk about a war on US soil, but with them talking sanctions against nuclear weapons bearing N. Korea, anything is possible).

I plan to visit the DR for the second time this year myself. The first time was in July where I went to an all inclusive resort. I had a wonderful time there and was anxious to get back to really explore the world outside of the resort. That's what I plan to do in December. Your account of the hotel that you stayed in with the cockroaches has me thinking that I might not want to stay in a cheap hotel. I HATE cockroaches with a passion and would absolutely die if I got back home with one in my suitcase.

I did hear that Sosua was somewhat of a "Prostitution Capital". Maybe that was from reading these boards which I do quite often. So I am not surprised by what you found. I also noticed from my interacations with Dominican men here in the states as well as my experiences in the country that the men are very quick to want you to be their "novia" for one reason or another, and hearing you say that the little boys of 8 or 9 years were trying to talk to your daughter that way is interesting and lets me know that that's the way they are taught from youth. Very interesting.

I appreciate your post and hope my response is not too long and boring for you! )

~LaRhonda

[palomitamia]

Hello ther suitelady,

wow, great pics!

Are you going to the same place in winter?

Yes, the cheap hotel I was talking about was quite a challenge for all of us. I did have to leave the light on at night so that we don't accidentally step on the cockroaches, ooohhhhnooooo

I don't want to post the name of the hotel because the owner was really doing his best: he did give us really cheap price+he did try to get rid of the animals but nothing seemed to help. AND: he did give us all the rest of the money back when we told him that we are going to change the hotel.

I'm glad you enjoyed yourself so much. Perhaps we can go to Punta Cana next time as well.

Have a great time in December and remember to write a nice long trip report for all of us to enjoy!

Palomita

[suitelady79]

Originally Posted by palomitamia

Hello ther suitelady,

Yes, the cheap hotel I was talking about was quite a challenge for all of us. I did have to leave the light on at night so that we don't accidentally step on the cockroaches, ooohhhhnooooo


Palomita

Oh my Gosh! I can't imagine having to worry about stepping on roaches in the middle of the night. Those little buggers freak me out!

When I go in December, I will be going to Higuey, Santo Domingo and maybe a couple of other places that I have not mapped out yet. I think it will be a fun trip and that I will enjoy myself tremendously!

I will definitely write a nice report about my trip and of course will take pictures again as well. I'll also update my sankie report. ) Actually I have an update today on the report that I put down yesterday...

[yazzman13]

interesting post...

with opportunities seeminlgly limited...prostitution and begging may seem a viable career option for locals..it is a shame a lot of the money going into the DR seems to be going straight back out again via foreigners owning most of the tourist infrastrcuture...

it turns into a self perpetuating problem.

D