Sosúa Shopping

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I'd say what makes these so special is the colossal accumulation of futil items in such small areas and the worries the shopowners must go through when they see a rare gringo opening his wallet to buy one of these items at another store.......... because they all carry more or less the same merchandise and probably have the same furnisher.....
If you don't want to wait for the last day to buy some souvenirs at the airport, then anticipate your shopping by strolling comfortably along the inflationary amount of souvenir shops from Calle Pedro Clisante down to Playa Sosúa all the way to the other side where Los Charamicos begins....
My best advice is to plan this mission ahead of time... Who gets what...? How much do I spend for each ? Make a list, take the money, take a tranquilizer and a deep breath and go for it... but do it only once.... the second time you may not survive looking at all this $%³_½¼9¤¤²¡ßáµµ anymore.....
I don't really know why I'm so cynical about the souvenir shops.... after all , if gringos like this stuff and pay for it, why not...?? These are not tourist traps, these are rare opportunities...

What to buy: Tangas for the rare sunny days at home..... Beautiful paintings with indian buddhist motives or palmtree happy island and boat scenes..... A corkscrew with a "Sosúa" writing on it..... T shirts that say "Sosúa, Republica Dominicana" and show a shark munching on a surfer..... A "Presidente" t- shirt !!! ( Presidente being the most popular beer brand in the DR ) or a "Brugal" t-shirt ( Brugal being the most popular rum brand in the DR ).... Postcards that you even send back home , adorned with the right stamps and hand carried to the post office and that arrive 10 weeks later......

There's so much to see and to chose from...... Open your mind and your wallet and buy all the stuff you have been looking for so desperately for the past three years, the bulkier, the heavier, the better....

Be happy !

What to pay: Pay the really very good price they offer you to pay for all the stuff you want.... minus another 5 % special gift or offer and accept humbly the extra t-shirt the owner might throw in as another special gift because he thinks you're so cute or nice...... right...? ( Not if you only buy three postcards though....)

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Whether you have a whole badge of 1000 Peso bank notes left over or not, getting early to the airport gives you a chance to spend some more money.....

Maybe a kitschy gift or two for the left behinds at home from the numerous cheapo kiosks scattered all over... where you can also actually find a few items worth acquiring...
Or if you're into refined tobacco items as for instance cuban and mainly dominican cigars and cigarillos which you can buy outside the airport for Pesos.....

Once you've passed passport control and find yourself forced to walk through labyrinthy corridors
with all kinds of "duty-free" status items to get to the gates area, in case you get tempted too much, it's only US dollars, baby.....They take Euros and British Pounds too, so don't worry about it.....

What to buy: Well , inside the duty free stores, you might like to buy some nice perfume for her or him.....
Cigars, cigarettes....
Maybe a toy for the kids.....

But don't buy any overpriced electronics.....

What to pay: Whatever it takes...... I bought a Hugo Boss perfume for my oldest son and a Coco Chanel perfume for Camila..... they both liked their gifts and this is what counts after all.....

There were two nice ladies who were asking many people to come and have there hair braided. You can have your own hair done or even have extensions if you want to make your hair longer.
They also have a photo album so you pick the styles you would like to choose from.

What to buy: You can get your hair braided in the Dom Rep. You will see hundreds of people around the hotels with it done. Me and Gaz both had ours done as i got fed up with having to do my hair everyday. It normally lasts around 2-3 weeks.

What to pay: At first they wanted 80 Us Dollars to do Gaz's and 30 Us Dollars for mine, we ended up paying 20 Us Dollars for Gaz and 15 Dollars for mine... What i bargain :)

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For all those who crave salami at 4:00 AM or need their special soft drink at any given moment in the room or need to buy cigarettes or canned nuts or shaving cream...... it is important to know where to find your next supermarket.......

Sosúa supermarkets are not exactly what you're used to from home but they will definitely satisfy your immediate needs if they're not too kinky..... (lol...)

Playero is the biggest with two branches , the bigger one on the Carretera Puerto Plata - Sosúa , as soon as you arrive in El Batey on your right side ( pic 1 ) , the second , smaller one on the corner of Calle Pedro Clisante and Calle Alejo Martinez ( pic 2 ). I liked to buy at Supermarket Carmen ( pic 3 ) on Calle Dr. Rosen , just a few meters off Calle Pedro Clisante which is just OK for basic needs and then there's Hatuey Mini Market ( pic 4 ) on Calle Alejo Martinez , just a little before the corner with Calle David Stern where I always turned left to get to my Hotel Sosúa By The Sea.....

What to buy: You will buy what you need and want IF it is available.....

( good answer ??)

What to pay: Normal DR supermarket prices...... No bargaining at the cash register , please .....

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The beach in Sosua Bay was lined with beach venders. What impressed me was the fact that they did not venture onto the beach and hassle people. In Puerto Plata, the venders would not leave us alone at the hotel we stayed at.

What to buy: There were many interesting pieces of art. They start off with ridiculous prices and you really have to barter. I found that if I offered ½ of what they asked for, you set the tone for bargaining. I ended up paying about 65% off the first asking price. I might have gotten things cheaper, but I was happy with what I paid. My 11 year old son surprised me; he got things for about ½ of what they were asking. I guess not too many venders had to deal with hard nosed, stubborn kids before.

I wanted to buy the token t-shirts for some people back home but found that there was a poor selection.

What to pay: Just remember the exchange rates, they talk in pesos the dollars and when they do that, you know that they are ripping you off a few pesos.

Larimar is a rare gemstone which is only to be found in the Dominican Republic.
The name Larimar was given to the stone by a Dominican, Miguel Méndez, who combined his daughter's name LARIssa, with MAR, the Spanish word for sea.

Larimar jewels are a nice gift but be aware that you'll find many imitations everywhere. Go to specialised shops if you want to be sure that it's a real gemstone (they have certificates).