Please give me your best Sosua tips

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alfiefan

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Feb 20, 2013
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Sorry for long explanation, skip it if you wish.

Got the villa booked at Infiniti Blu. Got the air travel booked. We are coming for a wedding in the middle of June. The bride is marrying into a big Dominican family (she is a Canadian, but our girl has lived there most of her life once her Mama decided she was done with winter and Canadian men). The daughter understands Dominican culture well. She has hardly any `family,`we are pretty much it. I need some advice.

We will be travelling and staying in the villa with a CDN couple (auntie and uncle) who are seniors (in their 80`s). They have never been to the DR before. I want to protect them and make sure they have a positive experience. Believe me, nobody in this group is going out to clubs at night. Is it safe and easy to take them grocery shopping in Sosua, walking around, buy some stuff at Playero, some veggies and fruits, the fish, the bread, the German deli? If they would hate this, I`ll just leave them by the pool and go do it by myself. They are not bigots or fearful, but if they would swarmed or overwhelmed, I don`t want them to have that experience.

If we want to go out for a pleasant dinner near the villa, suitable for seniors, where would you suggest?

Any advice about how we gringos should behave at this wedding? Of course, we will be polite, well-dressed and open-hearted Canadians, but are there any faux-pas we absolutely must avoid? Is there anything we absolutely will be expected to do (that we might not know about)? We want this bride to be proud of her small contingent, or at least we don`t want to disgrace her.

I am so looking forward to being back in the DR, and was shocked to realize that it`s been almost 5 years since I was there last. Anything I need to know about the airport, since 5 years ago?

Am I ever glad I found this forum. I need you people and your advice and experience.
 
badpiece33

badpiece33

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Jun 24, 2002
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San Felipe de Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
You have Sosua all wrong, Feel free to take them out all day with you to go shopping and walk around. You will see working girls but they wont bother you unless you start talking to them. As for nice dinners I would suggest pior Giorgio or the water front for amazing views in the late afternoon and possibly baileys for some food or dessert. Bologna for Italian food. You will also want to eat at Orchidee restaurant for some real good food, the only drawback is it is on the 3rd floor of a hotel, dont know how good the legs are on the older ones, but you will have no problem as long as your not on Pedro clisante in the middle of the night.
 
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MerengueDutchie

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Oct 13, 2003
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Going by what you posted you are looking for a 'sanitised experience' and the area offers plenty of it.

Activities:

1. Visit Peurto Plata; the old town center has a nice square there are some old wooden Spanish houses and you can have a drink on the Malecon (boulevard) at Almendras an open air restaurant. On your way back stop at La Sirena for shopping - hire a car and big driver for the day and make sure he fends off any unwanted attention.

2. Visit Sosua; have drinks at bar/restaurant of hotel The Waterfront, which offers a perfect view with shade of the bay of Sosua - you can drive yourself there. At night try Bologna it's airconditioned and solid Italian food.

3. At the wedding; relax, don't drink too much and enjoy yourself. Don't pay for anything that was not agreed up-front, maybe you should communicate with the bride about this, she should shield you from any attempts.. most of all have fun! Arrange transport to- and from beforehand and don't allow the driver in (as he might get drunk and/or dissapear)..
 
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LindseyKaufman

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Aug 21, 2007
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First, Infiniti Blu has apartments, not villas. I hope they are not putting you on the 3rd floor, since you will be with elderly people. Infiniti Blu has a gorgeous beachfront, a really nice beach bar restaurant and a good restaurant in the commercial area in front. It is a place- if a person wants this type of vacation- where you can go and stay and not leave. Additionally, many units- not all- in Infiniti Blu include concierge service. If you have this service included, there is a golf cart available for getting around. Also, there is a horse and carriage for rides around town- something, I bet, your auntie and uncle would like. If you have concierge service, anything you want or need can be arranged or provided. Enjoy your stay.
 
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Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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LindseyKaufman said:
First, Infiniti Blu has apartments, not villas. I hope they are not putting you on the 3rd floor, since you will be with elderly people.
Click to expand...

What is wrong with being with "elderly people"? Some in their party are in their 80s.
 
