JackS2
Reged: 01/15/03
Posts: 97
Loc: Richmond, Va.
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I know it's not the Caribbean's prime destination, but I have to go to the Dominican Republic next month on business. Has anyone been there recently, and is it as good as the tourist ads say, or as bad as some of the other information suggests (crime, disease, etc.)? I'll be about 20 miles East of Santo Domingo, on the coast, but don't yet know the name of the town. Good or bad, it will be a 'warm-up' for SBH in April, but I'd like to find out what to expect.
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Mike R
Reged: 05/26/03
Posts: 15623
Loc: Stinson Lake - New Hampshire
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Jack....my wife lived there for a couple of months...she was doing her graduate work in marinebiology, studying humpback whales on the Silver Banks, and lived in Samana Bay......she says its definetly an island of extremes....what is nice is pretty nice and what isnt is pretty bad......crime is a real factor there...the general economy isnt good.....but she tells me it isnt anything at all as nice as any of the other islands she has been to......the only experience I have with the DR is I was delivering a boat to Houston from the USVI, stopped in Santo Domingo, got a load of really bad fuel, one of my crewmembers got popped with weed when they did a search of the boat, and it cost me a case of Dom, that I had purchased in SXM, to make it all go away
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karma is a beautiful thing at times
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GayleR
Reged: 11/18/02
Posts: 1200
Loc: Toronto, Canada
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It is a place I will never go to. Unfortunately a very dear friend of mine was murdered there 7 years ago on the afternoon of December 31 while jogging on the beach in front of his resort at 2:00 in the afternoon. Clearly this is not a normal or regular occurence and I guess we all have made peace by being somewhat fatalistic. But be careful, don't wear a good watch (that's what was taken from him)and ensure you're not alone.
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drr
Reged: 10/09/02
Posts: 72
Loc: Seattle
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I understand that they have several very nice all-inclusive resorts on the Island, that are frequented by
europeans and americans alike. But I have also heard it is not safe to leave these resorts at night or alone.
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JackS2
Reged: 01/15/03
Posts: 97
Loc: Richmond, Va.
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Thanks all, and it sounds not much better or worse than Jamaica (another place I wouldn't pick for a vacation). I'll stick to my business and not wander far from the hotel!
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Lauren
Reged: 10/10/02
Posts: 1332
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I would strongly advise to keep up on our State Dept's warnings (on the net) re: Haitian uprising, as there will be and is a problem with border violations, which is not conducive to safety in the Dom Rep...
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JackS2
Reged: 01/15/03
Posts: 97
Loc: Richmond, Va.
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Quote:
the only experience I have with the DR is I was delivering a boat to Houston from the USVI, stopped in Santo Domingo, got a load of really bad fuel, one of my crewmembers got popped with weed when they did a search of the boat, and it cost me a case of Dom, that I had purchased in SXM, to make it all go away
Funny because I had almost the same experience in Wrightsville Beach ferrying a boat from Va. to West Palm - bad fuel and a boarding raid by the USCG/DEA -three guys on the bridge fits their profile. No problem with the DEA, but it cost as much to pump the tanks at Hilton Head as we paid for the rotten diesel. Wish we'd had a case of Dom on that trip!
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Mike R
Reged: 05/26/03
Posts: 15623
Loc: Stinson Lake - New Hampshire
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Jack...I wished I had some BIOBAR, along with the DOM.....this way I could have solved the fuel problem and the illegal cargo I didnt know about problem at the same time.... I got a feeling the DOM wouldnt have worked with DEA as opposed to the sleazy DR cops......but then again...ya never know!...LOL
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karma is a beautiful thing at times
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JackS2
Reged: 01/15/03
Posts: 97
Loc: Richmond, Va.
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Seems a bit incongruous that the D.R. would pop someone for recreational weed when the country is infamous for transshipping heroin into the U.S. But I'm sure accepting 'contributions' is also a thriving business down there. And you're right about the DEA, NOTHING would turn their heads. They hit you like a swat team in their Zodiaks, weapons ready, and grill everyone separately on where you've been, the identity of other crew members, etc. The only problem we had was explaining the quantity of empty beer cans on board ;)
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NYCFred
Reged: 01/06/04
Posts: 6085
Loc: NYC
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Spent Xmas at Caso de Campo, which sounds from your description like roughly where you'll be....
Watch yourself if you leave the Hotel...I'd say as bad as Rio...on the way in from the airport, I stopped at an ATM...had to walk thru a crowd of about 9 guys to get to it, and only realized that the cabby had gotten out to 'escort' me when i was done...
(and I'm not a little guy, nor do I look like a 'victim'...
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JackS2
Reged: 01/15/03
Posts: 97
Loc: Richmond, Va.
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Just returned from the D.R., and everything everyone said about it is true: a cross-section of the good, bad and ugly. I was near Boca Chica, a little town on the south coast east of Santo Domingo, with a nice beach and a couple of resorts - Pelicano, a first-rate enclosed beach reaort and the Don Juan, a real dump with tourists to match. We stayed in a walled enclave in the countryside with a guide/interpreter, so we fared OK except for the inevitable case of "trots" that hit everyone no matter how careful we were to avoid non-bottled water, fresh vegetables, etc. The rural people were friendly, but we still moved about in pairs and never at night. Rule #1: if it's not locked up, it will be stolen. Town was a concentration of the worst: ubiquitous beggers and hawkers, guards at the ATMs, and prostitutes everywhere. The mainstay of Boca Chica tourism appears to be dirty old men in search of young hookers, and we saw plenty of both. Good points: cheap beer ($1) and drinks ($2) and food ($10-$15 for dinner at a good restaurant). An experience that will make me appreciate SBH even more. Two weeks and counting!
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