Sosua Reports

[QUOTE=Quackup; 1303056]After reading all the great reports, including the ones about the scam. Something to be aware of. I'am planning a trip to the D. R. For sometime in 2013. I plan on staying at either bb or fod for three nights, then over to Sosua for either four or five nights. My question is, does anyone know how much a taxi would be from either bb or fod to Sosua? I will have a suitcase so I think I will need a taxi unless there is another form of transportation availiable.

Thanks in advance,

Q[/QUOTE]One way private taxi from BB to Sosua 1200 pesos?

One way private taxi from FoD to Sosua 700 pesos?

Help me out with your recent experiences please guys, because I am just guessing.

FoD to Sosua by publico (shared taxi) 45 pesos plus 25 peso tip to put your case in the trunk. But you would have to lug it up the drive at FoD (100 yards) and hire a couple of motoconchos (50 pesos each) at the Sosua end. I would trust a Pto Pta motoconchista with my suitcase but maybe not a Sosua one. If a smallish case one moto would do.

Another problem is, because FoD is not far along the route from the start, not many passengers will have got out by FoD, so you might be standing there for up to 15 minutes watching twenty publicos flash past full before one stops. Or you could get lucky with the first one. If it is blazing hot or raining you might prefer a private taxi door to door.

Thanks Frannie and Charles. This gives me an idea of what to expect. My luggage will be bigger than a carry on. I won't know until December of my vacation weeks. I'am hopeful to go around the end of March or beginning of April. Will report back. Thanks again. Q

[QUOTE=Coalburner69; 1302639]Stating the obvious, this clearly wasn't her 'debut' at this sort of thing.

Apparently, this girl and her accomplices liked their odds at Terra Linda based on history.

Stay at the Europa. Wouldn't pass the laugh test over there.[/QUOTE]Yea it isn't the first incident at Terra Linda where a dude got in deep shit, fuck John and his hotel.

[QUOTE=Rick Rock;1302803]You're talking about a country where countless people are disappeared every year.[/QUOTE]That's interesting. Do you have any links to stories about mass disappearances in the DR? I can't find much in a English language news search, but there might be something in Spanish. One Canadian guy who went missing turned up later and claimed he had been kidnapped and drugged. Of course people have been disappearing since Jesus, and forget about Jimmy Hoffa, because in the US over 2000 children go missing each day.

[url]http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PageServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=2816[/url]

Interestingly-while on the subject of crime in the DR- I was talking to a Dominican American guy yesterday who had done time in prison both in New York and in the DR, who said prison was much worse in the US.

[QUOTE=Frannie;1303174]Interestingly-while on the subject of crime in the DR- I was talking to a Dominican American guy yesterday who had done time in prison both in New York and in the DR, who said prison was much worse in the US.[/QUOTE]That's hard to believe.

Has there any similar incidents at the NG that anyone is aware off?

[QUOTE=Frannie;1303174]One Canadian guy who went missing turned up later and claimed he had been kidnapped and drugged.[/QUOTE]If I recall, this turned out to be a poorly orchestrated hoax to weasel out of a bad business deal with a few other slippery expats. I concur, actual kidnappings in DR are pretty rare.

Sounds to me like this is a fairly isolated incident. Although I am sure not unique. I think if this was a common occurrence, we would be hearing these stories much more often. I am not saying on does not need to be careful. On the contrary, while mongering one should always be on the lookout. Have to remember that as a monger one exposes himself to shady characters and potentially risky situations in more that one respect. This goes for mongering anywhere in the world. Someone mentioned that mongers in the DR are guilty until proven innocent. I find this a little far-fetched. If it was the case, every puta would be returning to the hotel in the morning with a lynch mob and a portable gallows. But the DR is a corrupt country and I am sure incidents happen to tourists every now and then. Whether monger or not.

[QUOTE=Manizales911;1303176]That's hard to believe.[/QUOTE]Why is it hard to believe that prison in the US is worse than in the DR? I have no reason to disbelieve him, but of course it is all a matter of person opinion. I have spent a few years in US prisons (as an employee, not as an inmate) and I can't imagine how life could be much worse. Then again, I have not been in a DR prison, not even to visit. He said there was much less violence in the DR.

[QUOTE=Buscemi;1303178]If I recall, this turned out to be a poorly orchestrated hoax to weasel out of a bad business deal with a few other slippery expats. I concur, actual kidnappings in DR are pretty rare.[/QUOTE]I have no real opinion as to whether they are rare or common. Just seeking more information.

[QUOTE=Manizales911;1303176]That's hard to believe.[/QUOTE]Because corruption in the Dominican prison system allows you certain amenities. There was a big shot killed a few years back that had home cooked meals delivered to his cell along with two seventeen year old girls for sex.

[quote]I have spent a few years in US prisons (as an employee, not as an inmate) and I can't imagine how life could be much worse.[/quote]Granted the USA takes its usual place as the worst in the "civilized"/"advanced" world in prison along with every other social measure. But let's not pretend that USA prisons, savage, backward and terrible as they are, are worse than what exists in the DR.

Don't take my word for it.

