just returned from boca chica and the dr. first i want to thank all the veteran posters here on this site. i am a rookie and have never posted anything, i have stayed in the shadows, took notes and learned. based off information i received on this site , i had a great time. i speak poor spanish, but i can say things, i just can't interpret the response back to me. so i guess you can say i do not speak the language. however i had few if any problems. i also had a prearranged taxi for $30 usd each way. a bit high, but i did not know what to expect the first trip, so it was better safe than sorry. the going rate for a taxi to boca from the airport is now $22usd.they took my tourist at immigration. they said i did not need it. i thought i was to always keep it. but they said go, so i went. i also reserved a car for the next day pick up. i wanted to see the roads and how the natives drive. lets just say truly anything goes. i will address the driving later. i made reservations and paid prior to my trip at the europa hotel. it looks great from the outside, but the rooms could use a little work. they are nice and big and for the most part clean. the service was also pretty good. the house chicas are nice looking but probable not worthy of the $2000 dominican pesos they request. say no to one or 2 and all will have an attitude with you. this is however no problem, there are plenty of chicas around the little strip of duarte street. most of the tourists that were at the hotel when i was there were working the streets and not the house chicas. i arrived in the evening after dark. when the taxis pull up all eyes are on you as the chicas and the little kids scope you out. then the kids bombard you to help you with your bags. i like to kid with them. i give them a peso every so often, sometimes they can be an asset as a go-for. you know go for that chica, or anything else you can communicate to them. i put my bag in the room and came back down on the hotel porch. two nice looking house chicas introduced themselves, neither knew english, but they know very basic words and sentences, like what is your name and where are you from. that’s about it. i was apprehensive so i just said “no hablar espanol” and showed no interest. instant blackball! but i had to feel the place and the people out. the kids do not give up so easy so be aware. i walked up and down the strip. you will get plenty of attention, because they will know you are new. i am a black american so many thought i might be a dominican, but i still got a great deal of chica attention. the new european tourist were swamped. i ended he first evening just scouting and gathering information. downsize of europa, is it is noisy especially late 2-4 am as the disco crank up and all the parting and loud talk comes through the walls and windows. you are basically on the strip. next morning i made the decision i was going to rent the car and drive regardless of most of the advice i read saying “nooooo!”. i took a taxi back to alamo car rental outside the airport. they had the best deal at the time. rented a sentra for $130 us for 5 days. they put about a $600 hold on your credit card. i guess they expect damage when you return the car. if you rent a car mark every scratch on the pre inspection. i picked up car and turned to a raving maniac behind the wheel. i just blended in that is all. you have to be aggressive , make your own lanes, leave the road rage in the hotel, get use to blowing your horn and having everyone blow at you. you need to buy a very detailed map. what you get from the rental company will get you lost leaving the rental gate. envision driving in nyc and multiply that by 5 and you have dr driving. i drove into santo domingo and road around and returned to the hotel in the afternoon. parked the car for the evening and hit the street. another of the hose chicas gave me a sob story about a fellow tourist that married her and never sent for her. i listened but wondered why me? when i made no eventual offer, she disappeared never to speak again. tourist and chicas walk the street all night and sit at the little discos and bars. again i did not make any attempts to score. i know, i am a little slow. next day i drove to punta cana just sight seeing. the highway was good until it went through each little city and then turned to 2 lanes. no pass lines in the highway mean nothing. you will soon learn and they will mean nothing to you either. found nothing in punta cana but private resorts. made the 3 hour return trip to the hotel. now i am ready for action after driving all day. i will not go into detail, but lets say i scored walking the beach at sundown. europa allows guest with the chicas cedulla (id).
the beach is a lagoon, do not expect to see a wave. most of the beach is on about 10 yards wide except at the ends. no one ever mentioned that. the little bars and restaurants are right on you and the 10 yard wide beach. after my score i walked the strip, not looking for anything new. the one i had was possessed. i was like a dead man walking. went back to hotel for sleep but again the damm partying noise 3am. next morning i was off to puerta plata. do not let your gas tank get below half a tank. there are not gas stations on every block here, especially outside the towns and cities. pretty nice highway most of the way. it also turns into 2 lane and goes through the little cities and santiago. i loved the sites and the huge mountains. motoconchos are everywhere with families, babies, you name it. they do as they please on all roads. buses and trucks as well. expect to be forced to stop or run off the road by either a bus or truck. just blow and keep going. got to puerta plata in 3 hours, and went to the beach in sousa. this is a real beach with strong waves and undercurrents. people were getting hurt left and right, and the waves were strip in both men and woman of their suits. it was great. many pretty chicas, young and not so young. stayed and played in the water for a couple of hours and noticed the time. i had to get on the road back to boca chica. you do not want to drive at night if you can help it. i made a big mistake. i wanted to dive back a different way through the mountains. beautiful nature drive throught the mountain villages. there are so many beautiful woman in these little villages. forget it unless you are fluent in spanish. their little shanty homes are 5 feet from the 2 lane road. their back door is a cliff. almost all the people in the villages just set out and watch and wave at the cars going by. there is no electricity up here.. well the highway turned into a dirt road and the connecting highways , also dirt roads not being marked turned into disaster. the sun went down and it got dark, and i said many prayers. it was so dark and these people are like owls in the blackness. the motorconchoes with no lights with families on them, kids playing , people walking and talking in total blackness. you look at the sky and you see every star and solar system every discovered and some that are not. your headlights disappear into total blackness after about 10 feet in front of the car. you can only drive a 20-30mph because you can’t see. well after 8 hours driving on what should have been a 3.5 hour return drive i got back to boca chica. now you know why you keep the tank close to full. the car had 3 inches of dirt and mud on it. needless to say i needed company. another score and happy to go to sleep. needless to say, no partying wok me up this night. fast forward to my last day. i scraped the mud off and returned the rental car. i used 3 tanks of gas at about $2000 dr pesos total gas. no new damage. the reps appeared surprised, especially since i had put about 1500 miles on the car. took a taxi from airport back to hotel $22 usd. my last night was going to be special somehow. i found 2 pretty chicas, figured out how to say what i wanted , gave the 2000 dr peso and was in hog heaven. i had to tell these woman , enough! uncle!, uncle, uncle!. i loved it! had to get up at 4 am for a 6:30 am flight. the dominicans were just ending their party. its this way every night. just a bit slower on sunday. well i get in the pre arranged taxi and head back to the airport. true enough they did not ask for the tourist card. i was told 5 days was not enough time to require a tourist card even though you still buy one. well i have great memories and i will return. i am also taking spanish classes now. thanks to all the veterans and your input. i would not have gone to boca chica if not for your details and guidance. hope this is helpful to other newbies or rookies. if you have questions i might be able to answer. hope this is helpful. sorry no chica pictures, only in my mine. but believe me boca chica is not dead, it may not be what it use to be as the veterans say but it was plenty for me!
[b][u]editor's note[/u]:[/b] [blue]i certainly hope that the author or somebody else will post a link to this report in the reports of distinction thread.[/blue]