back fromcabarete...

malko · Apr 12, 2013

Ok, I had a post last week saying I wanted some time away from campo, to relax. Went to cabarete. Impressions.

1. It is cleaner than most places, but only where tourists are expected. if u walk down the beach a bit, lots of plastic and such.
2. Loads of guys trying to offer u a taxi/motoconcho/restaurant/bar/excursions/hotel/girls/cheap jewlery..... and such. I just hate that kind of attitude. It p***** me off.
3. Everything is expensive.... 40/50 pesos coffee(that taste like damp socks by the way, have they never heard of la greca...). seaside restaurants are expansive for thequality they serve. Ok so they have a nice layout, they are clean, but a filet of fish for 600 pesos, come on guys....I setteled for kahuluna which was kind of ok, and the girls serving were nice(dont get me wrong I was with my wife).Sorry frank wanted to try irish pub but waitress jumped on us(happy hour,happy hour) and when my wife asked if she had frito verde she answered something like "this is cabarete", so that was the end of that.
In the end we took carro publico(20 pesos) tooa small place futher along the main road for lunch everyday. Choice of chicken, pork, beef, rice, with rice/platano, and abichuela and salad, 2 cold drinks 300 pesos. The food was much better and like a third oftheprice(dominican food).

4. A big nono is if I walk into shop or restaurant and speak spanish(ok Im not that fluent but I get around, and my wife iswhite dominican, but even so) and they answer in broken english, its a bad start for ure buisness....

5. There is not many in between price range hotels. Either luxury expensive, or cheap and not so good.

6. I was shockedby the type of tourist, loud mouthed, ill mannered, I m the king of theworld cos I come from the us (or other) type. Lots of single touristmale and female. And sorry if I dont make friends, but the local expats are not embassadors for their respective countrys( if u see what I mean).

Any way very happy to be back in my campo. If we want tourism to blossom on the north coast, I think these are some of the issues we need to tackle, in orderto have a higher quality of tourists.

dv8 · Apr 12, 2013

i went to cabarete with a visitor, few days ago.
1. yes, it is quite clean. my guest thinks that the whole of north coast is very tidy and neat, in comparison to SD that she described as the dirtiest city in latin america (she traveled around).
2. yes, plenty of sellers. we said a polite no time and again. yes, it is kinda upsetting but i understand these folks make a living of that so we were forgiving.
3. yes, expensive. but i understand why. so we had a drink in jose o'shays because we wanted to see frank, a local celebrity and a charmer too

and because he was so charming and we talked for hours we missed a chance to eat anything (i do not like to drive at nigh and we had to go home) but we bought some sweets in the belgian bakery. two fancy croissants, two cakes and a baguette were 200 pesos in total. a good price, i think.
4. i dunno, we spoke spanish to the workers in businesses visited and they responded in spanish...
5. can't say, did not stay in a hotel.
6. the tourists we saw were nice and quiet but it was a middle of the day.

Richard Alberto · Apr 12, 2013

"we need to tackle....for higher quality tourist" huh?

malko · Apr 12, 2013

well we as in dominicans and others that think tourism is a good thing for the dr..... but there again I could just sit around all day and cuss out dominicans, and whistle the girls....

Bronxboy · Apr 12, 2013

malko said:
and whistle the girls....

rogerjac · Apr 12, 2013

malko said:
well we as in dominicans and others that think tourism is a good thing for the dr..... but there again I could just sit around all day and cuss out dominicans, and whistle the girls....

that sounds like its easier and more fun anyway

william webster · Apr 12, 2013

Its been posted here before but the 'chic' place is east of Cabarete - Camianeta or something

Zero atmosphere, excellent food...... priced right too..

frank12 · Apr 12, 2013

Malko,

I'm going to play Devils advocate for second. First, because i'm a Devil, so i'm good at it; and secondly because i like you.

1.) If you were in O'shay's and i missed you, i'm sorry about that. If our waitresses did not understand what "Frito Verde" is, I apologize, Neither do i. What exactly is "Frito Verde?" Next time you come, ask for me and i'll try and find some.

