Talk about the best laid plans......

[Rubicon]

On this trip I had conciously decided for the first time not to make an effort at mongering, but to simply travel to a few out of the way destinations and see a bit more of the country. Although this was my intention, I was'nt going to turn down any opportunities if they came along. Talk about the best laid plans.......

I've had my house in POP for 2 years now and during that 2 years I have shuttled shit down to the house, refurnished it, and made additional improvements to the house. It always seemed something needed to be done and, though I had planned for some time to come down and, at some point, just party and sit on my ass, those plans just never seemed to materialize.

Well, someone I know in POP had been pushing me for some time to make a trip out to Monsaion (not sure of the spelling) and last trip I told him I would do it when I returned this December. Okay, I thought, I got a 2 day, side trip when I return. He suggested a weekend trip when things were more lively than they were during the weekday.

Back in November I bought a Yamaha TW200 with the help of a friend who also had one. He talked about doing a 2 day road trip with the bikes. I said sure, when I return in December, to which he agreed.

In November, I also offered my Dominican buddy that we go to his hometown and spend a couple of days during New Years with his family. He mentioned a place (Salcedo, down by Moca) which I thought would be cool since I had never been there.

I thought, "Damn, things are shaping up pretty good to finally get out of town and explore a bit more of the country."

Well, my plan was to arrive in to POP on December 27th, leave for Monsaion the following morning, return to POP on the 30th and spend the night, travel to Salcedo on Dec 31st for New Years and return to POP on Jan 2nd and spend the night, then on Jan 3rd take my final 2 day trip and return on the 5th to wrap things up before heading home Jan 6th. Again, what's said about the best laid plans.

I arrived in POP on Dec 27th and hunted down the guy who, for months, had been trying to drag me to Monsaion for "all the pretty girls", he said. When I tracked him down he said that we were going to have to cancel the trip as the house we were supposed to be staying at was now occupied by the owner and some of his guests from the states. Uh, okay.

Well, prior to arriving I had been sick for a few weeks and was, in fact, still on antibiotics so I thought "No problem, I can use this time to take it easy, catch up on some much needed rest, and have the inside of the house painted."

After a couple of days the painters finished, and I was feeling better, so I decided to go out that night for a few. Me and my Dominican buddy went over to Sosua and after a few I decided to get hammered. Trying to be a bit more responsible, I handed him the keys as he doesn't drink nearly as much as I do. When we got ready to leave he said he couldn't find the keys, and we had to cab it back to POP.

The next day I stayed at home recuperating from the previous night, while DB (Dominican buddy) went back over to Sosua to see if he could find the keys, to no avail. I went over to Sosua to retrieve the car with the spare keys. Feeling pissed and a bit under the weather, I stayed in that night.

The following day was spent trying to find someone who could re-key the locks and ignition on the car (which I finally did), and blew off the trip to Salcedo. That afternoon I went out, had a few beers and something to eat, and returned to the house for a much needed nap. After awakening about 8:15pm I knew I was in no mood to go out. Generally, if I'm not out of the house by 8:00pm, it's not likely I'm going out. I've been that way for years, and I'm not quite sure what I can attribute it to, if anything, but that's just the way it is. So, I spent New Years eve sitting at home watching fireworks on the malecon from my bedroom window. So much for the huge party night I had planned.

I decided, however, that I'd get up the next morning, go pay the electric bill, have breakfast, pay the phone bill, get a haircut, and shop for a couple of trash cans for the house. With the exception of the barber shop and a few restaurants, the town was pretty much shut down. So, I thought "The hell with it. Road trip." A one day trip to Salcedo wouldn't be near as interesting as a 2 day trip, but it sure as hell beat sitting around POP for another day.

So me and DB headed east towards Gaspar Hernandez where we took a right at some non descriptive turn, and headed into the mountains. This past summer I visited a cousin of mine who's married to a Dominicana and living in Constanza. I don't know if any of you have ever been on the mountain road going to Constanza, but it's a pretty rough road to travel. Well, this road is on par with that. After about an hour and a half of getting bounced around in the Jeep (the Jeep fared much better than we did) we arrived in Salcedo.

