The Dominican Republic occupies 2/3 of the landmass on the Island of Hispaniola (28,000 sq miles) which it shares with Haiti. Miles of coconut palms form a backdrop to beautiful white sand beaches and lush tropical green mountains along the north coast. They give way to the rugged, dry cactus country, on the south west coast, where the mountains fall directly into the sea. Spanish is the language and the Dominican Republic Pesos is the currency.
We left Georgetown at 7.30am on 30 December to motor sail to Puerto Rico. After motor sailing 79.5 hours and only anchoring for two individual nights during that time, we decided that Puerto Rico was just too difficult in the strong easterly conditions to attempt in one trip so we sailed south south-west into Luperon, The Dominican Republic, late afternoon on 3 January. Diego, Sandra and Corizon from "X-T-Sea" did not accompany us, but decided to explore the Exhumas before sailing further south. We hope to catch up with them sometime in the Caribbean during 2009. The cruise went well, with there being very little wind for the first two days. It was as though we were floating on a sea of glass.
We caught a beautiful dolphin fish, we think, too beautiful to catch and eat, however, fish was a nice change to our diet.
The Sailing Club at Luperon and the view from the balcony.
After five days, we continued our journey further south to Puerto Rico leaving Luperon at 6pm on 8 January, only to find that our port motor died some hours out of Luperon. We decided to motor into Puerto Plata Harbour and anchor for the evening and inspect the motor the next morning to establish the condition of the motor and how we should proceed. This was a big mistake. Shortly after we arrived at approximately 1am in the morning, we were hounded by authorities wanting fees and handouts for anchoring in the harbour. We were able to convince them that we couldn't leave and that Mal would go ashore the next day to complete the paper work and pay the fees (bribes!). On the next day, 9 January, and during the few hours that we were anchored in Puerto Plata, and after inspecting the prop of the port motor, we confirmed that there were no ropes or plastic bags around the propellor. We decided that we needed to get out and would continue on one motor to the next available anchorage which was Samana. We would then consider whether we would have a mechanic look at the motor or continue on to Puerto Rico on one motor. Mal spent until 2pm clearing into and out of the harbour with Customs and Immigration and it cost us approximately $200 in bribes!
We arrived in Samana, The Dominican Republic, at 6am on 10 January. Samana is unique, different and beautiful. It has many exclusive resorts located in near proximity and large cruise ships anchor off the coast on their way to and from the Caribbean. Their passengers take advantage of whale watching and take tours of the area. The people are still poor but the tourist dollars come into the town, and the presentation of the town reflects this. However, as one travelled the back streets and the country side, one found that the simple and basic lifestyle of the people of the Dominican Republic appeared much the same as the Luperon area.
Samana, The Dominican Republic.
We found an Ex-pat American mechanic to strip and repair the port motor. Steve was a great guy and did a good job. While the work was being carried out, (it took a couple of weeks), we explored the town and socialised with couples from Canadian and British registered yachts, who were also planning to sail to Puerto Rico and further south.