2.) If our waitresses were singing out "Happy Hour!" "Happy Hour!" are you sure you were at O'Shays???? We seldom advertise Happy hour, nor have i ever heard the wait staff push it. They're usually too busy fixing their hair and talking about last night's Novellas (Soap Operas.) In 5 years at O'Shay's, i have never heard any waitstaff push Happy Hour on anyone, despite the fact that it would make the management and owner very, very happy to hear them do so. Oh well, it could have been a fluke. Maybe she had a fever? I don't know. I'll buy you a beer next time and exhaust you with long stories of the waitstaff venereal diseases.

3.) Prices are expensive in Cabarete along the beach. That's a fact. You have any idea what rent is like on the beach compared to across the street or outside of town? you have any idea about the costs of running a business is on the beach? Are you familiar with electricity bills in this country? Staff salaries, Over-head costs, insurance for 28 employees, etc. Just our electricity bill alone is nearly $3000 U.S dollars a month. A month! Yes, you heard right. Naturally, across the street or or outside of town where there are only four employees and two coolers as their over-head costs, well, things are much, much cheaper. I talk about this in detail in my book "The Sex Lives of Misfits." You can learn a lot about costs and running a business from my book.

4. My family is from Bonao. A coffee in Bonao costs $30 pesos. But there is very little over-head in Bonao. Rent is dirt, dirt cheap, and most businesses are not open from 8am to 2am (18 hours) and require to sets of waitstaff (Morning & evening), kitchen staff, and management to work two separate shifts.

5. Many Dominicans try and practice their English skills if they get the chance on people if they detect that one is not fluent in Spanish. They even do it with me--it drives me crazy! But, put yourself in their shoes for a second. They seldom get any opportunity to try and speak what little English they know, so they try it whenever they get the chance to show to you that they are smart. Everyone wants to be respected and thought of as intelligent, despite any evidence to the contrary. It's worked for me for many years. Why stop now. Some people think i speak Russian, Swedish, Danish, and English despite the fact that i only know a few sayings and phrases in each language. Oh well, it's gotten me laid a few times, so i'm not giving up my gimmick anytime soon.

6. The beach sellers are constantly trying to sell people their cheap plastic junk. That's their gimmick. They drive me crazy and i've had my share of head-butts with them. they all know me. I do not like them, and they do not like me. We've come to an understanding. But i very seldom lose my cool around them...first, because they all have families and mouths to feed. Every one of them have children. If they do not bring home money from a sale, then guess what? No one will be eating that day. They depend on their sales because there is no Social system to fall back on in this crazy country. Every time is see them with their small children following close behind them in the supermarket, i think...there for but the grace of someone, go I. I feel very fortunate to not have to hustle 8 - 10 hours a day in the hot scorching sun trying to feed my family.

In conclusion. come back in, let me buy you a beer, and we can talk about the Campo. I grew up in one in Bonao in the 60's & 70's, and still have fond memories of it. yes, I'm a camposino and proud of it!

Love Frank

frank12 · Apr 12, 2013

dv8 said:
i went to cabarete with a visitor, few days ago.
1. yes, it is quite clean. my guest thinks that the whole of north coast is very tidy and neat, in comparison to SD that she described as the dirtiest city in latin america (she traveled around).
2. yes, plenty of sellers. we said a polite no time and again. yes, it is kinda upsetting but i understand these folks make a living of that so we were forgiving.
3. yes, expensive. but i understand why. so we had a drink in jose o'shays because we wanted to see frank, a local celebrity and a charmer too and because he was so charming and we talked for hours we missed a chance to eat anything (i do not like to drive at nigh and we had to go home) but we bought some sweets in the belgian bakery. two fancy croissants, two cakes and a baguette were 200 pesos in total. a good price, i think.
4. i dunno, we spoke spanish to the workers in businesses visited and they responded in spanish...
5. can't say, did not stay in a hotel.
6. the tourists we saw were nice and quiet but it was a middle of the day.

I had the pleasure of meeting two of the most beautiful, well-endowed, drop-dead-gorgeous Polish females i have ever seen.They came into O'Shay's this week and handed me the most important drug ever invented: Chocolate. Yes, i am a confirmed chocoholic. No apologies. If you brought to me the most expensive single malt scotch, bourbon, cognac, or champagne and asked me which one i wanted alongside some dark chocolate...i would pick the dark chocolate every time.