Hmmm, an interesting little place. Reminds me of a smaller version of Higuey, much like all of the smaller places do. We stopped in at DB's moms's small farm and made our introductions, namely me. DB's mom decided she was going to cook us dinner and while that was being prepared, me, DB, and his Tio headed over to the local car wash (Orlandos). This place was about 4 times the size of Ojilvi's in POP and, as time went by, was occupied by some pretty nice looking chicas, many of whom were taken, though there were still plenty more available. Being that it was DB's hometown, he knew the manager of the place, and DB asked the guy to set me up with a chica. Within 15 seconds a waitress was sitting at the table. Nice looking, with predominantly Spanish features, and a pretty nice body. Hmmm, not bad. In my limited spanish, I got the chica laughing after a while, and things seemed to be going well. DB asked me if I wanted to take a couple of chicas back to POP, and I said sure, as long as he made sure they got back to Salcedo in the morning because I was leaving for my bike trip.

DB asked the chica if she was willing to return to POP with us and she said sure. DB said he'd look for a chica for himself. It was at this point that I started to wonder about things. When the chica first sat down, I asked her if she'd like a drink and she ordered a juice. I asked her if that was all she wanted and she said yes. However, after agreeing to return to POP with us, she then ordered a beer, the first of three. I thought it a bit odd, but decided not to become overly suspicious, since maybe she decided to just loosen up a bit.

When we decided to leave DB told me that the chica he wanted to take with us couldn't go, and that my chica was now unwilling to go since she didn't want to leave without her friend. Oh well, dame la quenta.

We stopped in at DB's mom's house for dinner and as it began to get dark, we decided to hit the road. On the return trip we decided to return through Santiago instead of the mountain road we had arrived on. It seemed it would be quicker and, probably would have been, had we not gotten lost. At some point around Moca the road was washed out and we had to take a detour. Goddamned if we didn't end up spending the next hour and a half trying to find our way back to a main road in order to get to Santiago and, finally on to POP.

I arrived home tired, physically beat up from the roads, and pissed off. I took a shower and went to bed as I had to get up the next morning for my bike trip. Three hours later I'm awake, and decided to write this report to pass a bit of time. I'm going to try and catch a bit more sleep but, talk about the best laid plans.......

I hope like hell the bike trip goes well.

[weyland]

Thanks Rubicon. Super description of life in the DR, where plans invariably go awry (although I am amazed that your house-painters arrived, and completed, on time).

"Monsaion" is presumably Moncion, near Mao?

What was the issue with the bar girls in Salcedo? With me, I would assume translation problems but obviously not in your case. Do you think they never really intended to go but were stringing you along for a few drinks? Or they gradually got cold feet after watching how much alcohol you were downing? Or what?

[Rubicon]

Thanks Rubicon. Super description of life in the DR, where plans invariably go awry (although I am amazed that your house-painters arrived, and completed, on time).

"Monsaion" is presumably Moncion, near Mao?

What was the issue with the bar girls in Salcedo? With me, I would assume translation problems but obviously not in your case. Do you think they never really intended to go but were stringing you along for a few drinks? Or they gradually got cold feet after watching how much alcohol you were downing? Or what?

Weyland, the painter is a local guy named Antonio who you'll probably encounter if and when you move to the Torre Alta area. He came by after I took possession of the house and said he painted most houses in the area. Not a bad guy, but a typical Dominican in that, although they do a fairly decent job, thay have a tendency to drop bits of paint here and there, so you really have to stay on top of them to make sure they do a clean job.

I think you're right with regards to the spelling of Moncion. I had no idea how it was spelled, just how it sounded when it was pronounced.

As I said, my spanish is limited, so I wouldn't be surprised if you spoke as well, if not better, than I do.

