11/26-12/2

beano

New member
Oct 29, 2003
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We just returned on the 2nd from another great trip to the DR. The flight into SDQ from Philly was smoothe, although the seats and snacks on US Air leave a little to be desired. We travelled with carry-on bags only to make the arrival smoothe. Greeted with an exceptionally strong cuba libra in the airport, and then with a 42:1 exchange rate. Then it was a $15US taxi ride to Boca Chica, where we stayed at Hotel Europa. This is probably the worst part of the entire trip. I figured I would splurge a bit, $65 a night for the "ocean-view room". This room overlooked a street, and a large rundown building. But, if you looked real hard, you could see the bay. I was also a little upset with the new "taxes" that weren't advertised on the website, or mentioned in emails with the manager. There was a 10% tax, and an additional 12% tax. I just shook my head when he really couldn't tell me what the tax was for. Oh well, no use in starting off a vacation that way. We did have hot water, and 2 towels, courtesy of Dade County Schools. That night we went out and had a few beers, and had chicken, beans and rice at a little Chinese/Domincan joint. I did make the mistake of buying one shoeshine boy a plate of food, as at least 5 more suddenly appeared. I didn't know the spanish word for "share", so I only had one piece of chicken. We laughed. There were a bit too many ladies of the evening out for my taste, but besides a few hissing noises, they left us alone. The next day we took a gua-gua to the Capital, and then a 70 peso ride to Caribe station. Another 320 pesos, and we were both on our way to Sosua. Fifty pesos later, we were at Bahia de Arena, where I have stayed several times before. The weather was beautiful. We had an uneventful stay for 4 nights, with a motorcycle trip to Playa Grande. There we had grilled parrot fish and chicken. Cabarete has changed quite a bit since my last visit. Jose O'sheas seems to be the "it" place, along with Lax. Onno's was closed for rennovation, as were several other places on the beach. Sandro's cafe was still the best tipico food, and Mama's. Pizza at Pomodoro was good, as was the grilled chicken between Bahia de Arena and Cabarete. Then it was back to Santo Domingo, with one night at Hotel Metur, in the Zona Colonial. Nice owner, Kurt, but the room left a little to be desired. We were given 1 towel, no toilet paper, and the shower ran all night, but for $25US, and walking distance to the Colonial Zone and the Malecon, I didn't have the heart to complain. This was the most time I have spent in SDO. I was amazed at how dirty the Malecon truly was. All of the trash washing into the little inlets was saddening. But, I guess with no potable water from the tap, and people become dependant on everything in plastic bottles. All in all, a great trip, nice and beautiful people. Looks like we made it just in time with the exchange rate.