The quickest way into either my heart or pants is with dark chocolate. So when these two beautiful Polish girls came in, boobs out, resting their melons on the Formica beach tables--staring directly at me--and then flashed some dark chocolate in my face, i was smitten. Is their any greater stimulation in this world then a nice set of tits, paired with some really good chocolate? I think not.

For those of you that are not in the loop of things, DV8 and her blond Polish friend, are stunning. Yes, stunning! If i didn't already have my hands full with my redhead and her propensity to flash every shoe-shine boy and farm animal her burning red bush at the bar, i would have done my best to get these two Polish girls drunk and take them home with me. There, I would have invited them to wrestle me naked in my tub filled with dark chocolate.

For those unfamiliar with Polish orgies, let me fill you in. I worked on a ship--"SS Blackwatch"--that went to Gdynia and Gdansk every fortnight. I was there every two weeks and indulged in fabulous levels of hedonism. I really like Poland and Polish girls and now that we've been inundated with Polish workers in Norway since they joined the EU in 2004, i only have to travel as far as the nearest bar that serves Vodka to meet up with them and take them home. Polish girls are Hot! But they're also smart, so you got to know how to play your cards right. Amateurs need not apply.

Don't try this at home kids.

Love Frank

flyinroom · Apr 12, 2013

The Poles are famous for their "perorgies".
haha.:classic:

malko · Apr 12, 2013

thanks frank. I was just suprised by the beach front at cabarete. I do understand th3 operation cost of a buisness like that, and the prices that go with it, Im cool with that. It was wedensday night around 7 or 8, and my wife was in desperate need of fried platanos( we call them her frito verde) and that was the reason we didnt eat at the irish pub.( I wanted to but what my wife wants my wife usally gets!!!!)
Of course Im not a typical tourist( here in dr and elswher alike), I just had the feeling cabarete is trying to be like a home away from home...

The beach vendors were actually more polite than elswhere, it was more on the streets, taxis, shops, restaurants and such that try to get ure attention. I personally dont have any problems( no gracias or amigo soy del campo, or no me dice gets me a smile and a wave), I was just imaging my self as a tourist here for a short stay, and could have a bad image of dr if I only experienced that.

malko · Apr 12, 2013

Oops wrong button,
Its just as "guest" in the dr, I would like a diffrent kind of tourism for the country. If I believe my parents that kind of beach/drink/eat tourism is coming to an end. I would also like the people here to have a better image of us(europe and us), and cabarete sort of opened my eyes on why lots of dominicans despeise us( well its a bit strong worded but u get the idea). Here in the campo people used to be surprised that I sat down and spoke with them, eat the same stuff as them, would be polite to them, ect.....and they gradually opended up to me.
Dont get me wrong I know its not only cabarete and nof only in the dr, It just got me thinking after reading the thread on chinese tourism, and my point of view is a diffrent kind of tourism might seem more appealing to people in the next decade.

And yes I say "we" because I hope soon to be citzen here and hope we can all work togother for a better dr.
sincerly malko.

drstock · Apr 12, 2013

malko said:
Ok, I had a post last week saying I wanted some time away from campo, to relax. Went to cabarete. Impressions.

1. It is cleaner than most places, but only where tourists are expected. if u walk down the beach a bit, lots of plastic and such.
2. Loads of guys trying to offer u a taxi/motoconcho/restaurant/bar/excursions/hotel/girls/cheap jewlery..... and such. I just hate that kind of attitude. It p***** me off.
3. Everything is expensive.... 40/50 pesos coffee(that taste like damp socks by the way, have they never heard of la greca...). seaside restaurants are expansive for thequality they serve. Ok so they have a nice layout, they are clean, but a filet of fish for 600 pesos, come on guys....I setteled for kahuluna which was kind of ok, and the girls serving were nice(dont get me wrong I was with my wife).Sorry frank wanted to try irish pub but waitress jumped on us(happy hour,happy hour) and when my wife asked if she had frito verde she answered something like "this is cabarete", so that was the end of that.
In the end we took carro publico(20 pesos) tooa small place futher along the main road for lunch everyday. Choice of chicken, pork, beef, rice, with rice/platano, and abichuela and salad, 2 cold drinks 300 pesos. The food was much better and like a third oftheprice(dominican food).