As far as the chica, I actually didn't have much to drink. It may have been 4 beers. In fact, at one point I actually stopped drinking as I told her I had to drive back to POP. My guess was that I/we were being strung along for the extra chica drinks. Once I came to that conclusion, I decided to pay up and leave.

Gotta say, this has got to rank as one of the top 3 worst trips so far. But, you win some, you lose some.

[Beads]

We all learn full well in the DR plans fall apart quite easily. Start involving chicas or locals and chances of anything being on time are slim to none.

But hey you got to see an area youve never been to and it sounds like it was an adventure.

I like those types of unplanned adventures myself if I have nothing else to do. In the DR it gives me a chance to mingle and practice more spanish with the locals also.

[Rubicon]

Beads, you're right about the adventure part. I was in Salcedo the other day, and traveled to Jarabacoa yesterday, and am now in Santiago. So the travel to each of these destinations has actually been more enjoyable than my stay at each of them. Now that I'm in Santiago I hope to get some p4p. When I get back to POP tomorrow I'll post more particulars.

[Rubicon]

Well, the bike ride did happen.

I met up with my buddy Wednesday morning for breakfast in Sosua where we discussed where we would be going. While we had previously talked about riding out to Samana, we decided to go to Jarabacoa instead. I had never been there, so it sounded like a plan. We headed east and just beyond Cabarete we picked up another road which took us through the mountains. Actually, the ride wasn't too bad as there weren't many potholes and washed out portions of the road, though I wished we had taken a bit of time so that I could have enjoyed the view along the way. We rode through Moca and on to highway 1, where we then exited on to Jarabacoa.

Upon arriving in town I noticed that it appeared much like Constanza, which is a small farming town, although I don't think they farm in Jarabacoa. I understand that it is becoming something of a mountain tourist destination. We stopped at a local (downtown?) park which my buddy told me is supposed to be a happening place. Not quite sure what he meant by "happening" as I didn't see much going on in the brief time we were in town. We decided to stop at a restaurant across the street (can't recall the name) to get something to eat and, while there, we asked the waitress where there might be a decent place to stay. She directed us to a hotel which she said was new, and a couple of blocks down and another block over.

After eating we decided to head over to the hotel and had a bit of trouble finding it as there wasn't a name posted on a sign anywhere. What we did find was a sign that simply said HOTEL out by the road, and the hotel actually sits back from the road beyond a parking area. I picked up a card upon check-in,

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and chatted with the receptionist who, although her face wasn't a 10, had a bangin' body.

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The room and, particularly the bathroom, was small but it had aircon, tv, and a comfortable bed. In spite of the fact she said there was hot water, they must have rationed it and it was used up by the previous occupant of my room cause there wasn't any hot water during my stay. US $45.00 a night. Guess they were trying to recoup their investment in the new facility. I decided to wash the road tiredness and grime off of me, and layed down for a hard nap.

We got up later and headed out to do a little exploring and stopped in for some dinner at another restaurant across the street from the park and next door to the restaurant I had mentioned previously.

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I had the chivo, which was good not only in terms of taste, but also in proportion, as well as a few beers. Afterwards we walked over to the park and hung out for a bit to see what might be going on. Not a damned thing. There were a few guys hanging out and we asked them where we might find a few dames and one of the guys mentioned we might find a bar a couple of blocks down the street and around a corner, or a car wash that was in the opposite direction somewhere by a bridge.

We decided to check out the bar first, but couldn't find anything that appeared to be a bar, so we headed back in the opposite direction towards the bridge. We did end up finding the car wash and there were about 3 guys sitting around, but not one chica. So, now we thought WTF? We went back to the park and told the guy what we found, and he then informed us that not much was happening during the week, but that the town came alive on the weekend. Great, it was Wednesday night. As we stood around wondering what to do I noticed what appeard to be a second story pool hall across the street on a corner. We went in and played several games and had a few more beers before deciding to call it a night. 9:30 pm. I said in another thread I couldn't wait to leave this bitch.

