That's not counting the driver and the fare taker who hung on the outside of the van in the open doorway. Between Cabarete and Sosua, three more adults and a small boy joined our happy band. We passed through cane fields and open land dotted with palm trees where horses and cattle grazed. Occasionally passing a newly built resort hotel. Most of the passengers got off between Sosua and Puerto Plata.
Passengers rap twice on the ceiling to signal a stop at the next intersection, house or driveway.
By the time we entered Puerto Plata, the only people left in the van were me, the driver, the fare attendant and two young lovers in the back still pretending they were sardines. We stopped at a small shack in a Puerto Plata side street. A heavy set man got up from his card table in front of the shack and approached us. Hand shakes, smiles and small talk was exchanged with the driver as the attendant counted the take. Notations were made on a small pad, more hand shakes, smiles and we were off.