Saturday, November 23, 2013

The Dominican Republic

Samana

13th –16th May 2013

Leaving Puerto Rico in our wake we headed out into the Mona Passage. This stretch of water which lies between  the two islands of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola has a notorious reputation as being one of the roughest bodies of water in the Caribbean. It’s due to the fact that part of the sea bed known as the Puerto Rican trench runs just to the north with depths as great as 39,000 feet. Waters from the north Atlantic ocean flow down into the trench and then back out the other side, a bit like a huge dip in the road. Once this deeper fast flowing body of water meets the shallower waters, currents and sandbars of the Mona Passage, all hell can break loose.The Mona becomes a funnel with the Atlantic ocean trying to push it’s way to the south and the tropical waters from the Caribbean sea trying to push north. I’m sure you are getting the picture here. Not a good place to be in anything smaller than a tanker, on a bad day. Having heard from friends who had recently transited this passage and got really beat up, there was a fair amount of trepidation on board to say the least.

The forecast sounded pretty good for the 125 mile overnight sail, we had our fingers crossed that it would stay that way. As we got further out into the passage the wind picked up from the NNE and the sea became quite choppy, hitting us on the beam, it was a little uncomfortable but not too bad. Later that evening the wind started to bend around more to the east giving us a good lift, that’s a sailing term for a good wind angle. This meant that if the wind direction didn’t change we would easily miss the dangerous Hourglass shoals that stood between us and Samana in the Dominican Republic.

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With clear skies all around, mother nature put on a fabulous sunset and we were privileged to witness the “green flash”, a pretty rare phenomena that occurs  usually with cloudless skies. As the sun dips just below the horizon a bright green flash of light  momentarily glows where the sea meets the sky. We took it as a good omen for the remaining miles we had to cover. As darkness engulfed our world, a sliver of moon and a handful of stars kept us company. By 2am the wind had died completely and we revved up our iron sail for the remaining 53 miles. The sea was dead calm as we approached the entrance to Samana bay so we stopped for a swim off the transom. We love jumping off the back when the weather is hot and sticky, it’s also a great way to wake up after an overnight passage. Mind you we never stay in long as who knows what might be lurking beneath, looking for a take=away snack. Motoring down the bay towards the marina the lush hillsides were a beautiful sight. Dotted with coconut palms, wisps of smoke from village fires made it’s way slowly skywards.

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Our  American friends from the catamaran “Good Trade” had visited this area a few months earlier and had given the Puerto Bahia Marina a really good wrap, so we were looking forward to spending a few days there.

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On arrival we were greeted by very friendly staff who directed us to a slip right next to the pool area, way to go!. Not long after tying up, officials from customs and immigration came  on board to complete our entry formalities. Five of them sat in our cockpit filling in forms. We hadn’t had this many on the boat since our arrival in Kupang, Indonesia back in 2006, and that time there was eleven! And, there was not one hint of any of them asking for a bribe, something that we’ve found to be a usual thing in some of the poorer countries that we’ve visited over the years. Once we were all legal, one of the marina staff came down and invited us to the Manager’s cocktail reception later that evening, even though there were only five visiting boats in the marina. It was a really nice touch. For the rest of the afternoon the three of us chilled out by the pool, which was to die for. The last thing we expected in this country was a beautiful marina, edge pool and a restaurant called CafĂ© del Mer, a take off of the real one the island of Ibiza in the Mediterranean.

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After speaking to the marina staff about doing some land touring we hired a car and the next morning drove up to the El Limon waterfalls. The falls were about an hours drive from the marina and along the way we gleaned a snippet of what this part of the DR was like. It’s a very mountainous island with lush tropical vegetation. Most people either ride motorbikes or horses to get around. Some just walk.

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There were cars but not as many as most of the other islands. Once the road ran out, access to the falls was only by horse.There were a plethora of  riding outfits eager to take tourists to the falls for a fee, negotiating skills were a must.

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With the business end sorted a groom selected a horse for each of us based on our equine skills, and then led each horse along steep trails and through a couple of rivers. Having had a a few downpours of late the trails were very muddy and slippery, but the horses certainly new the best route and were extremely sure footed, given that some parts of the trails had no fences, only steep drop-offs which didn’t excite Liam one bit.

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After an hour there was just one more river to get across and with the horses parked, Liam and Ross started wading through the rushing waters, but  I had my own human horse who, to much to my surprise, hoisted me up on his back and carried me across across.                                                                               The pool at the base of the falls was wonderfully refreshing, the cool water pounding down from a couple of hundred feet above. After a good half hour of cooling off,  back to our faithful nags we went ready for the thigh chaffing ride back.

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For our second day out we hit the road with the intention of driving to the capital Santo Domingo on the south coast. That was until we had a good look at the map and realised that it was over 200 kilometers away. On the less than perfect roads it would take about four hours each way. So that idea got squashed pretty quick and we moved on to plan B, a drive around and lunch at the seaside town of Las Terranas on the north coast.                                                                                             IMG_0032IMG_0031

The drive there took us through tropical farmland where cows grazed under palm trees and wild horses ambled across the roads at their leisure.

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The north coast has a reasonable number of plush looking resorts, expat homes and a beautiful stretch of classic tropical coastline.

We found a little beachside place for lunch, Le Tre Caravelle, and it was well worth the drive. The food and setting were excellent. It didn’t seem to matter where we went everyone, was friendly, smiling and happy to have a chat, especially some of the local girls.