The enxt morning we went looking for a nice place for some breakfast. We took a ride around and couldn't find a damned thing, at least not what we were looking for. We finally came across some little hole in the wall joint where we decided to sit and had some eggs, tostone, fried cheese, ham, and something else whose name I can't remember. I asked the woman for a glass of orange juice and she said they didn't have any, but that they had a few others, one of which was pineapple. I asked for pineapple. She said they didn't have any, so I settled for tea. Did I say I couldn't wait to leave this bitch? While having breakfast we decided to head over to Santiago as I was interested in picking up a dehumidifier for my house.

One of the things I noticed while in Jarabacoa was that it certainly isn't Sosua. There were some beautiful women all over the place, many in there late teens or early twenties. I also noticed that the local guys don't stand around gawking at the girls like you would see going on on the North Coast. So, although there were plenty of women around during the day time, I wasn't going to chance approaching any of them. These are not your typical P4P type of dames. I will say, however, if you're interested in a girlfriend, I would definitely look in Jarabacoa. I think I might get back that way again sometime in the future, but it will only be on the weekend, and after having done some research.

Next, on to Santiago.

[Rubicon]

We returned to the hotel and packed up and headed over to Santiago. We got into town and made our way over to Hotel Aloha Sol on Calle Del Sol. Although I had not originally intended to, I decided to grab the junior suite at RD$4,299.00 a night. Fortunately we hmm'ed and haw'ed until the receptionist gave it to us for RD$3,799.00. I figured I might as well treat myself for one night. I and some buddies from the states had stayed here overnight a couple of years ago to catch an early morning flight out of STI so I knew, although a bit pricey, the accommodations would be good. Some pic's of the room:

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Me and my buddy decided to run down the street to Plaza Lama and look around. For those who don't know, Plaza Lama sells tv's, appliances, computers, ac's, and the like. Kind of like a Best Buy back in the states. I was looking for a de-humidifier, but there wasn't anything available. We walked in the opposite direction and walked through a number of the stores where I grabbed a shirt. At this point I decided to head back to the hotel and have my requisite shower and nap. Considering the bed was a nice, firm king sized one, I slept good for a couple of hours.

Having agreed to meet at 5:00pm. I got up and headed out. My buddy wasn't ready yet and, as I was hungry, I went down the street to Mc'Donalds and grabbed a bite to eat. I hooked up with my buddy about 6:00pm and we hailed a cab over to Centro Plaza International to where there was supposed to be an Argentinian restaurant somewhere in the area. Well, all things being Dominican, at least in this case the cab driver, idiot took us over to the Las Colinas mall, agood 15 minutes in the opposite direction of where we were supposed to be. He stopped to ask one of the security guys for directions but couldn't figure out what directions he should be asking for. So I told the security guy Plaza International, and he told the driver where to go.

We finally made it and, after walking around the mall a bit, we asked for directions to the restaurant. We were told it was only a couple of blocks down the street, so we started to hoof it. After walking 5-6 blocks and not seeing anything with a sign on it, we turned around. On our way back we again passed a nice little restaurant we thought could be what we were looking for, but which had no sign. We stopped and asked on of the wiaters and he said we were in the right place. What a waste of money. I had Mero in what was supposed to be garlic sauce, and it turned out to taste more like a thick chicken broth. My buddy had the Argentinian beef, which was more fat and tendons than meat. We payed up and got the hell out of there. Considering I hadn't been layed in the previous week and that I was now in Santiago, I knew what was on the agenda now.

We grabbed a cab and my buddy asked the guy to take us to a club. The guy took us to Illusions. I had been here a couple of years ago and remembered they had some pretty decent looking dames back then. I do recall too, though, that when me and my buddies stopped in I specifically told them not to pull any dames over unless they were really interested in them as they might try and charge us for their time. Of course they all pulled some of the dames over. Lo and behold, as we were getting ready to leave, my buddies headed out the door and the dames they were with walked straight over to me and said they wanted payment for the time they spent sitting and talking with the guys. I would have laughed about it considering I had told the guys not to do this but they did it anyway. But, what pissed me off was the way in which these chicas approached me, as if they were going to bully me and intimidate me. I told them to get the fuck out of my face as none of them had sat with me, and if they wanted money they needed to go talk to the guys they spent time with. I turned around and walked away.