4. A big nono is if I walk into shop or restaurant and speak spanish(ok Im not that fluent but I get around, and my wife iswhite dominican, but even so) and they answer in broken english, its a bad start for ure buisness....

5. There is not many in between price range hotels. Either luxury expensive, or cheap and not so good.

6. I was shockedby the type of tourist, loud mouthed, ill mannered, I m the king of theworld cos I come from the us (or other) type. Lots of single touristmale and female. And sorry if I dont make friends, but the local expats are not embassadors for their respective countrys( if u see what I mean).

Any way very happy to be back in my campo. If we want tourism to blossom on the north coast, I think these are some of the issues we need to tackle, in orderto have a higher quality of tourists.

1. Agree that it's relatively clean, except late on Sundays, when the majority on the beach are Dominicans who just dump all their garbage direct onto the sand. I don't drop rubbish, but have to walk a long way before finding a bin, so that doesn't help.
2. Agreed, but as Frank12 says, they have to make a living!
3. Frank12 knows best about the overheads on the beach. I usually eat/drink on the main street as I live in town and can't afford the beach prices on a regular basis.
4. I think they are trying to be helpful, speaking English.
5. I don't know about that, but some of the cheaper places are pretty good.
6. Unfortunately, we can't control who comes to visit. Some of the tourists can be obnoxious, others charming. I guess that's a cross-section of the world's population!

malko · Apr 12, 2013

Oh thanks for reminding me about the bins ( or lack of them). Now thats one easy thing to implant.( I walked around with an empty plastic bottlefull of cigarette butts looking for a bin--------ended going back to the hotel with it)

chrisdr · Apr 12, 2013

I actually quite like how Cabarete is a 'home away from home' as described... No where else on the island like it and it is good for tourism. I get asked a lot to recommend place to go in the DR, kind of goes along this line of thinking...

Punta Cana - If you want to stay in an all inclusive and not leave.
Cabarete - If you want a party holiday - kind of reminds me of Thailand with the beach bars
Las Terrenas - A much more mellow version of Cabarete
Samana - waterfalls, whale watching...
Santo Domingo - Historical interests, nightlife and because its AWESOME (OK slightly bias as I live here)
Jarabacoa - Eco tourism, adventure holidays
Santiago - not quite sure of this one yet...

and Frank - did you actually write a book? If so I will be up in a couple of weeks, have a copy ready

Eddy · Apr 12, 2013

frank12 said:
Malko,

I'm going to play Devils advocate for second. First, because i'm a Devil, so i'm good at it; and secondly because i like you.

1.) If you were in O'shay's and i missed you, i'm sorry about that. If our waitresses did not understand what "Frito Verde" is, I apologize, Neither do i. What exactly is "Frito Verde?" Next time you come, ask for me and i'll try and find some.

2.) If our waitresses were singing out "Happy Hour!" "Happy Hour!" are you sure you were at O'Shays???? We seldom advertise Happy hour, nor have i ever heard the wait staff push it. They're usually too busy fixing their hair and talking about last night's Novellas (Soap Operas.) In 5 years at O'Shay's, i have never heard any waitstaff push Happy Hour on anyone, despite the fact that it would make the management and owner very, very happy to hear them do so. Oh well, it could have been a fluke. Maybe she had a fever? I don't know. I'll buy you a beer next time and exhaust you with long stories of the waitstaff venereal diseases.

3.) Prices are expensive in Cabarete along the beach. That's a fact. You have any idea what rent is like on the beach compared to across the street or outside of town? you have any idea about the costs of running a business is on the beach? Are you familiar with electricity bills in this country? Staff salaries, Over-head costs, insurance for 28 employees, etc. Just our electricity bill alone is nearly $3000 U.S dollars a month. A month! Yes, you heard right. Naturally, across the street or or outside of town where there are only four employees and two coolers as their over-head costs, well, things are much, much cheaper. I talk about this in detail in my book "The Sex Lives of Misfits." You can learn a lot about costs and running a business from my book.

4. My family is from Bonao. A coffee in Bonao costs $30 pesos. But there is very little over-head in Bonao. Rent is dirt, dirt cheap, and most businesses are not open from 8am to 2am (18 hours) and require to sets of waitstaff (Morning & evening), kitchen staff, and management to work two separate shifts.

