Dominican Republic:

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At present we are just a mile off of the Dominican Republic coast and on our way to Samana having left Luperon after a 5 day visit. Yes, we made it to DR, but it was a bumpy ride indeed.

After leaving the Caicos Marina and Shipyard we made our way to,

6 Hills Cay

There we enjoyed a dingy ride to explore the shoreline and a short snorkel. This cay is very rugged, covered in cactus with only iguanas, a pair of eagles and a few hawks living there. Early the next morning we set off for

 Salt Cay.

We enjoyed a great sail there and arrived to see Jill and Mark’s boat Truant was in the bay. We greeted each other and said goodbye at the same time as they were off to Luperon, Dominican Republic.

Salt Cay was where Bermudians “farmed” their salt, or white gold as it was called. In fact the salt industry was still in production until 1964, it was quite a production site using windmills for an energy source. John and I went ashore. We found it quite daring entering the entrance to the small Harbour as it had to be timed with the surf and then you surfed the dingy in.

The island was a real step back in time. Almost like an island that time had forgotten as every building was more or less as it would have been since it was originally built. It was easy to see the Bermudian influence in the architecture. Nowadays the only income seems to be the diving and whale watching that encourages some tourists to visit.

After our stroll around which we thoroughly enjoyed, we returned and had a snorkel in the bay. The bay is absolutely stunning. The water crystal clear azure and turquoise with the beach and surf it made a wonderful final stop in the Turks and Caicos. We went ashore for dinner that evening and had a tasty meal and met many interesting personalities at the beach bar and restaurant.

The following morning we went ashore to the beach and walked as far as we could along the beach. There was a deserted guest property, which we had been told was used as the local hardware store. This proved to be true as what is left is the skeleton of what must have been a picturesque guest facility. Upon returning to Aeeshah we set sail for the Dominican Republic.

Off to Dominican Republic

Our sail took us past Sand Cay, which looked to be heavenly with only 1 sailboat there and no inhabitants. Underway we lucked out seeing numerous whales breaching and blowing their spouts. I never did get a photo but will never forget the sight. Our passage started off as very pleasant however we were not able to head in the preferred direction due to the wind angle and so settled for a heading which would take us to Luperon.

As the day progressed so the seas built and became quite high so the swell, which had been long, became steep and uncomfortable. I had been doing quite well until the later evening when we were being knocked around as if in a washing machine. That was when my stomach rebelled. Poor John had to take over my 8 to midnight shift after only a few hours’ kip. Again I was pretty useless as crew. He was very pleased however when around 1am the wind came around and we were able to sail comfortably with both the main and jib out making 7 knots.

This great sail continued until around 5am when he called to me to say we needed to prepare for some squalls headed our way. We were just an hour away from the Luperon Harbour entrance when it became hellish. We had just got sails in when the downpour started and the wind blasted us from the direction of the land with the seas increasing in height they looked mountainous and we were taking them broadside. This weather was caused by coastal acceleration and the local weather. There was no way we could continue we had to face the waves and weather the squalls out. So with the wind to our portside and the waves crashing over the bow it was a good hour before it settled enough for us to approach the shoreline.

However it was still so gray, the light very poor and with very heavy seas we were not sure if we could even attempt to make the channel entrance. It was either make the entrance or head for Samana, another 24 hours away, and with John dead tired and me still icky we decided to have a go at the entrance. (And the autopilot was acting up) This meant being broadside to these huge swells for a while just to get to the start of the entrance. The swells were so steep that at some points we were swinging from 45 degrees one way to 45 degrees the other, really very scary for the boat. Once close enough we lined up the points of land, calculated where we would go between the reefs by seeing the waves crashing on them and in we went. Then we were committed. The entrance itself while it winds around was really quite straightforward. What a relief when I dropped the anchor.

Luperon, Dominican Republic

Again anchored just ahead of us was Truant, but again they were making ready and did head out for Sumana. John went off to our cabin and had a shower and slept for a few hours while I tidied up the mess.

The rain continued for the rest of the day but we were able to go to the authorities and start  the lengthy checking in procedure. And it really is quite a procedure, as it was Sunday we were only able to visit the Commandante, the customs and immigration, paying each different sums of money, filling out different forms we were told to return the following day to visit with the rest of the officials and get our tourist visas that we had already paid for.

 

 

 

 

From there we walked through the barrier and into the town. I must say that our 1st impression was not favorable. It was drizzling and gray and so the tone of the afternoon was dismal.