This time was a little interesting as well. My buddy knows me and what I like. I like a dame who is fat in the ass, wide in the hips, and thick in the thighs. As soon as we walked in he called some dame over who fit the bill and told her I was in to her. Upon entering any establishment I prefer to take a few minutes to get my bearings, check things out,and have a beer or two. So, I excused myself and went outside to have a smoke. For those of you who smoke, Illusions is anti-smoking. I returned to our table and this dame was still sitting there so I chatted with her for a bit. She asked me whether or notI was interested and I told her maybe in a few minutes, but that I'd rather look around for a bit. She got up and walked away. After about 15 minutes of looking around and not seeing muc (it was early, probably 9:30 or so) I decided to call the chica over as she did have a pleasant personality. She came over and we talked and had a couple of drinks. I asked her if I took her to the room what were some of the thing she'd engage in. She got quiet for about 30 seconds, so I asked her again. She said that she, like most chicas, could tell me that she'll do anything and everything and then do nothing once we got to the room, so why bother giving me an answer. At this point I got quiet and looked away. After about a minute she asked me what I was thinking. I told her I was thinking about getting another chica! She got pissed and said "Look, you have to understand that this is a business." I said I understood full well that it was a business and that is why I wanted to know what services she would provide once in the room. If she wouldn't give me an answer and we got to the room and she did nothing, then I would have no recourse to complain to management as she could argue that she never told me she would even fuck. She got pissed and walked away.

We paid up and headed over to Passions, another place I had been to 2 years before. We sat around for about 20 minutes before I saw something that interested me. I called her over and we sat and talked for a few and I decided to pull the trigger. I asked her (Claribel) what the going rate was and she quoted me 2,500 peso, inclusive of the room. Sounded reasonable (if it's not, I'd appreciate some input) and we headed off to the room. One of the better experiences in my time in the DR. She started off with BBBJ, and then got on top. I have to say the pussy was mahvelous. LOL. She was nice and wet, and she rode me like a jackrabbit. The only thing that bothered me was that after about 15 minutes she started talking that "dame su leche" shit. Granted, I like the sound of it. But my impression was that she was trying to rush the job a bit. However, I do have to say that the pussy was good.

She wouldn't allow any face shot (understood) or any full nudes, but I got what I could.

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Packed it up and headed for the hotel for a good night's rest.

[Rubicon]

The following morning my buddy and I met up for breakfast in the hotel, which would have been good had it been even lukewarm. The previous day my buddy said that if it were raining the following day he thought we should stay another day in Santiago as it wouldn't be safe to travel on the wet roads. I told him I was interested in getting back Friday as I had to pay bills and start wrapping things up before my return to the states but that, if it were raining, I'd have no problem staying until Saturday. Well, this particular morning it was cloudy and damned sure looked like it was going to rain, so I assumed we'd probably be staying over another night. For some reason he insisted that we try and make our way back. I thought this was odd as he seemed adamant the day before that he would not travel back on wet roads. I guess that's what happens to a man's thinking when you have a dame expressing all those "I love you's" and "I miss you's" over the phone. So, we saddled up and headed out.

One thing I learned on this bike ride was to be prepared. Unfortunately, it was after the fact. The only clean clothes I had left were a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, and sneakers. After about 15 minutes into the ride, it started to rain, and rain hard. I didn't realize it could get so damned cold in the DR. It got to the point where the rain was stinging my eyes and I couldn't see too well in front of me. We had to pull over and find some refuge. At this point I decided to change clothes

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and, although they were funky, they were dry, at least for the next 10-15 minutes of the ride. I piled on everything I had in my bag.

