Excursions in the DR

Being knocked out by a stomach ailment curtailed our hopes of traveling extensively in the Dominican Republic. However, once recovered, we rented a car and packed as much as we could into a few days. The people are handsome and vibrant and they drive like maniacs but it's friendly and fun and we were only a little bit terrified at times. The only way to describe it is a place full of rules in which no one follows the rules. Our sense of order and personal space never quite got used to this. But we had a great time jumping into it by riding the Teleferico (cable car) and driving to Luperon and La Isabela, the settlement site of Christopher Columbus' second voyage in 1493.

It was a holiday weekend so the line for the cable car was really long. The wait was almost long enough for a couple of us to lose our nerve. Without these barriers and an organizer there would have been pandemonium.

Our view of the destination. As our group watched our car make its way down Loma Isabel, a man in a wheelchair arrived through a side door with a family member and guide. We immediately realized (freaked out) that this would put the car over capacity. But nobody gave a shit except us. As soon as the car arrived and let out its passengers, everyone started pushing and shoving to get in. Including the guy in the wheelchair! We were totally unprepared and within 4 seconds realized we were last to get in and we wouldn't fit anyway. So we told the only person working there, the magician who entertains while you wait, that we'd wait for the next car. As jam-packed car #1 jerked off the platform, Andy and I had the same fatalistic thoughts: Either car #1 is going to crash and burn and we'll feel guilty forever or car #2 is going down with us in it because we gave up our spots. Maybe we were a wee bit nervous!  

Evelyn had been looking forward to this since the day we arrived. Drew was just happy he decided to brave it. Here comes car #2!

The sign said maximum capacity 20! But because we were counted in the group for the previous car, they didn't realize that the 22 people they put into the next group (yes, that's more than 20!) wouldn't include us. And does anybody remember there's a cable car operator who counts as a person too?? We were so packed in and uncomfortably wedged between strange boob and booty. This group was so loud and rambunctious it was like being stuck at the top of the ferris wheel with that ahole who thinks it's HILARIOUS to swing the seat as hard as he can while you curl up in the corner sucking your thumb crying for your mommy. Add to that a general distrust of any ongoing maintenance and we thought for sure we were going to die. 

OK the views were amazing and it was a really exciting ride! And Andy is featured in about 50 selfies. We didn't see a single Dominican man with facial hair and they all liked to look at him. 

Our concerns were well founded when we reached the top and COULDN'T REACH THE TOP. The car was so overloaded it couldn't make it so three volunteers had to be shoved and hoisted over this railing to lighten the load enough for us to get to the right position.

The cable car docks by hanging in this spot on the sheer face of the mountain and the doors open on to this concrete platform. Scary! 

So long, car #2! The harbor in the distance is Puerto Plata. Ocean World is to the West/left in the photo. 

Hay-soos. 

 It was so beautiful and chilly at the top.

There were many paths winding through the forest. The plant life was amazing. 

Lunch in Luperon. No, son, this is how you drink a gigantic beer. Everyone says boat kids are more mature and we're setting out to prove it. 

This sign says we were at La Isabela. Everything was in Spanish but this we totally understood. 

Under the thatch roof is the site of Columbus' house. It's pretty amazing to set foot there and look out over the protected bay and imagine the boats anchored there hundreds of years ago. Although there were many negative repercussions tied to the landfalls during this time, it's hard not to be in awe of these relatively small ships voyaging into the unknown during the age of discovery. 

What's left of the walls. 

This was the site of the store house. 

His real name was Cristobal Colon. I learned that in 7th grade Spanish class. 

Hola, Cofresi!

Based on our grossly inaccurate calculations we expected about a 20 hour trip from Big Sand Cay (Turks & Caicos) to the Dominican Republic. But we started out motoring faster than usual in flat calm and then, as the wind picked up, sailing faster than we expected. Why does this never happen when we want it to happen?!? After a lot of frustrating adjustments attempting to de-power throughout the night we just put the sails away and motored very slowly and uncomfortably in choppy, disorganized seas until the sun came up and we could hail the marina. We drowsily cleared customs and met our dock neighbors on Morpheus of London. They gave us the scoop on everything, including how to sneak into the off-limits pool. We enjoyed a day of rest and sneaky pool time then quickly dove into two much-anticipated land adventures and a truly nasty case of Taino Revenge. Thankfully no photos of that will be included. Have you ever seen a cascade of second time around ramen noodles running down a stairway? Try getting THAT image out of your head.  