 The town was really not what we had expected. The music was blaring from speakers facing the street, the bars were crammed, and the dogs and kids were playing or sitting in the drainage ditches that were full of just everything. The air smelt foul, the only order was complete disorder and this was a Sunday afternoon. After a short stroll we went back to the dingy and went around the bay to the

Luperon Yacht Club.

There again it was quite dismal and as the day ended we had a few drinks and returned to the boat. This was an unfortunate first impression of Luperon.

The next day being Monday we started off by being visited and meeting a fellow named Paco and his sons Pedro and Francis. They have a boat business. They watch your boat and dinghy, as there is much theft in the area. They supply diesel water and such. Through them we arranged for a car rental the following morning and to purchase some diesel.

Into the town we went, it was a very busy place. It is nearly impossible to describe the chaos. The best way is to say that the only rule is that there are no rules. They seemed to drive whichever side of the road is free, no helmets used on bikes which usually are laden with as much and as many people as possible. There are dogs everywhere, which are unusually in a sad state. Toddlers just toddle around some playing mud pies in the mud from the drainage ditches by the roadside. People are selling every and anything, there are people of every description some obviously as mad as a hatter ranting and raving to himself or herself. People were cooking on the corners of the roads over open fires.  It was surreal and quite a culture shock for us gringos.

Remembering we do not speak Spanish I think we did well to find an ATM, get cash, get a sim card and minutes on the phone, get Internet access and by a few supplies and we did all this more or less within 2 hours.

It was still raining but things were looking better for Luperon. Off we went to finish off with the authorities.

Again after meeting with several people who all copied down all our info we hoped to be on our way. However we found out that the agriculture, trash and animal control and drug enforcement personal had to board the boat and check it out. They were very pleasant and gave us a few hours to visit the town to get some supplies and of course money to pay them with as by then we had dished out all our cash.

Nobody can make change so they say, “what can we do about this?”

And we say, oh ok, keep the change.”

To which they say, “oh gracias senor!! “

I was so hoping that as it was noon and the 2-hour lunch break that the rest of the authorities would not want to visit the boat. Alas this was not to be. They were out near the boat ready for a visit all 4 of them now, not 2 but 4 now. Aboard they came the two younger men, which I assume were in the regiment sat in the cockpit while the older man and lady went below with us. Again more forms were filled out, same questions asked and this time we only had to pay the 2 of them plus a fee for the government. Then at last we had all of our paperwork and tourist visas. They were very pleasant and friendly.

As it was still raining we set off ashore for a walk. Leaving the dingy locked at the Luperon Yacht marina/club we headed up the lane being joined by a rather lovely dog that just appeared at our side. The further up hill we went the deeper the mud got at one stage I was literally stuck in the mud at the side of the lane on a steep slope which I was afraid I was going to slip and slide to the bottom. After some help from John and advise from an old man I was off again. One fellow in a truck that went by said in Spanglish “welcome to the Luperon experience”.

Our walk took us through a resort that was being dismantled. It must have recently closed and we assumed must have affected the local economy quite badly due to the jobs lost and the revenue to the area. The dog went the whole way with us and back to the club where we had a few refreshments that evening.

In the morning the weather had brightened a bit and the rain had stopped. We again visited the town and then met Paco to get our car. The town seemed a bit less mad than previously or had we adapted already? I noticed that the children were not in school, being a Tuesday I wondered why. Asking Paco he told me how the government does not pay the teachers enough for the schools to be open everyday. The teachers can’t afford to work for so little and most people cannot afford private school. What was worse is that the police get even less that the teachers. In fact the teachers and police are some of the lowest paid government jobs. This was shocking but explained the chaos of the town where obviously people where just surviving as best they can and children can’t even go to school each day. Very sad.

Visiting the Puerto Plata area

The car turned out to be Paco’s friend’s SUV, which was huge and very nice but a large responsibility for us. Anyway off we went towards Puerto Plata with a borrowed tourist map from Paco as there were none in the town. Driving out of Luperon the countryside was beautiful. Tall, tall, trees and mountainous hillsides, dotted with farms made for a very scenic drive. Cows and horses were grazing everywhere and the country folks were working in the fields or in the farmyards. It was trash free!! The yards were tidy and people obviously took pride in their properties. The sun started to appear and the day warmed right up. We navigated to Puerto Plata, checked the area out, had a bit to eat and then John wanted to see:

Ocean World Marina.

We found it to be practically empty. This huge resort, fun park and marina had more staff than visitors in it. A mega amount of money was spent to build it and there it was practically empty. Returning to Luperon we visited JR’s for the evening and had an enjoyable time meeting new people and a good dinner.