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Matilda

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Sep 13, 2006
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Make sure you have plenty to eat before the wedding. Traditionally at Dominican weddings the food is served very late as Dominicans tend to leave as soon as they have eaten.

Matilda
 
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LindseyKaufman

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Aug 21, 2007
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Ken said:
What is wrong with being with "elderly people"? Some in their party are in their 80s.
Click to expand...

Ken, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being elderly. Of course, I don't know the people, but I want their experience to be enjoyable, AND from my own experience (I am in my late 50's) the three flights of stairs can be taxing at times, especially if I am also carrying groceries. Isn't it better to venture on the side of caution and place people where you think they will be most comfortable?

So sorry if I offended you. I have all the respect in the world for those older than myself.

Lindsey
 
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Seamonkey

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Oct 6, 2009
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My mom is 79 and loves to vacation here....she loves Sosua and finds everybody very polite. The only thing I worry about is her walking the sidewalks...they are in poor shape. So make sure you keep an eye for your friends and it might be best not to walk at night because of the sidewalks and potholes....and missing manhole covers. Other than that, enjoy and relax...the weather is beautiful as is the beach and the town.
 
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Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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LindseyKaufman said:
Ken, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being elderly. Of course, I don't know the people, but I want their experience to be enjoyable, AND from my own experience (I am in my late 50's) the three flights of stairs can be taxing at times, especially if I am also carrying groceries. Isn't it better to venture on the side of caution and place people where you think they will be most comfortable?

So sorry if I offended you. I have all the respect in the world for those older than myself.

Lindsey
Click to expand...

Not bad for a recovery attempt. Apparently I missed the part about the stairs in your first post.

I don't know the people either, but the OP said in the post that there were people in their 80s in their party.
 
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Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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Seamonkey said:
My mom is 79 and loves to vacation here....she loves Sosua and finds everybody very polite. The only thing I worry about is her walking the sidewalks...they are in poor shape. So make sure you keep an eye for your friends and it might be best not to walk at night because of the sidewalks and potholes....and missing manhole covers. Other than that, enjoy and relax...the weather is beautiful as is the beach and the town.
Click to expand...

Good point about the sidewalks. Not all are bad, but there are bad places in many. When you see people walking in the street, this is usually the reason.

But this is not unique to Sosua. The most dangerous sidewalks I've been on are in Santo Domingo.

If accident lawyers could operate in the DR like they do in the US, the sidewalks would be in better condition.
 
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Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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LindseyKaufman said:
First, Infiniti Blu has apartments, not villas. I hope they are not putting you on the 3rd floor, since you will be with elderly people.
Click to expand...

Lindsey, I am not trying to keep this going, but now I am genuinely curious. If the only way to get to the 3rd floor is the stairs, and if you find this difficult when carrying groceries, why does Infiniti Blu put the elderly people on the 3rd floor?
 
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CaptnGlenn

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Mar 29, 2010
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Ken said:
Not bad for a recovery attempt. Apparently I missed the part about the stairs in your first post.

I don't know the people either, but the OP said in the post that there were people in their 80s in their party.
Click to expand...


I wouldn't call it a "recovery attempt". I'd call it a MORE than gracious explanation, which in my opinion wasn't even warranted. Even without the earlier reference to octogenarians and stairs, Lindsey's comment, "First, Infiniti Blu has apartments, not villas. I hope they are not putting you on the 3rd floor, since you will be with elderly people.", is perfectly understandable for anyone with even moderate reading comprehension.

You can read into THAT whatever you want.
 
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Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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CaptnGlenn said:
I wouldn't call it a "recovery attempt". I'd call it a MORE than gracious explanation, which in my opinion wasn't even warranted. Even without the earlier reference to octogenarians and stairs, Lindsey's comment, "First, Infiniti Blu has apartments, not villas. I hope they are not putting you on the 3rd floor, since you will be with elderly people.", is perfectly understandable for anyone with even moderate reading comprehension.

You can read into THAT whatever you want.
Click to expand...

The cavalry riding to the defense, CaptainGlenn?

My reading comprehension is excellent. And, yes, "I hope they are not putting you on the 3rd floor, since you will be with elderly people" is perfectly understandable.

Since I see Lindsey clicked "like" on your post, I hope she will answer my question as to why, if there are only stairs to the 3rd floor, Infiniti Blu puts elderly people on that floor rather than the first floor.
 