Mountains! Mist! Odors! About 15 miles offshore the wind shifted slightly and we were suddenly overwhelmed by a warm, smoky, earthy, livestocky smell. The Bahamas were flat and  virtually odorless. This olfactory onslaught was the first thing to hit us, followed by a view of lush mountains at sunrise. Beautiful! 

The best and only free wifi we've had in months! I think we spent hours in this position.

On day two we visited the Damajagua Falls (aka 27 waterfalls) in Puerto Plata. This is a popular thing to do when visiting this area and is probably where we picked up the cholera, um, I mean, traveler's disease. 

The hike to the top took about an hour. There was a lot of heavy breathing on the uphill parts. We are so out of shape and these young guys who do this every day were laughing at us. We kept stopping to look at everything because it was so jungle-y. 

We made it! There were a lot of big groups but we were lucky to have two guides, Kevin and Lenny, to ourselves. They were really cool and it gave us a chance to get to know each other and dive right into speaking (terrible) Spanish. Lenny and I both have sisters who live in Boston! 

So first you hike up and then you get back down by jumping and sliding down 27 waterfalls. We lost count. This is the very first waterfall. The cool water felt great after the long hike. The helmets look silly but there were a couple moments they seemed like a really good idea.  

The first warm up jump. Kevin took over camera duties so we could just enjoy it. 

Wide, uncertain eyes quickly turned into huge smiling faces.

The whole thing was very pretty. This is one of the slides we all went down. There were some slides that were pretty daunting but there's no other way to get down! So you cross your arms, plug your nose, sit your butt where they tell you (or yell at you when you hesitate and say you don't want to because you think you're going to slip and they say they have a hold of you but you say you don't feel like they do and then somebody picks you up by the back of the lifejacket and says see I told you I have you so you do what they say and sit your butt down) and go for it! I think it was the most times I've heard the phrase, "you go first." 

This picture was added as a public service. For those of you dreading the annual stuffing of your pale, chubby, hairy bodies into a bathing suit after a long, cold winter, just look at this humiliating photo and you'll feel better about yourself. You're welcome. 

There was a lot of clambering. Towards the end Evelyn got really cold so Kevin took her quickly through the last of the slides and put her in the sun. Upon reflection she was probably on the small side for this outing but she loved it and the guides took great care with all of us. 

The rock looks like a face. 

Artsy clambering.

We were so pooped at the end but it was a lot of fun.

We stopped for lunch in an area called Maimon which is known for its seafood. There are so many of these open air restaurants. Come to think of it we haven't see any enclosed ones. That's an English/Spanish book on the table. We're kind of glad the Dominicans here don't launch right into English. It makes us feel less like tourist jerks. A lot of times there's no choice and other times it just seems like they're being nice letting us figure it out and helping with forgotten words or correct phrases. 

A dream come true! Evelyn has been dying to go horseback riding since we moved on to the boat. Unfortunately Andy had to miss out on this outing due to his tourist tummy. Evelyn's steed is named Caramelo. He was very sleepy and slow.

We rode through the peaceful countryside of an area called Munoz. Our main guide was really proud of the beauty and tranquility of his surroundings. To him, this is happiness. It really was pretty. 

We stopped for a refreshment and the kids taste tested the pepsi and 7up. Everything is so rustic. Which is not to say intentionally charming but frankly, totally poor. Besides the over the top artwork this is not a place for tourists but rather a gathering spot for the people living in the area. It's just there and seems so normal that the sink is outside and the toilet is an outhouse you flush by pouring in a bucket of blue "water." Our visit drew a smattering of men and boys curious to look at and talk about us. They were absolutely flabbergasted that we live on a boat. And I always wonder why I never see women hanging about.

Bunny ears on a horse.  

This is one of the houses we went past. Pretty basic, pretty wide open. The weather is tropical but really pleasant. Warm and breezy during the day, cool at night and enough rain and clouds to keep it dynamic. 

Drew's horse was very easygoing and sweet.

My horse was a pain in the butt who always wanted to run and to be first in line. 

This monstrosity is part of the Ocean World complex. We're staying in the marina, this building is the site of the casino and vegas style show and there's also a park with a dolphin experience and sea lion show. We can't figure out the original vision for this place and how it all ties together. No matter: it's all being re-vamped anyway.  Clearing into customs is easy and we feel like the boat is safe when we leave it, frequently, unattended for many hours on end. 

Yummy Mexican food right near the marina and across from the Playa Cofresi. Andy had recovered enough to join us for lunch.

