Back from my first trip ever to the D.R.

sepahunt22 · #1 04-28-2008, 11:48 AM

I just returned from my first trip ever to the DR, visiting Sosua and Puerto Plata. I flew into the Puerto Plata Airport on Sunday, April 20th and departed on Friday the 25th.

I rented a car and drove to Sosua. Prior to my trip I had heard a lot of negative things about driving in the DR, especially for first timers, but I have to say, I LOVED it. I thought the craziness was fun as hell, you just have to get the hang of it. I never saw anyone get angry and commit road rage or yell and scream like they do in the America. Even I didn't get mad like I usually do back home in the states when I drive. I am glad I rented the car and would do it again due to the independence it gave me.

I stayed at Rocky's Hotel on Dr. Rosen street in Sosua. The prices are $25 USD per night. The rooms are clean, well maintained, 24 hour electricity and have free wireless internet (I brought my laptop). The place is very safe, the restaurant has great food at very affordable prices, and the staff are friendly and attentive. Marco, the owner, is a great guy, very honest and helpful. He is great with computers and he fixed up my laptop and got it running much faster than it had been. I highly recommend his place and I plan to stay there whenever I go to Sosua from now on.

I had been chatting with about 4 different women on a website called Dominicancupid.com for about two months prior to my arrival and was planning to meet all of them on this trip. The first one I had arranged to meet was a 19 year old from Bonao, a town about 3 hours away from Sosua. In her photos she looked to be about a 7 or an 8 on a scale from one to ten, but when she got off the CaribeTours bus she looked like a 9.9! As good as she looks in photos, she's look's a lot better in person. Here are some pics of her:

Anyway, I cancelled the dates with the other girls and spent the entire five days with this one. We had a great time, going all over Sosua, Sosua's Beach, Cabarete and on another day driving to Puerto Plata and exploring that city.

I love the DR and plan on going there every three months (July's my next trip). Fortunately I speak, read, and write Spanish like a native, having been an interpreter in the military years ago (Russian & Modern Standard Arabic I speak also).
I think that fluency in Spanish is imperative. Without it I would never even have met this girl since I would not have been able to communicate with her on Dominicancupid.com in the first place. Without Spanish skills I would have been VERY limited for sure.

Prior to the trip I had heard warnings about crime in the D.R., but I felt safe everywhere I went. All the people I encountered were extremely friendly. I'm sure it has dangerous spots like anywhere else, but as always most of the travel reports are exagerations.

The DR is definitely going to be a place where I'll be spending a lot of time during future vacations.
Here are some videos from my trip:

YouTube - Museo Fortaleza San Felipe in Puerto Plata, D.R.

YouTube - City of Puerto Plata, Puerto Plata street scenes

YouTube - Driving from Puerto Plata to Sosua on Hwy # 5

drloca · #2 04-28-2008, 12:08 PM

Pleased you had a good trip.

Did your "date" consent to you posting her pics on DR1?

sepahunt22 · #3 04-28-2008, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drloca

Pleased you had a good trip.

Did your "date" consent to you posting her pics on DR1?

Yes, she did. I even e-mailed her the link.

leekiv · #4 04-28-2008, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sepahunt22

Yes, she did. I even e-mailed her the link.

Then you might want to pm Robert as this will be deleted I am sure without all proper "consents" on record. Good Luck

Hillbilly · #5 04-28-2008, 12:39 PM

A real "carton" .....alas....

Oh well, if you are happy....

Glad you had a good time...

HB

carolathompson · #6 04-28-2008, 02:48 PM

Just wondering.......there are lots of pics posted here, and ive never seen a comment, asking whether they had permission, or that the pics would be deleted. Many of the pics have mulitiple ppl in them , and Im quite sure not all those people, granted permission. So why is it that this will be deleted?

leekiv · #7 04-28-2008, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carolathompson

Just wondering.......there are lots of pics posted here, and ive never seen a comment, asking whether they had permission, or that the pics would be deleted. Many of the pics have mulitiple ppl in them , and Im quite sure not all those people, granted permission. So why is it that this will be deleted?

When someone has posted a picture of their "girlfriend" it has been deleted in the past. There are many pic's on here as you said with multiple people,( i.e. New York gathering of DR1"s), but all knew that their picture would be posted on here. I have seen many of these pic's get deleted as the mod's have asked if there was permission and asked for it in "triplicate",( just recalling one I seen that had that written after it was deleted). I think that it is due in case the young lady is not pleased that their picture is on the www.

Rocky · #8 04-28-2008, 03:41 PM

Hey Sepahunt.
It's great to hear that you had such a good time, and thanks for the kind words.
I look forward to seeing you again.

PC stuff,
That particular speed issue you had on your laptop sure gave me a ride for my money.
There's a thread about computers, on which I will post the details of the problem, along with the cure, in case anyone else owns a laptop with the same issue.

Chicas and pix on DR1,
There's a myriad of reasons as to why it is frequently unwise to post pix of pretty DR women here, and most of them do get deleted.
I only hope that if the mods feel that the pix should be deleted, perhaps the thread could still stand.
Sepahunt's trip report offers another viewpoint about driving in the DR and it also dispels the idea that Dominicans are not good and friendly.
We are often guilty of trying to over-protect newbies with all our warnings, to the point of "killing some of their fun".

leekiv · #9 04-28-2008, 03:51 PM

I think the mod's / admin. if they do decide to remove the pic's should leave the rest of the post as it is informative,( lol now rocky can start his own computer sideline

),. And still happy he had a great time

sepahunt22 · #10 04-28-2008, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leekiv

I think the mod's / admin. if they do decide to remove the pic's should leave the rest of the post as it is informative,( lol now rocky can start his own computer sideline

),. And still happy he had a great time

I can delete the photos myself by simply going to Photobucket.com and deleting them. There will then be a blank space with the Photobucket logo in their place.
But, the girl did say she did NOT mind, and when I spoke to her on the phone via Skype earlier today she was happy with the photos I had selected after looking at the post herself. I sent her the link by e-mail.