[url]http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15322-2005Mar7.html[/url]

[url]http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/woman-tells-of-fourmonth-prison-ordeal-in-dominican-republic-6167413.html[/url]

"Poor prisoners are called "ranas" or frogs. They sleep on the floor with mice and vermin around them. They have no private rooms or baths and they must use latrine-type holes in the jail patio and openly evacuate. These prisoners all shower together and fight for the last drop of water, while the goleta owners enjoy private baths. Every morning at about 9am there is a "conteo" or prisoner count where they are asked to walk out of the cells into the hallway to be counted."Special" prisoners, those who have clout or money, can remain in bed and be counted by the "llavero." Some prisoners even have their own keys to their cell. These prisoners can walk around the hallway after curfew with their own keys and do favors for other prisoners, like passing cell phones for rent and buy food."

- From Dr1

[quote]That's interesting. Do you have any links to stories about mass disappearances in the DR?[/quote][url]Http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/countries/americas/dominican-republic[/url]

Some highlights:

"According to figures from the General Prosecutor's Office. 298 people were killed by the police between January and August, an increase of 72 per cent over the same period in 2007. There were concerns that a number of these fatal shootings may have been unlawful. In October the Dominican Interior and Police Minister described the levels of fatal police shootings as "alarming" and called for corrupt officers to be expelled from the force and for improved police training. With no independent body to investigate allegations of abuse by members of the security forces, impunity remained the norm."

"Media workers were harassed and intimidated. In October the Dominican National Union of Press Workers announced that between January and September. 32 journalists had been physically attacked or threatened and that 21 others had been subjected to spurious judicial proceedings because of their work."

[url]http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/wha/154503.htm[/url]

More highlights:

"Serious human rights problems included unlawful killings; beatings and other abuse of suspects, detainees, and prisoners; fair to harsh prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention of suspects; a large number of functionally stateless persons; widespread corruption; harassment of certain human rights groups; violence and discrimination against women; child prostitution and other abuses of children; trafficking in persons; severe discrimination against Haitian migrants and their descendants; violence and discrimination against persons based on sexual orientation; ineffective enforcement of labor laws; and child labor."

"According to National Police statistics, police killed 268 persons in 32 jurisdictions in the course of duty from January to December, a decrease from 346 police killings reported in 2009 by the Attorney General's Office. However, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) , a nongovernmental organization (NGO) , reported 478 police killings, although the methodology used to arrive at this figure was unclear. Lack of training, accountability, and inadequate supervision by superiors contributed to these police killings. Human rights NGOs asserted that, as in previous years, the police continued to employ unwarranted deadly force against criminal suspects. The National Police regularly justified the use of deadly force by claiming that the deaths occurred during an "exchange of gunfire." This often did appear to be the case"

"In response to a December 2009 request from the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, the Public Ministry continued the investigation into the case of journalist Narciso Gonzalez, who disappeared in 1994 after allegedly criticizing the government. The investigation remained open at year's end."

"Although the law prohibits torture, beating, and physical abuse of detainees and prisoners, members of the security forces, primarily police, continued such practices. The Attorney General's Office reported that the police were involved in incidents that resulted in maiming or severely injuring unarmed civilians."

"According to the Directorate of Prisons, there were 20, 609 prisoners and detainees, of which 552 were female, held in 40 prisons, with an intended capacity of 11, 055. Virtually all prisons, other than the CRCs, experienced extreme overcrowding. La Victoria prison, the largest in the country, held 5, 309 prisoners in a facility designed for 2, 000. Air circulation was a problem, and the danger of a fire outbreak was high. Most inmates in conventional prisons begged for or purchased food from persons in the vicinity of the prison or obtained it from family members. Prisoners were often not taken to their trials unless they paid bribes to the guards, and visitors often had to bribe prison guards in order to visit prisoners"

[url]http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2010/10/27/37434/Amnesty-International-probes-strange-disappearance-in-Dominican-Republic[/url]

"SANTO DOMINGO- One year on, Juan Almonte Herrera's fate continues to be unknown, for which Amnesty International (AI) has been in contact with local authorities urging a probe into what it calls a 'possible enforced disappearance in the Dominican Republic."

"Almonte has not been seen since 28 September 2009, when he was reportedly abducted by four men identified by eyewitness as police officers. Since he went missing his family and lawyers have reported being followed and watched by Police officers. He may have been subjected to enforced disappearance."

If you become friends with some Dominicans, you will hear about a lot of "fun stuff" like this. It's been going on since Trujillo.

[QUOTE=Frannie; 1303174]because in the US over 2000 children go missing each day.

[url]http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PageServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=2816[/url][/QUOTE]David Cameron, Prime Minister of Britain and leader of the Conservative party, forgot his 8 year old daughter in a pub and didn't realize she was missing until he got home [url]http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/jun/11/david-cameron-daughter-behind-pub[/url] Supposedly Mr. Cameron likes to "chillax".

[QUOTE=Frannie;1303188]Why is it hard to believe that prison in the US is worse than in the DR? I have no reason to disbelieve him, but of course it is all a matter of person opinion. I have spent a few years in US prisons (as an employee, not as an inmate) and I can't imagine how life could be much worse. Then again, I have not been in a DR prison, not even to visit. He said there was much less violence in the DR.[/QUOTE]That's the biggest bunch of bullshit I have heard coming out of your mouth in a while. Why don't you March your ass down to the Puerto Plata Jail and get a picture, I have a 200 dollar reward for anyone with the balls, I got no takers in the last 2 years.