The DR1 Adventure Begins!!

[MommC]

Finally! We've actually made it to Sosua after 13 yrs of wintering on the island!

Forgot to take the hotel address with us so we asked around. No-one seemed to know where the Victorian House was located however several asked us if it was at Sosua Bay Club. We weren't sure so we decided to go to Eddy's and ask there. Hmmmm.....good idea but where is Eddy's??
Rather than search the town (it was late afternoon-we were hot & thirsty) we took the easy approach and hired a "motoconcho" to be our guide. Two minutes later we were at Eddy's! Great place......
Eddy wasn't around (I had a delivery for him from HB) so we asked one of his "angels" where Victorian House was. She didn't know either but there were two British ex-pats sitting at the bar having a "brew" (Presidente) and they told us it was part of Sosua Bay Club and told us how to get there from Eddy's (down the street and around the bend!!).
Parked the car and started into the resort and the guard indicated we should go to the reception at Sosua Bay Club rather than reception at Victorian House (part of the same property) so we did!
I gave the front desk clerk my name and as she was looking it up a hostess arrived with a cold, damp, refreshing face cloth and a long ,tall glass of ice cold lemonade. What a welcoming gesture!!
Imagine our surprise to find that rather than just five nights accomodation at Victorian House (with maybe a few "perks" Rob had said) we found ourselves being checked in to the Sosua Bay Club -ALL-INCLUSIVE! Now that's what I call a "PERK". We were given a wrist band, keys to our room, towel cards and the TV remote control, a map of the property and an information sheet. By then the bell boy was ready to gather our luggage from the car and escort us to our room. Check out the Sosua Bay section of the Starz resorts website for a look at the property and accomodations - http://starzresorts.com .
Our room was in building three which is at the ocean front and our balconey overlooked the water. We had a huge kingsize bed and fell asleep every night listening to the waves break against the rocks at the base of our building, right underneath our balconey!!
Actually we both got comfortable, plopped on the bed and fell asleep right then.............Poor Jazzcom.....whom we were meeting that evening!
But that's a story for the next installment!!
Stay tuned - more to follow!

 

[MommC]

Poor Escott........

After looking at PapaTony's watch -which said it was 5:30PM- I figured I had time to take a walk to check out the resort before showering and getting dressed for our evening together. Too bad I forgot that his watch was still on Canadian time!!
So 10 minutes later when Jazz called to see if we would be ready to go in 20 minutes I had to beg off for 40 minutes to get ready!!
Met Jazz about 35 min. later in the lobby and headed out to Cabrete for dinner. Walked around town a bit then headed to the beach for a quick look around before choosing a place to eat.
We had a nice dinner (service was a bit slow tho') and chatted about the country and why and where we chose to be here. Then it was off to Eddy's for a nightcap and some more conversation. Made the delivery to Eddy for HB then Escott took us on a mini tour of Sosua by night. All in all a very enjoyable evening. Looking forward to doing it again.......
Sunday morning we had breakfast at the buffet then headed out to find Playa Dorado for our game with HB and BB. Got a basket of balls to warm up and met BB on the practise range.
It was an experience for sure and I didn't feel too embarassed by my lack of prowress on the links!! No-0ne really had a good game but we all enjoyed the effort (see pictures taken by HB). Grahame sure can knock that ball a mile with his driver!! Altho' I did outdrive the other two on occassion!
Too bad BB had to leave....he missed the 17th hole (which I really could have birdied! but I didn't want to be walking back to Sosua!! hehehe) which I played beautifully however HB & PT double parred it - usually my score!!
The fish fry was excellent as HB has already posted and we were STUFFED by the time we left. So we just kinda relaxed by the pool and had cocktails when we returned to the resort. Watched the show put on by the animacion team and called it an early night!
Monday was a lazy day by the pool and beach with a bit of sight-seeing in town. Couldn't find a place to have a good cup of Italian espresso anywhere. Seems the only place that used to have it is now closed. Sosua is like JD in that the AI's have killed the town and with the smaller number of tourists travelling to the area (dang Punta Cana, Bavaro!!) it's very quiet in town.
What amazed us the most was how clean the town and outlaying areas are and the lack of VERY LOUD music everywhere!!!
It truly was heaven to be able to sit in a bar and talk and be able to hear each other!!
Stay tuned for the next installment!!

