Santo Domingo and Sosua Trip (Dec 13-23)
I prefer bullet points, so as opposed to writing a story, I'll just provide the highlights.
Punta Cana.
So I spend my first few nights (Dec 13-16th) in Punta Cana at the Cap Cana resort for a wedding. No report from there, but I will say that they place is pretty nice (although expensive) if you're ever thinking about getting away for a bit. Occupancy was only 20% out there as well and the locals seemed to really be hurting from the lack of tourism. Cab from airport was $25 USD and a nice 4 star 2 bd suite was $150.
Santo Domingo.
On Sunday the 16th I took an Expreso bus from Punta Cana to Santo Domingo. Cost was 400 pesos I believe. Nice ride and only a couple side of the road stops. 4hrs total. Final stop was in the Zona Colonial and I then took a taxi (250 peso fixed rate) to my hotel, the Palacio. The Palacio is nice, safe, and conveniently located. Cheapest rooms were $75, but after tourist fees it adds up to $105, minimum. Walked around a bit that night and sent some PMs to guys on the board. Saw a few SWs on the Calle Conde, but that's not really my style so passed. Around 10pm I went to look for Playboys. Despite everyone saying it was open I was unable to locate it and it must be incredibly quiet or possibly closed on Sunday. From there I decided to go down towards Foxy's / Dolls. I went into Dolls and was immediately surrounded by 15-20 girls. A bit intimidating to say the least as I was the only one in the casa. Girls were mostly 6's and 7's with a couple 8's and one girl who was bordering on 9. Beers were 500 pesos so I passed on that and after some chatting (I speak basic Spanish) with a few of the girls I chose one of the 8's with a nice face and banging body. Cost was 3500 pesos for 1 hr in house or 2hrs out. I got them down to 3000 pesos, despite some intimidation by saying that I needed money for the cab and had only planned on 2500 pesos. Somehow it worked. Palacio was no problem bringing the girls back.
Monday I toured Santo Domingo as I had been hoping to see some of the historical sites. To be honest there was nothing really to see and it's not worth going for. I grabbed a couple beers with Mr Enternational in the afternoon and then cleaned up for the evening. That evening I wanted to watch the Monday Night Football game so I went to Champions Sports Bar in the Marriott Renaissance. It turned out to be an absolute waste of money as I was the only one in the entire bar and the prices were as high as the US (like $14 for a burger and fries). I stayed through the half and then did a pass through the casino to see if there was anything. There only appeared to be one cute 7 chica, but I passed and took a cab back to the Palacio as I wanted to catch a 7am bus to Sosua the next day. Overall I thought Santo Domingo had some very cute girls if you went to the casas, but didn't see much aside from that. I also got a feeling that the place wasn't very safe and I could get mugged. And I've travelled all over the world so this is saying something. Kind of like the feeling one gets in some parts of Rio just off the beach.
Santo Domingo to Sosua.
I got up early Tuesday, took a 300 peso taxi to the Caribe Tours station and bought a 330 peso ticket. Overall a pretty straight forward process. I had one piece of luggage that was stored underneath, but didn't up having any issues despite my apprehensions. It ended up being a very pretty ride once we got outside of SD. There were a couple very cute 8's on the bus and I flirted with one a bit. Unfortunately she got off after 1. 5 hrs and was replaced with an older woman LOL. The bus was a bit cold so be sure to wear long pants and shirt. The overall ride was 4. 5 hours with stops in La Vega, Santiago (actually some cuties right around the bus stop) , Puerta Plata, and finally Sosua (about 1km west of the main town). A taxi ride from the drop off to Rockies was then 250 pesos. Overall, if pressed I would say the bus is a decent option. Caribe Tours has 1 bus to Sosua every hour from 7am-5pm and Metro has buses at 7am. 11am, and 3pm as of this writing. I also understand that there are Metro buses that leave from closer to the Santo Domingo airport so can try that.
Sosua.
Mary Rose.
I was going to stay at Sosua Suites, but after talking with Rick switched to Mary Rose. I could not have been happier with my decision. It's a little ways away, but is only a cheap moto concho ride away and provided a quieter respite from the main calle. Was a nice place to chill and I think the girls really liked it.
Bars.
El Centro. Great bar. 3-1 girls to guys, but almost all Haitians and German men. Herman, the manager as well as the staff were great and very honest. Always returned change and I tipped them well.
D'Latin. Great most of the week and ranged from 3-1 to 8-1 ratios depending on the time of the night. Most girls I talked to were Dominican and from Santo Domingo or Santiago for a short time. Also some real lookers. The bartenders were a bit obnoxious and several times either over-charged me or wouldn't give me back change. I'the say all the girls I took (and others can confirm this) were 8's and prices ranged from 1500 pesos for 2 hrs to 3000 for all night (Colombian looking hottie at 3am)
Classicos – Opened up the end of the week, but wasn't too busy and appears to still have some work to do.
Passions – Good as always. Tue / Wed there were consistently 30 girls, with most in the 6-7 range and a couple 8s. Nothing too stunning in my book. Thur- Sat the girls were a little more attractive as I think some came in from the rest of the island for the weekend. There was a fairly big cut off at 10pm with girls being taken out so best to stop in around 9:30, see what's going on and then make your decision. The floor manager, Louis I think, also asked for a propina and for me to buy him a beer a couple times so be wary of him. The girls I took were all great performers and couple even made me eggs in the morning (ha). Eating huevos while having your huevos 'done' was quite nice.
CMP – Stepped in there and looked around on Wednesday around 11pm. One tall and light looking looker, almost a 9 in my book, but wanted 5000 pesos for 2 hrs. I later heard that the bar has given some ISG members trouble so avoided it the rest of the trip.
Other
Kite Boarding – I did 2 ½ days in Cabarete with 'Kite Club. ' It was a great experience and if you're interested in learning the ropes I would recommend them. The weather and wind this time of year is a bit inconsistent, but they charge by the hour so it was all very flexible. Also, most of the kiting runs from 12-6pm so you can sleep in a bit before it.
Restaurants – Recommend Movida and Ordichee. Both great spots, great food and staff, well worth the price.
Money Changer – The gentleman on Cedro Pisante, amongst the bars and just around the corner form Rocky's tried to short-change me twice. I also recall that he tried it last time I was here which was 2 years ago so watch your money. Both times it occurred when I gave him a $50 USD and he only gave me back 1800 pesos despite the exchange rate being 39:1 (should have been 1950 pesos). After I called him on it he paid up.
Chicas. I had one girl go to the cops saying that I owed her 2000 pesos for sex when I didn't touch her so watch out! Backstory. It was very late one night and I allowed her to charge her phone and wait inside my room (door open) for her friends as she lived in Puerta Plata and needed a ride. She was drunk and I felt sorry for her and trusted her. Next thing I know it's 20-30 mins later and she's asking for 2000 pesos! I said no-way! . Pushed her out and closed the door on her. Evidently she called the cops, but the security guard turned them away. The next night I was grabbed by the DR national guard on the main strip and taken to the police station. Thankfully the truth won out (her story of me fucking her kept changing) and they let me go, giving me hi fives and locking the chica up. That said, it could have been a lot worse and they could have asked for a bribe (which they didn't. So kudos to them). Watch your backs brothers!
Moto Conchos – During the day most rides were 25 pesos ($0.70USD) , but could be 50 pesos if they left from the beach or if it was raining. At night they were 50 pesos, but drivers tried to charge me 100 pesos a couple times from Passions. A ride to Cabarete was 200-250 pesos, but I suggest a taxi if you value your life!
Buenos Suerte.
Chicago
