Camaro's Las Terrenas Synopsis 2014:



Introduction:

Gentleman I just completed the Las Terrenas segment of my Sosua-Las Terrenas excursion. This trip is a continuation of my travel odyssey throughout the Dominican Republic, it is my intention to see as much of the island as possible. This synopsis Las Terrenas trip report will cut to the meat of my experience in Las Terrenas and is a companion to my Sosua trip report.

Las Terrenas:

I have a colleague who was born in the Dominican Republic, I was telling him that I was going to visit Las Terrenas. He looked at me with a puzzled expression and said "what?" I repeated Las Terrenas and pointed to the location on a map of the Dominican Republic and he laughed at me saying "ohhhhhhhhhhh La Terrena" and we both got a good laugh out of it. Dominicans often do not pronounce the "s" in many of their words and in this case the "s" made the difference between his understanding and misunderstanding. That was a valuable lesson for me going forward as I continue to speak Spanish in the Dominican Republic.

Las Terrenas is a small town of approximately 10,000 people on the north east coast of the Dominican Republic in-between Nagua and Samana in the Samana province. Las Terrenas is not only a retirement destination for European expats it is also a vacation spot for Dominicans who live in Santo Doming and surrounding areas. Las Terrenas offers miles of protected beaches that make.

Transportation to Las Terrenas:

I caught the gua gua to Las Terrenas in Charamicos the ride was 300 DOP. Times are as follows:

Depart: Charamicos- 1:30 pm.

Arrive: Nagua- 4 pm.

Arrive: Las Terrenas- 5:30.

This gua gua was a little more comfortable than the Nagua gua gua because it was air-conditioned. We started with 15 people and ended up with 22 at the high point. They had to put our luggage on the roof. There were times when I didn't think we were going to make it up some of the long steep hills. I felt comfortable when I saw the palm trees on the shore of Nagua since I was just there last month. We stopped at the restaurant in Nagua and took a 15 minute break then hit the road again. My big mistake was not sitting in the window seat when I first got on, you get squeezed seriously if you are not sitting on one of the window seats, lesson learned.

I arrived in Las Terrenace safe. Of course I am lost and don't know where I am so I take a taxi to the Albachiara Hotel and I paid 200 DOP to go 2 minutes I could have walked DAMMIT!

For my return to Sosua I had to rise early but this time I walked to the bus stop.

Depart: Las Terrenas-6:30 am.

Arrive: Nagua -0815 am.

Arrive: Sosua- 11:30 am.

The trip both ways was safe and inexpensive but 5 hours in a crowded gua gua squeezed like sardines can be brutal.

Albacharia Hotel:

I picked this spot based on what turned out to be an excellent recommendation. The staff greeted me taking my bags and with a glass of lemonade. Wurr dey do datt at? Everybody was welcoming with a smile.

Then I got to my room now let me say there is no Jacuzzi like Hotel Sinai in Nagua but this room is off the chain! It faces the pool with a balcony, then you enter the kitchenette and dining area and then the bedroom with a king size bed. All I could think is this is not a mongering hotel I need a novia to really appreciate the vibe in this spot.

The air-conditioning worked well but the WIFI was intermittent. Free breakfast was served every morning but there were no other meals served at the hotel.

The hotel is a beach front property that is absolutely beautiful with well kept grounds. Everything you need is within walking distance from La Bodega to several restaurants serving different types of cuisine.

The Ron Factory liquor store and the Mini Market Los Principes are within walking distance of the hotel. Both locations had women in front of them at different times of the day that I suspect may have been PFP. In short the hotel is one of the best pieces of real estate for a monger not only because it is girl friendly but because of its location.

Casa de Cambio Fort Knox:

Casa de Cambio Fort Knox is inside the Plaza el Paseo shopping complex within a 5 minute walk from the hotel. They were closing at the time and I got 42.5 DOP-1 US and the cashier gave me all 2 k notes and said she had no change. CONO!

La Bodega (Calle Duarte).

This is the primary night club in Las Terrenace. La Bodega is a multi-layered location that far transcends a simple PFP venue such as Classicos in Sosua. For example a stunning chica negra asked me to dance after which I got my mack on and discovered that she was a "animatora" who dances with the clubs clients and gives professional dance lessons on the side. When I asked her out after work she said "cuando estoy libre estoy cansada gracias por la invatacion" she was very professional and pleasant, only a egomaniac would be offended.