5. Many Dominicans try and practice their English skills if they get the chance on people if they detect that one is not fluent in Spanish. They even do it with me--it drives me crazy! But, put yourself in their shoes for a second. They seldom get any opportunity to try and speak what little English they know, so they try it whenever they get the chance to show to you that they are smart. Everyone wants to be respected and thought of as intelligent, despite any evidence to the contrary. It's worked for me for many years. Why stop now. Some people think i speak Russian, Swedish, Danish, and English despite the fact that i only know a few sayings and phrases in each language. Oh well, it's gotten me laid a few times, so i'm not giving up my gimmick anytime soon.

6. The beach sellers are constantly trying to sell people their cheap plastic junk. That's their gimmick. They drive me crazy and i've had my share of head-butts with them. they all know me. I do not like them, and they do not like me. We've come to an understanding. But i very seldom lose my cool around them...first, because they all have families and mouths to feed. Every one of them have children. If they do not bring home money from a sale, then guess what? No one will be eating that day. They depend on their sales because there is no Social system to fall back on in this crazy country. Every time is see them with their small children following close behind them in the supermarket, i think...there for but the grace of someone, go I. I feel very fortunate to not have to hustle 8 - 10 hours a day in the hot scorching sun trying to feed my family.

In conclusion. come back in, let me buy you a beer, and we can talk about the Campo. I grew up in one in Bonao in the 60's & 70's, and still have fond memories of it. yes, I'm a camposino and proud of it!

Love Frank

Holy sh*t I must be drunk. I agree with Frank 100%

Vinyasa · Apr 12, 2013

Holy sh@t again...me too

And though i dont always get Frank's 'humour', this:
"I'll buy you a beer next time and exhaust you with long stories of the waitstaff venereal diseases."
did make me nearly spurt out a mouthful of Bohemia

frank12 · Apr 12, 2013

Vinyasa said:
Holy sh@t again...me too

And though i dont always get Frank's 'humour', this:
"I'll buy you a beer next time and exhaust you with long stories of the waitstaff venereal diseases."
did make me nearly spurt out a mouthful of Bohemia

Maybe you should read my book; "The Sex Lives of Misfits." If you live in Cabarete, then you'll recognize quite a few people in the book. All of them live here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/303583

Frank

dv8 · Apr 12, 2013

Vinyasa said:
"I'll buy you a beer next time and exhaust you with long stories of the waitstaff venereal diseases."

when we met frank he did not mention STDs. but he talked in length about his penis. sadly, no visual aid. my friend was disappointed.

Castellamonte · Apr 12, 2013

Okay, everyone, here is the rundown on Cabrera...just a bit down the coast from Cabarete.

1. It is much cleaner than Cabarete by orders of magnitude.

2. There is no one on the street offering to sell you crap. The beaches are very well organized by the locals so even on the beaches the offerings are organized and a "no" sends them away quickly. Note: Cabrera itself is not on a beach...which I view as a good thing...but we have over a half dozen beaches within 10 minutes drive.

3. Not very much is expensive that doesn't have Edenorte stamped on it someplace. Beer is cheap, coffee is cheaper and you can even get a nice breakfast of coffee, pancakes and real bacon in town for about RD$80.

4. A surprising number of Dominicans here speak English and they all speak Spanish! They don't mind whatever language you use because they are just happy to see you.

5. There is one decent "foreign" hotel and a dozen "Dominican" hotels. All nice. Priced right for what you are getting.

6. The non-Dominicans who live here are "resident tourists" as opposed to "transient tourists". The difference is staggering. Everyone is very chilled out, living the life and enjoying every minute of it. Don't get me wrong, we do have that "Peyton Place" effect of any small town, but generally speaking you never encounter the loud-mouthed, trash-talking, ugly tourist you do in some other places.

Come visit sometime and I'll buy you a Presidente at Manny's on the malecon. THIS is truly paradise (only about 1 hour from Cabarete, 1.5 hours from Las Terrenas, 2 hours from Santo Domingo and lightyears away from the 'normal' tourists)!!

back fromcabarete...

Campesino !! :)

Gold

Bronze

Campesino !! :)

Well-known member

Bronze

Platinum

Gold

Gold

Silver

Campesino !! :)

Campesino !! :)

Silver

Campesino !! :)

Member

Silver

Bronze

Gold

Gold

Bronze