 

[AnnaC]

MommC the best place I found to have espresso is the White Horse if it's still called that. They have an internet cafe there. If it's still there.

 

[MommC]

Don't think it's there anymore Anna!

We even talked to some Italians who live in Sosua and they said there was no place anymore to get good Italian Espresso but they assured us the Dominican equivalent was pretty good.
While we agree the Dominican espresso is good we missed the real strong Italian variety we get in Juan Dolio.
Next time I'll bring my machine with me!
It's about the only thing I didn't bring!!
Especially since we didn't even need any of the multi-varieties of bug spray,cream, liquid we did bring!! Didn't need my beach towels or umbrella either as the resort supplied both!!

 

[Escott]

Who in their right mind goes to a Dominican Resort town for Italian Expresso?

Don't forget to bring your freakin Pasta machine with you next time also! LOL

 

[MommC]

Nahhhh! The pasta was great!!

Even with good Dominican coffee, if you drink as much expresso as we do, you go into major caffeine withdrawal!!

Anyhow.....back to our adventure!
Tuesday we explored the area. Took a ride to Playa Grande with quick stops in Gasper Hernandez and Rio San Juan. The heat was almost unbearable for me as it was very humid also so we didn't play Playa Grande - just hit a basket of balls and had a late lunch in the clubhouse.
Then it was back to the resort for cocktails and a snack before having a short nap and shower before the "show". After the show we went to the disco for a while but not much was happening so we went for a walk in town then called it a night!
Wednesday was our last full day so we decided to relax a bit. Went for a walk on the beach then explored the town a bit more. Found a little cafe with REALLY good Dominican coffee.
Our biggest decision of the day was whether to have dinner in the a la carte restaurant or at the buffet. Having already tried the a la carte we decided that the buffet was as good if not better so it won!
We had been tipping the wait staff and housekeepers throughout our stay however it is our custom to also tip the cooks at our favorite restaurants back home (tips are not always pooled and shared as was the case at the resort according to the info sheet they gave us) so as it was our last night we wanted to tip the cook who manned the main meat course section of the buffet. He had already gone back to the kitchen (we dined late our last night) so we had one of the waiters call him out. You should have seen his face when PapaTony gave him the tip!! He walked back into the kitchen holding it high for all the other kitchen staff to see!! It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip........I don't think he'd ever been tipped before!
Thursday we were off to Santiago to play golf with HB so we watched the show and called it an early night.
Got up the next morning -packed our suitcases, had breakfast and checked out. Then we headed through the mountains again to Santiago.
The Players tourny was on the telly when we arrived so we had a cool one with HB,watched a bit then set off for Camp David to check in and get settled. HB warned up that the drive up the mountain was possible in 1st and 2nd gear however our little "jeepeta" made it in 2nd and 3rd with no problem! What a view! Just like sitting on top of the world. We had a late lunch, went for a walk to enjoy the scenery then decided to take a short nap before heading back down the mountain to dine with HB & Mrs. Woke up about the time we were supposed to meet so we called and begged off. Had dinner at the Camp David restaurant (very good food!) then retired to the balconey to have a couple nightcaps and enjoy the light in the valley below.
Friday morning woke late (fresh mountain air -quite a relief from the heat....must be heaven in the summer!!), went for breakfast then packed up and headed back to Juan Dolio.
Loved all the little roadside stands with their many wares.
All in all a great trip. Next time we'll definitely have to make it to Cafe Cito and to play at Playa Grande.
To do justice to the resort I have decided to post a separate thread entitled Sosua Bay Club/Victorian House.......watch for it!!

 

[mobrouser]

.....To do justice to the resort I have decided to post a separate thread entitled Sosua Bay Club/Victorian House.......watch for it!!

it's been 3 weeks, :devious: maybe you could stop your griping elsewhere onthe board and finish this off.

thanks,
mob :classic:

 

[MommC]

Actually MOB....I packed my notes getting ready to come home!!

So now that I'm here give me a few days to catch up all those over-due bills and I'll get right on it!! After I file my tax return of course!!!! Gotta keep all those people on welfare and mothers allowance Happy!!!