There was a birthday celebration on one of the evenings I was there and differnt couples spread throughout the venue. It was not always easily discernable who was PFP and who wasn't because all the women in attendance were not dressed provocatively. The crowd consisted of local Dominicans, PFP workers, Hatians and tourist. It was truely a mixed bag of nuts.

On some nights the club has live entertainment and when I went there were what looked like impromptu dance contest everything from salsa to group synchronized dancing that had the crowd captivated.

Some of the PFP talent was local and I met chicas from Santo Domingo, San Pedro de Marcios and Monte Plata. I saw no stunners and a few 8's but most women were average. Regardless I thoroughly enjoyed the vibe of the place due to the heavy security the variety of entertainment and the fact you didn't have to go home alone if you didn't want to.

Gaia Disco (Calle Francisco Caamano).

Gaia Disco is an indoor venue that has a sushi restaurant on the second floor. It is next door to Clandestino Bar. It is a small venue inside maybe less than 100 person occupancy. There is one bar a dance floor and a strip pole. The music is mostly American and Regetton and the clientele were primarily tourist although I did see a couple of chcias that appeared to be PFP. Small Presidente Lites were 200 DOP. Yeah I didn't stutter.

Clandestino Bar (Calle Francisco Caamano).

Clandestino Bar is across from Gaia Disco and is a partially indoor and partially open air, the rear of the venue faces the beach with an incredible soft breeze at night. The front part is crowded with standing room only but the rear has tables and chairs. The crowd was mixed between locals, tourist and a few PFP chicas but there didn't seem to be that many. The occupancy was less than 100. The music was almost all Regatton while I was there and there was no dance floor. I really liked the vibe especially sitting in the rear facing the beach.

I Biz Bar (Calle Sanchez).

This is a strictly PFP venue. It is an open air bar with a strip pole inside on the dance floor. The house charges 500 DOP for salida and you negotiate the tarifa with the chicas. I saw 2 chicas no more than 6. I never saw it crowded anytime I walked by.

Las Terrenas Car Washes & Cabanas:

Like many Dominican communities car washes serve not only as places to wash your car but social meeting venues. Some are open air venues with pool tables and others have closed buildings attached that serve as discos and bars. These venues have a few chicas who are available for takeout once you pay the salida to the house and negotiate the tarifa with the chica separately.

La Bomba Car Wash (Calle Bolivar).

This venue had an outdoor bar and a building for a disco attached.

El Patio Tropical Car Wash (Calle Sanchez).

This venue had an open air bar and several pool tables.

Son Latino Car Wash (Calle Carmen).

This venue had an open air bar.

Fantastic Hotel (Calle Bomba).

This cabana was within 2 minutes walking distance of La Bomba Car Wash.

*It should be noted all of the above venues were within 10 minutes of one another. There was another cabana in the vicinity however I did not get the name. I did not partake of any of the car washes or cabanas because they were on the other side of town from my hotel and I did not have transportation. In addition I found it unnecessary because there was plenty of PFP within minutes of my hotel.

La Playa Las Terrenas:

The hotel faced the beach and I could walk along the beach at my leisure. The beach was in use frequently for swimming as well as socializing you could see people there throughout different times during the day. There was some PFP action there which could be discernable by the eye contact and greetings. Most of the women I saw were average however I saw 1 or 2 that could have made an audition. Unfortunately this trip there simply was not enough time to sample the talent.

La Playa Cason:

Playa Cason is about 20 minutes from Las Terrenace and a popular weekend destination for locals. It is good for swimming, eating and of course people watching.

Luis Restaurant en Playa Cason:

The primary eating venue on Playa Cason is Luis Restaurant. You pick whatever type of seafood you like and they grill or fry it from red snapper to Lobster. I had the Red Snapper, habichueles why arroz why enselada for 450 DOP. The food was delicious while enjoying the beach.

Chicas en Las Terrenas:

First let me state my comments are strictly my anecdotal experiences and not a reflection of the experiences of others as always YMMV. I didn't get into the chica scene like I do in Sosua. I got the run-a-around from some chicas as well as a chica trying to change the terms of our agreement. I saw more chicas smoking in Las Terrenas than in Sosua which is a turn off to me. I was warned by one chica that the PFP chicas will steal from you without blinking an eye. I did not get a good vibe from many of the obviously PFP chicas it was if they had been hardened by the game.