Wonderful day:

The next morning it was just wonderful day. The sky bright blue and cloudless with no rain. Off we went to do as much as we could in the area. Our first stop was to the

27 waterfalls:

There we set off with our guide Gabriel to swim and climb 7 waterfalls and return by sliding and jumping down them all.

It was just excellent. Gabriel was excellent and thank goodness he was well built as I found climbing up a few of the falls against the water and on slippery rocks quite challenging, even John had to have help. The water was cold and refreshing. The slides were exhilarating and the jumping was from the highest I have ever jumped. It gave me quite a well-cleaned sinus as a result. The waterfalls run through a canyon leaving the walls very smooth and beautifully colored from the minerals in the rock. The surrounding forest was exceptionally green with massive trees, birds everywhere, butterflies and flowers on vines hanging from the trees. It was just a lovely morning. After which we had an excellent buffet lunch, which came with the package and then set off to the

Cable car ride up the mountains.

This again proved to be exceptional. Our guide that we hired was Edward. Speaking Splanglish to each other he pointed out all the sites as we rose above Puerto Plata and the surrounding countryside. The view was magnificent!! At the top we had photos taken with the Christ statue, which was quite an experience. The fellow there took over my camera, knew how to manipulate the shots, took some crazy photos then dragged us into where he works which turned out to be a gift shop where I felt I had to buy one of his trinkets as he had taken those pictures with my camera. He was well oiled in his act.

Off we went with Edward to see the Botanical gardens surrounding the statue. Again it was very beautiful. The gardens were well groomed and the views magnificent.

On returning to the car park Edward said he was finished for the day and would like to show us the

Amber Museum and Forte Felipe,

which I had mentioned that I would love to see. He really did us a great service as he guided us right there. Got a great parking place and helped John find a great bank to get more ……you guessed it…..$$$$$$$

In Dominican Republic $1:00 in USA currency is approximately 40 pesos. While everything is very inexpensive you use up 1000s of pesos very quickly and most machines only disperse 2500 pesos at the most each time. Well this machine was excellent, magnifico; it dispensed 10,000 at a time at the most. Anyway pesos in hand we had an interesting visit to the amber museum. The history of amber was most interesting and then the gift shop fellow encouraged me to purchase some attractive earrings.

Off to Forte Felipe we drove. There we walked around the outside. John was amazed to see a floating power station. Yep a BELCO that floats. May be a solution for Bermuda in the future. The fort is situated right at the entrance to Puerto Plata Harbour and is one of the oldest. After seeing the fort we dropped Edward off and drove down the highway joining the local drag racers towards home. These DR people are just crazy/loco on the road. There are no rules. You are overtaken by cars that are next to each other while cars are coming towards them, swerving just enough to avoid each other while going as fast as they can ….. Just loco. Our evening was spent at the commissars letting him know we were leaving for Sumana. This was a whole nother process, checking out. Then we had some dinner during a trivial pursuit game at JRs.

The final morning in Luperon started with us going in to check out with the last and final person we needed to see. Keep in mind we were only moving down the coast to Samana an over night trip of 113 miles.

 

 

In the end we really enjoyed Luperon and all the people we met there. It’s true that 1st impressions shouldn’t count.

Our passage to Sumana was very uneventful; it was quiet, peaceful and a pleasure for a night sail. We arrived in Sumana around 6am and made our way into the bay arriving at around 9:30am to the:

Puerto Bahia Marina

The marina is a new beautiful facility. We had decided to come into the marina as we could enjoy the facilities for a very affordable price. While at the marina we managed to catch up on the entire house keeping that the boat needed. Get my hair tended to as it was nearly beyond help. Do laundry and other chores. Plus we were able to use the water, for free to give the boat a good rinse off.

The town of Sumana

We found the town to be a dingy ride away, which was easy in mild weather but tough when the usual easterly wind blew into the bay. The town is much nicer than Luperon. Great grocery store and open market for stocking up with the essentials. It is also a very busy place with much going on everyday of the week.

There is a bridge that spans some islands just off the harbour. It is called “The Bridge that goes nowhere”. We had a very pleasant Sunday walk along the waterfront and this bridge. Many local families were out for the day picnicking and walking. Some of the local teens were jumping off of this high bridge then climbing up the pillars to jump again. The park area contains small stalls where you can sit and enjoy any type of drink and have a bite to eat.

The market, when we visited it on the Monday was bustling with activity, full of every and anything one could need.

Santa Domingo

We also arranged to hire a car for two days to drive into Santa Domingo, the capitol of DR.

