Trip # 9 (Warning: Way too long!)

J

Jersey Devil

Bronze
Jul 5, 2002
686
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I arrived at the airport in Santiago on June 9. My flight came in
about 30 minutes earlier than planned. Since this my first time
using this airport I was very pleasantly surprised by the speed
at which I passed through customs and immigration. It actually
took my longer to fill out my tourist card than it took to get
my luggage, and get outside. After a short wait I was greeted
by Denny, my brother in law.He is a driver who works out of Moca
(809-855-1011). My first stop was at L'Niza. Based on a great recommendation from USTELEPHONE, Chris, I decided to look at
the place, and then paid for two nights. 800 pesos. Wow!
What a bargain. But before I unpacked I went to my mother in
law's house in Juan Lopez, Moca. This was the house where my
sister in law Victoria died less than two months ago. While I went
through the things that had been sent to family members here I did not
feel spooked out but I had already made a decision not to stay
there before I left. We then travelled back to the hotel and met up
with William, mi cunado. Denny and I made plans to go to Santaigo
with William but we never got there. Instead after heading back into
town to met Denny's wife and children we went to eat at Pollos Licey.
That night at Hotel L'Niza (809-578-2248) they had a
charming young woman performing for the first time playing covers of
many popular songs. She also had a male singer accompany her on some
selections. As a result my brother in laws and I spent the night enjoying
the atmosphere. I especially enjoyed talking to the staff there.
The following morning I woke up hungry but it was Corpus Christi day
and I was told that not much was open. I called Denny up and at about
10:30 am or so I was back in the city of Moca. End of part one.
 
J

Jersey Devil

Bronze
Jul 5, 2002
686
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16
Part 2

After a small sandwhich with too much ketchup, we went to visit
a brother in law I had not met. I have married to my wife for 12
years but she has 20 brothers and sisters. We went to Freddy's
house but he was already out. Then we called Reynaldo in Santiago
and it was off to the DR's second largest city. On the trip we passed
by many Cabanas and discussed the feasabilty of investing in one. We
get to Reynaldo's home in about 30 minutes. Because of the Corpus
Christi Holiday he was there waiting for us. My wife had told me that
he intelligent and indeed he is. I got to discuss general economic
conditions with him. We may end up starting a business together in
the near future. His three children are Shankara, 17, Candida, 16, his
daughter and Iswar, 15. His charming wife Beatriz made me feel right
at home. After firing up his pc I got Hillbilly's phone number from one
of my recent private messages. HB first question was what was I doing
in that section of town. Once we finally found the hovel I then spent
2-3 of the most relaxing hours of my trip. HB ruminated with me over
several topics including starting a business in the Dominican Republic
and the history of Dominican leaders since Ulises Heureaux to the
present. After a celebratory cigar, I thanked HB for his hospitality
and we, Denny and I, were back on the road to Moca. After some down
time to shower and shave I waited for Denny in L'Niza's restaurant/bar
where I had spent the night before. While there I thought about staying
in Moca for at least one more day. I really enjoyed spending time in Moca.
I had not stayed overnight there for more than one night since 1999.
Once Denny arrived at the bar I paid my tab and we were off to
get Reynaldo and then to Gran Almirante Casino. HB had said Casino
stands for CASI NO gane. At least on this night he was right. I played
some BlackJack for about 1 hour. Reynaldo had not been to a casino
and I wanted to show him how to play. After a third shoe we were
dropping Reynaldo back home in Santiago. Once back at the hotel I
drank a bottle (350ml) of King's Label and went to sleep. Ok I really
went out to visit some of the clubs in Moca. We spent the most time
in Gran Mansion where I danced as much merengue and bachata as
possible.
 
U

ustelephone

Member
Mar 31, 2004
361
2
18
www.ecoislandadventures.com
L'Niza

Glad you enjoyed L'Niza. I really thought the place was a great bargain. Power plant, cable, A/C, hot water, for $8 USD a night. And those parties they have are really cool. The owner and staff were really nice people when I was there and that made it perfect.

Just for everyone else's reference, it's on the road that connects Moca to Santiago about 2 miles out of Moca.

The owner also owns Club Illusion in Santiago and will make you feel like a VIP there, at least that's what a friend told me. :knockedou
 
J

Jersey Devil

Bronze
Jul 5, 2002
686
0
16
Part 3: Santo Domingo

After being out late and knowing that I had to take the Metro at 8 am
I toyed with the idea of not sleeping at all. However I had to give in
to Mr. Sandman, if only for an hour. I then showered got ready and
just made the Metro in time. I thanked Denny and it was southward
bound. Feeling just slight ill effects from my previous evening's drinking
I made myself comfortable and actually got some good rest as the
beautiful landscape streamed by my window. About 2 hours later I
was in the Metro depot in Santo Domingo waiting for my taxi,
the 4 number I called, to pick me up. It was Miguel with the Tropical Taxi company. His cell is (809) 452-8866. Miguel was to spend much of the next four days with me. I can say that Miguel was honest and totally reliable.
His English is improving although we almost exclusively spoke in
Spanish. After dropping off some more gifts with my sister in law in Bella
Vista I went for a massage in Gazcue. Miguel picked me back up at around
3 and I went to Vimenca en La Lincoln to exchange some dollars for pesos.
I think I exchanged $280 @ 48.75-1. Then it was off to Auto Aire Camacho
just off La Kennedy on DR. Defillo.
 
J

Jersey Devil

Bronze
Jul 5, 2002
686
0
16
ustelephone said:
Glad you enjoyed L'Niza. I really thought the place was a great bargain. Power plant, cable, A/C, hot water, for $8 USD a night. And those parties they have are really cool. The owner and staff were really nice people when I was there and that made it perfect.

Just for everyone else's reference, it's on the road that connects Moca to Santiago about 2 miles out of Moca.

The owner also owns Club Illusion in Santiago and will make you feel like a VIP there, at least that's what a friend told me. :knockedou
Click to expand...

A few of my brother in laws said much the same thing. ;)

JD
 
M

Mephs

New member
Sep 11, 2003
23
0
0
50
JD - You married a Juan Lopez girl? You lucky dog!!! It sounds like there are still a few more chapters on this trip report, so keep them coming. The trip to Moca seems all too familiar, probably because there's not much to do there.

About L'Niza, I'm assuming this place is on the road through Licey, right? I'll keep the number just in case, but with all these blackouts I wouldn't want to be stuck in the middle of a huelga in that part of town.
 
J

Jersey Devil

Bronze
Jul 5, 2002
686
0
16
Mephs said:
JD - You married a Juan Lopez girl? You lucky dog!!! It sounds like there are still a few more chapters on this trip report, so keep them coming. The trip to Moca seems all too familiar, probably because there's not much to do there.

About L'Niza, I'm assuming this place is on the road through Licey, right? I'll keep the number just in case, but with all these blackouts I wouldn't want to be stuck in the middle of a huelga in that part of town.
Click to expand...

Mephs,

You have the geography right about L'Niza. It's in Estancia Nueva.
I did tend to either have my cell phone with Denny's number on
speed dial or have him with me. Two nights was probably about
the right length of time to stay in Moca considering the overall
period I was staying in the country.

JD
 
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