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sanluisdavid

New member
May 18, 2012
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badpiece33 said:
You have Sosua all wrong, Feel free to take them out all day with you to go shopping and walk around. You will see working girls but they wont bother you unless you start talking to them. As for nice dinners I would suggest pior Giorgio or the water front for amazing views in the late afternoon and possibly baileys for some food or dessert. Bologna for Italian food. You will also want to eat at Orchidee restaurant for some real good food, the only drawback is it is on the 3rd floor of a hotel, dont know how good the legs are on the older ones, but you will have no problem as long as your not on Pedro clisante in the middle of the night.
Click to expand...

I will be there in Sept with wife who is Colombiana and with 1 year old son. We are staying at Casa Valeria...is that an OK place? Any suggestions for where to go nearby that has good, inexpensive seafood? I am talking about typical whole fried fish, arroz con coco, patacones, cazuela de mariscos. We do not want to go to the expensive touristy places. Also, would it be better to drive or take bus to Las Terrenas for a day trip?
 
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LindseyKaufman

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Aug 21, 2007
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Ken said:
The cavalry riding to the defense, CaptainGlenn?

My reading comprehension is excellent. And, yes, "I hope they are not putting you on the 3rd floor, since you will be with elderly people" is perfectly understandable.

Since I see Lindsey clicked "like" on your post, I hope she will answer my question as to why, if there are only stairs to the 3rd floor, Infiniti Blu puts elderly people on that floor rather than the first floor.
Click to expand...

Ken, I am sorry I offended you. I respect you and like you, so I don't wish to continue to argue the point.

I don't even know if they are putting the visitors on the 3rd floor. Perhaps they do not know the age or physical condition of the people. Or perhaps they DO know and put them on a lower floor. And then this discussion is irrelevant. It was a simple passing comment.

I do not have anything to do with Infiniti Blu rentals- or any work or business associated with IB. I just own a condo there.

Let's make peace and allow the thread to return to the OP's line of questioning.

Lindsey
 
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Ken

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
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LindseyKaufman said:
Ken, I am sorry I offended you. I respect you and like you, so I don't wish to continue to argue the point.

I don't even know if they are putting the visitors on the 3rd floor. Perhaps they do not know the age or physical condition of the people. Or perhaps they DO know and put them on a lower floor. And then this discussion is irrelevant. It was a simple passing comment.

I do not have anything to do with Infiniti Blu rentals- or any work or business associated with IB. I just own a condo there.

Let's make peace and allow the thread to return to the OP's line of questioning.

Lindsey
Click to expand...

Lindsey, I am not personally offended. My first post was prompted only by the statement in the first post that some in the party coming for the wedding were in their 80s.

When I wrote my question about why elderly people are put on 3rd floor I stated I was not interested in continuing the earlier discussion, just that I was now curious, since you had said there was no elevator. about the practice of putting elderly people on floor that is difficult to get to.

What Infiniti Blu knows or doesn't know, only they know, but I interpreted your statement about who is on the 3rd floor to mean it was not uncommon for elderly people to be put there. Thus my question.

The first matter is dead, as far as i am concerned.

But some good has come of this discussion, with respect to the OP's post. Since they are booked into Infiniti Blu, and since there are people in their 80's in their party, and since we now know the only way to get to the third floor is to walk up several flights of stairs, it seems like it would be a good idea for them to
check with Infiniti Blu about their apartment assignment so that they aren't shocked when they get there to find they must hike up a lot of stairs.
 
D

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
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i can only comment of the wedding itself: like mat said, eat before you go. and if you plan on drinking then eat something that will protect your stomach because the drinks are super extra strong.
beware that after the food is served, and in particular, the cake, you are expected to leave. you may not manage to stay awake until then because it is most likely to happen well after midnight.
be expected to dance, no matter how badly. there is nothing else to do because the music is always deafening and you cannot really talk. therefore wear comfortable shoes. you'll probably have a great opportunity to listen to a good dominican artist perform live thou.
women are kinda expected to wear long dresses. especially if they are any older than 30. i am dead serious. men in suit and tie unless you wear chacabana.
 
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