 

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The next day was our last in the DR, and as our next stop would be in a very remote part of the Bahamas, we needed to stock up on as much  fresh produce as we could so a quick trip into Samana to the public markets took up most of the morning.

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The markets were a bustling hive of activity with sellers calling out their specials of the day.

There was a great range of fruit and veg straight from the farms, no frozen or refrigerated stuff within cooee. The carrots had been plucked straight from the ground and still had dirt on them. There was also a good selection of fish and chicken,  though we decided not to purchase any although I’m sure it would have been fresh, fresh, fresh . It was just the presentation in the hot sun that put me off.

 

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Last stop on the list was the grocery store, which had pretty much only had the bare essentials. It was a good thing I stocked up while in Puerto Rico.Then it was back to the marina to pay our bill, which was very inexpensive for a boat our size, we dropped our lines and off we went . Did we enjoy our short stay in the Dominican Republic? I have to say yes, even though we didn’t see a lot of the place. We chose to stay in Samana rather than Luperon on the north coast as we had heard and read many reports of theft, corruption and a very dirty anchorage. Having said that we do know cruisers who have stopped there and like it . Each to their own I guess.

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So what comes next? Another overnight sail of 200 miles that will have us making landfall on Great Inagua Island at the  very bottom of the Bahamas. From there we will be cruising the  remote Ragged Islands for a few weeks, so stay tuned for the next update.

Cruising Info.

Samana: Marina De Puerto Bahia,located in Bahia De Samana

Customs / Immigration: For 3 persons and boat was, $10 pp Tourist card, and $ 73 for the boat. $103 USD total.

Marina fee : $180 USD for 3 nights inc electricity.

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Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Puerto Rico

6th -12th May 2013

Ponce

The city of Ponce is often referred to as the pearl of the south. Founded by Juan Ponce de Leon y Loayza in 1682, it is the second largest city on the island after the capital San Juan. The guide books describe the city as having a laid back atmosphere and  some unique architecture. As our car was due back at the rental office by noon and Liam wasn’t that interested in coming with me to have a look around Ponce, I hit the road early and zipped over for a quick gander.  With limited time I focused on seeing the buildings surrounding the main square, the Plaza las Delicias.

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Standing out like doggies was the Parque de Bombas. This was a former fire house and is painted with distinctive red and black stripes and is the symbol of the city. Unfortunately I had arrived too early as it wasn’t opening for another couple of hours so I didn’t get to have a look inside.The building has now been turned into a museum with an exhibition on the history of the fire fighters of Ponce.

 

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The park in the main square was quiet except for a group of fitness fanatics who had just finished their workout and were enjoying a communal breakfast under the trees. The thought crossed my mind to ask if I could join them as I was a tad peckish, but I kept on walking. Just around the next corner I spotted a food cart with a line up of people, always a sign of good local food. In my very broken Spanish I got the gist that the man was selling hot pork rolls and coffee. I couldn’t resist the urge to indulge and boy was it yummy.   

Meanwhile back on my walking tour the municipal workers were tending to the public gardens. I stopped to ask one of the gardeners why the Fountain of Lions had no water and he just shrugged his shoulders and said “ no water”.  I guess it must have been broken. So I have a photo of the famous fountain, sans the wet stuff below on the left, and one of how it’s supposed to look courtesy of a friends blog site. 

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The Ponce Cathedral  was my next stop. Also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe, it dates back to 1670 and has been damaged several times by fires and earthquakes The exterior was a beautiful light blue colour with matching colours on the ceiling inside.The sun was still a bit low to get a good shot of the outside which was a shame. Mass had just finished and there were still a few good Catholics on their knees saying their morning prayers, so I didn’t hang around too long.  

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After walking for another hour or so and snapping off a few more photos, it was time to head back to GWTW before the morning traffic became too hectic.

On the move again

Five days in Salinas  was long enough and it was time to move GWTW further west along the coast. With a good breeze blowing, setting the kite gave us a good fast ride until the wind angle became too shy and we switched down to our screecher. There are plenty of good anchorages along the south coast of Puerto Rico so we opted for a snorkel and lunch stop at Caja de Muertos. Also called Coffin  Island due to its shape, it is an uninhabited island with a century old lighthouse. We were planning to stop at Gilligan's Island as well but as the wind was starting to pick up we kept sailing ‘till we reached Cayo de Cana Gorda / Pt Jacinta for the night, anchoring just off a rather nice looking resort. Liam and Ross did a little lobster hunting in the afternoon but they found no booty to bring home. Pity really as a lobster dinner would have been nice. Next day we continued west stopping at the sleepy little town of La Parguera for the evening.

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It had been a rather uncomfortable ride with white caps all around and we were glad when we dropped the anchor right off the town in the protection of a mangrove island. As a treat we had dinner in town, chowing down on a Puerto Rican  delicacy called Mofongo. It is a mixture of fried and ground up plantains, which are a kind of banana. It was tasty, just not sure if we’ll be rushing back for anymore. 

The town was pretty small but the locals were all very friendly. A walk around town only took 15 minutes and I spotted a very colourful trailer park. Equally as colourful were the homes built on stilts out over the water’s edge.

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Our last anchorage in Puerto Rico was on the west coast at the town of Boqueron. It was yet another sleepy town but it did have a lovely long crescent beach and a well protected anchorage and good holding in 12ft of sand. Hiring a taxi for the day we did a parts run up to the larger town of Mayaguez where a much needed  parcel of pumps was waiting for us at the post office

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After some last minute provisioning by 11am the next morning we were heading out across the Mona Passage bound for a 125 mile sail to Samana in the Dominican Republic

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