After lunch Andy and the kids swam at the beach. We were really spoiled by the clear blue waters of the Bahamas and this was kind of disappointing. Well, it was actually pretty gross. I got out of it. Hey, someone has to stay with the bag. Not long after lunch and the swim, Andy relapsed and the kids weren't far behind. Looking back on our first 48 hours we'll never be able to pinpoint the source of the stomach ailments. But we had a great couple days and we're probably stronger for it!  

Breaking out of the Bahamas

After four months of sun and sand we were really looking forward to a new adventure and our weather opportunity opened up in a big way. Our goal was simple: move as far and as often as we could based on the weather. We knew this part of the trip was going to be more about traveling than cruising. But we made the most of it as we went and ended up having a great ten days even though it was all a blur. We traveled and planned our route independently but were always criss-crossing with a group of boats that departed the Bahamas at the same time. Eavesdropping on all their VHF conversations kept us from feeling too isolated. Everybody does it. They'd eavesdrop on us if we ever talked to anyone! This part of our route took us from Long Island (Hog Cay) to Rum Cay (the rolliest anchorage in the world), to Mayaguana and then Turks & Caicos. One of the highlights was seeing so many whales on their annual migration from the breeding grounds of the Silver Banks to the feeding grounds in the North.

Not long after we left Long Island, we saw a school of mahi and headed right for it. About two seconds after our lines were in the water we had a double hook up. Here is Drew reeling in the bigger of the two and Andy using the gaff to bring it in. This one fell back in a couple times. At the same time Evelyn was reeling in another on the port side. Exciting!

Everyone stayed in their undies that morning for good luck. It worked!

This is the anchorage at Mayaguana. We sailed a little over 24 hours straight to get here after a miserable night at Rum Cay. All of these boats converged on this anchorage around the same time. Once a window opens, everyone jumps through it. Most of them headed out the next day but we decided to stay so Drew and Andy could get their last fill of fishing before leaving the Bahamas. Our VHF buddies, Dirk and Nancy on Renegade, decided to stick around also.

This is the one that almost got away and the "three sharks were circling us" story no mother wants to hear.  A little team effort and some quick action brought in this large grouper with everyone's limbs still attached.  

The kids went over to Renegade to watch Dirk clean the fish and meet their cat, Captain Butters. These vacuum cleaners always show up when there's a fish carcass in the water. 

More goodies. We had a fish and lobster feast with Dirk and Nancy.

A pain to cook but absolutely delicious!

There are so many pristine beaches in the Bahamas. Unfortunately, though, most of the beaches on the windward side of the islands look like this. It's horrifying how much plastic shit and fishing netting washes ashore. Just sayin'

Always catching stuff. This crab was so annoyed it was waving a stick at us! Evelyn often rides her cardboard tube horse, Stormy, around since she can't get the real thing. 

When our goal is to make tracks we spend many hours and days on the boat. Sometimes it's too bumpy or hot or loud to be inside playing or watching a movie. And reading would cause instant barfing. So these two come up with all kinds of weird stuff to do. We sit at the helm and watch wondering what the heck they talk about all day. Apparently this topic was hilarious. Some people have wondered if the kids get bored. I'm sure we all suffer from some version of boredom at times but the word is rarely used and they prefer it to being in school all day and a jam-packed schedule so they never complain. 

Yup, we're watching you!

Getting busted added to the hilarity. We don't even want to know.

Arriving in Turks & Caicos after a night sail. It was kind of sad taking down our ratty Bahamas flag and hoisting the yellow quarantine flag. We cleared in and out of the Turks & Caicos at the same time knowing we weren't going to linger. We did get to fly the flag for a couple days, though. 

How could you possibly be bored when you can do THIS in Provo T&C? The excitement never stops.  

Snorkeling and collecting stinky stuff in the buff at Long Cay, Turks & Caicos where we spent one night after crossing the Caicos Bank.

A long dinghy ride into South Caicos got us dinner at a restaurant in what seemed like a defunct hotel just up this road lined with more of da funk.  

Sunset dinghy ride back to Tangent waaaaayyy in the distance. 

A quick visit to the beach in the AM before heading to our next anchorage. The kids were sad to come across this pile of cleaned conch shells that were mostly smaller than legal size. 

On our way to Big Sand Cay we saw many whales breaching. We were never close enough to get a good picture. There's one out of the water if you look closely enough. 

Big Sand Cay: The last of our turquoise water and white sand beach anchorages for a while.  Dominican Republic, here we come!