As we proceeded the rain started to become heavier and the wind started to pick up. I got so soaked that my cigarettes, the money in my pocket, and even my "taint" was soaked. LOL. I wondered for a minute WTF was I doing out here in this weather. But, I decided it wasn't going to change, so I became like a man on a mission, and that mission was to get home. I ignored the cold, the wet, the potholes and the people, and pressed on. I finally reached a point where I saw a ridge in the distance and somehow got the impression that the ocean was just on the other side. Sure as hell it was.

I can't say it was the most enjoyable trip, but I'm glad I did it and I intend to do it again. But, next time I'll be better prepared.

[JD426]

Very nice report Rubicon, sorry about all the little problems you encountered along the way.
I dont understand the hotel rates though, and no hot water? I thought it would be cheaper off the beaten path.Do they have 2 seperate price structures for native dominicans and tourists. $45, and then 4,000RD for the jr suite ?,damn thats steep for a place in the middle of nowhere.
I also agree, Chivo is very good,been enjoying that for many years.My grandmother in the old country used to raise goats.
I love that shit,first time I was in DR, my friends laughed and said with a smile "do you know what your eating" I said, "I should. These little bastards used to jump on my back when I was a kid."

[Cuba Libre]

One of the things I noticed while in Jarabacoa was that it certainly isn't Sosua. There were some beautiful women all over the place, many in there late teens or early twenties. I also noticed that the local guys don't stand around gawking at the girls like you would see going on on the North Coast. So, although there were plenty of women around during the day time, I wasn't going to chance approaching any of them. These are not your typical P4P type of dames. I will say, however, if you're interested in a girlfriend, I would definitely look in Jarabacoa. I think I might get back that way again sometime in the future, but it will only be on the weekend, and after having done some research.Nice report!

I'm surprised you didn't hit the discos. The discos are classier than Sosua, but there are some P4P chicas, as well as non-P4P chicas available.

[Rubicon]

Very nice report Rubicon, sorry about all the little problems you encountered along the way.
I dont understand the hotel rates though, and no hot water? I thought it would be cheaper off the beaten path.Do they have 2 seperate price structures for native dominicans and tourists. $45, and then 4,000RD for the jr suite ?,damn thats steep for a place in the middle of nowhere.
I also agree, Chivo is very good,been enjoying that for many years.My grandmother in the old country used to raise goats.
I love that shit,first time I was in DR, my friends laughed and said with a smile "do you know what your eating" I said, "I should. These little bastards used to jump on my back when I was a kid."

jd426, thanks. I've come to realize that problems are typical here in the DR and you either learn to accept and roll with them, or you won't be returning here too often.

The $45.00 was at the hotel in Jarabacoa and I suspect it was that price as the hotel is new (and it looked it) and they were trying to recoup their investment. I was a bit surprised by the price as well, but I was tired and wasn't up to the task of trying to find a cheaper and probably less upscale place than we were at.

The 4,000 peso place was the Aloha Sol in Santiago, which I guess is something of a "boutique" hotel. I originally hadn't intended to pay that much either but I thought, what the hell, I might as well treat myself as I was going to be in town for only one night.

Yea, I remember chivo as a young kid as well. My mother's parents had a farm in New Mexico with all the requisite animals. I can still remember my grandfather cutting the throat of a goat and bleeding it. It was good, and I like it to this day.

[Rubicon]

Nice report!

I'm surprised you didn't hit the discos. The discos are classier than Sosua, but there are some P4P chicas, as well as non-P4P chicas available.

I had mentioned somewhere in my thread that I didn't get a chance to do any research as the decision to go to Jarabacoa was made after we kind of got on the road. I wish I had had time. Although, interestingly enough, I have looked up Jarabacoa (on this site, anyway) and still haven't found any info for p4p. I didn't know anything about the discos otherwise I damn sure would have stopped in. Even the locals didn't mention anything about the discos. Would you care to share some specifics as I intend to get back that way again?

[Jimmydr]

There were some very small discos there. For the most part, people that live here have money.

[3somefan]

Thanks for sharing your adventures with us Rubicon! :)

I hope to get out and see more of the DR this year also.

[milldam]

Thanks for the great report Rubicon.