Maimon

PGerace

New member
Feb 16, 2002
272
8
0
Saludos! I just had another great vacation in the Dominican Republic. After about 5 years I returned to Hotel Riu Mambo in Bahia de Maimon which is about 15 minutes west of Puerto Plata. (I have been traveling to the DR twice a year for the past 20 years). The plan was to just relax, chill, unwind, and listen to new music on the beach. Things at the hotel were great and the water was much clearer than I remember, but as is always the case, the best part of the vacation was spending time with the people. I knew that the area is famous for it's seafood so one day I ventured outside of the hotel on my own. I was able to take the local van transportation in front of the hotel to the barrio of Don Gregorio. The trip was about 7 minutes and it cost only 20 pesos, or about 75 cents U.S. There were many roadside restaurants selling many different types of seafood. I had the pulpo salad with fried plantains and a coke for about $6 US. While eating lunch I spoke to the owner's son and cousin. They were telling me about life in their town of Maimon which is another 5 minutes down the road. I expressed interest in visiting it and taking some photos and they promptly called their cousin who owns a motorcycle. They said he could show me around town and stop to take photos whenever I wanted. I asked how much and he said whatever you would like to pay. I said great and we took off. The town of Maimon is very small and I got to meet Chevo who was selling gasoline in Presidente bottles, Nathaniel who is an Evangelist who was selling plantains, coconuts, and pineapples in front of a "repent now" sign. We also stopped by the local baseball field where some kids were practicing with their coach. With each stop every person was friendly and eager to talk with me. When we returned to the restaurant I spent time sitting and talking to my new friends and told them of my adventure. I mentioned that I liked the baseball jersey and asked where I could purchase one? He immediately told me "espere", or wait and he took off on his motocycle. After 5 minutes he returned with a jersey and said I could have it as a gift. He wouldn't accept money for it. We spent another hour talking about such things as new music, hopes for the future, drinking and driving in the Dominican Republic, and much more. When I was ready to return to the hotel their cousin offered to drive me back on his motorcycle at no extra charge. (I had given him 300 pesos for his impromtu tour of Maimon). As I sit here writing this trip report, listening to that new music, I realize how much my life has been enriched by my travels in the Dominican Republic.
I will be posting a few images here on DR1 and have submitted a hotel review.
You can see more of my images on my webpage at geraceimages.com and read about my experiences photographing the DR in my EBook, also on my website.
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
4,328
113
Nice to see a pleasant story.... not a surprise, just nice to see.
The Dominicans love to show off their country, town, village.

We had renters in May from Connecticut.. parents and two boys.
The mother spoke Spanish.

Somehow, through the housekeeper or the house manager, things got on to baseball (the father is a former MLB player and scouts a bit for Cincinatti)

The two boys wind up on the Cabrera team, in uniform , for the week and played against Nagua.
Think they had any fun??

They are coming back for the month of July.

Didn't RD just win a prize for being a welcoming venue?
(Rhetorical... no replies needed)

I'm sure there are more stories like this.

WW