Well the driving is one thing that John really disliked. The roads were fine getting there but once at Santa Domingo it was just crazy. Trying to read a Spanish map, Spanish street signs – that are very rare or posted right at the turn and watching out for all the peculiar traffic signals was very stressful. Yes, we found the Colonial area and our hotel, but it was more testing than bad weather on Aeeshah.

The Colonial area is the oldest in the “new world”. Everywhere is very beautiful Spanish colonial architecture.

As we were checking in at 3 we had lunch at a café off of the Columbus Square, which originated in 1502. Just watching all the action around us we were well entertained.

I loved the old shoe cleaners with their gaily-painted boxes and the horse and carriages, which were works of art. We set off along the boulevard to check out the area when we were 1^st stopped by a young fellow wanting to cut John’s hair. John agreed and 10 minutes later for 200 pesos ($4) he had a very smart head of hair.

A Tour….

A few steps after leaving our young barber we had another friendly man stop us. He convinced us that we had time to do a tour with him. His special tour. Sooo off we went. The tour included many of the colonial buildings mainly from the outside, which was fine, as at least we then knew our way around and where everything was. The “tour” concluded with us being taken to 1^st an amber and Kalimar factory, where I felt I just had to buy some earrings. Then to a cigar and Mama Juana factory we were taken. There we were offered the Mama Juana, which is a local drink made from bark of trees, spices like cinnamon, honey, rum and red wine. It was quite delicious. Of course we felt we had to buy a small bottle. Finally we arrived at an artist’s studio where this time we just had to say, No Gracious. After biding our guide goodbye we checked into the hotel. The room was lovely and the hotel was quite differently decorated with quotes painted on the walls.

It was then off to relax and have dinner following a stroll to the waterfront. Or so we had planned, but as we couldn’t get across the road to the front a kind older man stopped the traffic and helped us across. It turned out that Horhey was a very knowledgeable tour guide and without us even realizing it he started a tour with us. He had us dashing from one site to another old site and on again. Mind you he was excellent, knew all the history of everywhere, all the stories behind everything and he charmed us for over 2 hours. When finally I recognized we were nearing our street and we had to bid him farewell along with his hard earned pesos. Sitting at the same restaurant we enjoyed a few drinks, dinner and watching all the action around us. (The one thing that I have a very hard time with is all the old white men with the very young DR ladies. Obviously older male tourists taking advantage of the desperate poverty in DR)

The morning before we left we were determined not to be pick up by anyone, but to visit a few places on our own. Our first stop was the

Torre Del Homenaje Fortaleza Ozama   (in other words: Ozama Fort.)

The architecture was quite beautiful in the early morning light. And we were only convinced to buy a guidebook, not a guide.

Our final visit was the  Catedral Primada.

It is the oldest in the new world built in 1523. We spent an hour using a recorded guide to guide us around. What an amazing building. The artwork is exceptional, from the architecture to the stained glass and the paintings. It is well worth a visit.

 

Driving out of Santa Domingo we thought would be a treat, as we knew our way. What we didn’t count on was how the roads are set up. We got stuck on the highway along the shoreline and it took us nearly 2 hours to get back and across to the small single lane exit to Samana.

 Samana Peninsular 

That afternoon we took a further drive along the Sumana peninsular before returning the car. And what a scenic peninsular! It is just beautiful. Palm lined beaches, fishing villages, farming villages and all with the steep slopes of thegreen green forested mountains.

 

Our plans were to leave the day after the next and sail to Puerto Rico. So we readied the boat, stowed everything, made food, fueled up, filled water tanks, paid bills and visited with Joseph Lewis the Comandante. We had our papers and passports stamped said our goodbyes and headed out. We werein the company of another boat Dulcinea a 63 footer with an Australian family, Scott & Nicole, children Sam 13, Cally 8 and friend Hannah on board. We had met several nights prior and had arranged to cross together. Well we all left at 6ish and by 8:30 we knew we had a big problem……………………………..

The auto pilot support bracket had sheered off, broken beyond repair. No way couldwe hand steer for 2 nights and 1 day across the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico. So we had to bid farewell, see you later to our companion vessel and return slowly, carefully into a dark portfor the night.

On returning to the marina in the morning everyone was surprised but extremely helpful. Joseph the comandante signed us in and arranged for a welder who arrives half an hour later. The decision was made to rebuild the part with steel, as the original, which was less than a year old, was not well made or really fixable. So now we wait for another weather window to leave for Puerto Rico. However it is a lovely place to be stuck in.

 

Be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet. Make all your friends feel there is something special in them. Look at the sunny side of everything. Think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best. Be as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give everyone a smile. Spend so much time improving yourself that you have no time left to criticize others. Be too big for worry and too noble for anger.    Christian Larson