I had one good PFP experience and she was a referral from another monger other than that my mongering experience in Las Terrenas was a bust.

You can expect to pay the same as most markets in the Dominican Republic 1000-2000 DOP for ST and 2000-3000 DOP for TLN.

Danger in the Dominican Republic:

The below listed comments are intended especially for newbies as DR veterans are quite aware of the facts listed below. My travels thus far throughout the Dominican Republic in general have been very safe. While I was in Las Terrenas at no time did I feel any sense of danger, in fact I felt quite secure and when I got why bearings I walked around freely day and night. However, for those who desire to experience the island and its culture we should not sleep on the potential dangers which are as follows:

Public transportation includes Caribe Tours & Metro buses that have been reported to have had major accidents. Traditional taxis, Carro Publicos (route taxis) Gua Guas (inexpensive route buses) and moto-concho (motocycle taxis) make up the other components of the public transport system. Some drivers that do not obey traffic laws and will take you on what feels like a roller coaster ride at 6 Flags. Although traffic laws exist they are not consistently and judiciously enforced therefore driving in the Dominican Republic can be quite dangerous.

A criminal justice system where the rule of law is how much money you have and who you know. Transparency International reported in its 2013 Corruption Index that the government of the Dominican Republic is "highly corrupt" in comparison with countries like Canada and Finland that were considered to be "very clean. " It is not uncommon for El Policia Nacional to either ask or demand a bribe for an alleged or real violation of the law, each person should let their conscience be their guide in these matters.

The State Department rates the crime threat in the Dominican Republic as high especially in large urban areas such as Santo Domingo and Santiago. The obvious causes being high unemployment and drug trafficking. One of the greatest challenges for tourist is credit card fraud where credit cards are compromised and duplicated so that fraud can be perpetrated.

Political violence is common in the Dominican Republic. For example there is currently a water shortage in some parts of the country and the way locals protests through varying forms of violence to include burning tires shutting down roads and in extreme cases rioting.

Closing thoughts on Las Terrenas.

This trip had multiple purposes in that I continue to explore the Dominican Republic as a place to retire as well as satisfying my curiosity because I have heard so much about the place. Mongering was an interest as always but not the end all be all of my trip. From a retirement perspective I found most everything that was close to the beach more expensive than things further away from the beach. In my opinion geographically the location of Las Terrenas is not convenient because it is not a major transportation hub therefore it could be more difficult to explore the island from there.

I have been to Cabarette several times and if I had to compare Las Terrenas I would say it is the Cabarette of the eastern north coast. Las Terrenas is similar to Cabarette because of its tourism infrastructure however it is different because it is a larger community and the entertainment venues are more spread out. In Cabarette most of the entertainment venues are on the beach however in Las Terrenas the entertainment venues are in different parts of town. Although you can get around Las Terrenas without transportation because of the layout you can experience more with transportation. Las Terrenas is a different community in that you just don't see cars and motos you see quite a few quads and ATV's in town. In short, IMHO Las Terrenas is a nicer more expensive version of Cabarette.

My last excursion was Nagua really wasn't a PFP destination however to the contrary in Las Terrenas it is the exact opposite. Not only do you have the typical car washes and cabanas that are a part of Dominican life and culture but you have a very strong PFP scene in the tourist areas. I did extensive walking around the tourist areas gleaning intel for this report and I was propositioned more than once. There is action on the beach in the street and in the clubs. However, don't get it twisted Las Terrenas is no Sosua in terms of quantity and quality. From my observations 8's do exist however they are few and far between.

While I was in town I was only one of maybe 2 other Afro Americans it was interesting to me to listen to hip hop music in venues where I was the only Afro American present which speaks to the pervasiveness of the hip hop culture.

Conclusion:

There is plenty of PFP action to be had in Las Terrenas but for me it would be a better date location because there is so much to do from the beaches to the waterfalls to clubbing at night that I would like to share. I feel any woman would be able to appreciate that type of excursion and if she didn't she would need to be on life support. I could definitely see myself returning, more than likely with a companion than being solo.

Another option for my return is to study Spanish and take some dance classes so I can get a better feel for the community in balance and not just from the PFP perspective.

I thoroughly enjoyed Las Terrenas it is vibrant and full of energy, it would be difficult to enjoy this place without making multiple trips or one extended trip. This is definitely not a day trip location.

Next up Sosua-Jarabacoa at the end of August I will keep you posted.