Boqueron

05/03/03

We had a good sail from Gilligan's Island. Finally we are able to sail with no motor on most of our trips! Everything seems to be working fine although we did hear some knocking on the bottom of the boat. Allen dove on it when we got here & found nothing outside that could have caused the sound so he dug down to look at the rudder connection inside. It seemed a little loose so he tightened the steering cables, maybe that was the problem with the autopilot drive?

Boqueron is a small resort town on the SW corner of Puerto Rico. It is supposed to get very loud & wild on the weekends. We stuck around to see it but it seems to be mostly families who came down to enjoy the weekend at the beach. There are a few bands playing tonight (Saturday) but it's pretty mild. We found a great Mexican restaurant (Pico-Pico) & a fun & good Irish restaurant/pub (Galloways), built over the water with the feel of Captain's Quarters in Louisville. It is a beautiful bay to anchor in with room enough for hundreds of boats.

We met up with some old friends here. Tom & Jennifer (Windwalker) are also heading to Luperon then North to Florida. We got to spend some time with them catching up on our adventures since we last met. They are leaving before us but we plan to meet up with them & Tarifa when we make it to Luperon.

05/07/03

We left for Luperon (Dominican Republic) Sunday (03/04) morning. At about 3 hours out we ran into a pod of dolphins. They played in our bow wave for about 20 minutes. We both went up to the bow sprit & watched them play. Allen even got some good pictures of them. I always think seeing dolphins bodes well for a passage but not to be... When I went back to the helm I found the autopilot was not working again. This time we were smart & headed back. No 24 hours of hand steering for us! We thought it would be easier to fix in Puerto Rico since we had access to toll free numbers in the US from there & easier delivery. Since we know nothing about the Dominican Republic & do not want to face the coral reefs of the Bahamas without autopilot it seemed like a good idea.

Allen quickly decided that the problem was in the drive cylinder so we went to Luperon Travel Agency to look up the phone numbers we needed. Shelly was so helpful, she even let us use her phone to call the toll free numbers we found & said we could use her address for shipping. Raymarine confirmed Allen's diagnosis so we called West Marine to have a new cylinder shipped. It came in the next day & Allen had it installed in a few hours. You can't beat that for convenience!

The weather is not so good now so we are going to use this setback as an opportunity to rent a car & go see the West of Puerto Rico.

05/12/03

We had a wonderful trip. Shelly helped us get a rental car & since they would not come to Boqueron to pick us up she offered to have her son take us there since he was heading that way anyway. He left us off at the mall & we decided to have lunch at Chili's before picking up the car at the airport. Chili's seems to be everywhere in Puerto Rico but they do not have the black bean burgers we like so much at home. We suffered through it though.

We headed up the West coast then across the North coast to the Morrillos Lighthouse of Arecibo. It was pretty & the sights beautiful but it was mostly just a kiddie park built around a lighthouse. We stayed in the Parador El Guajataca overnight. The rooms had a beautiful view of a long, sandy, beach & the Atlantic Ocean. We had a sunset walk along the beach & had dinner there.

The next morning we went to the Camuy Caves. They were spectacular! It started with a trolley tour through a beautiful rain forest down to the cave. The "rooms" were huge with small entrance "windows" for light. There were huge rock sculptures & a river running right through it. When we came out to catch the trolley to the next cave it was pouring down rain. We got soaked through & missed the second cave but we were in better shape than most since we had a fuss change of clothes in the car.

That afternoon we went to the Arecibo Observatory. That was really something to see. The visitor's center in nice & informative but the radar telescope was the interesting part. It is huge! The Disc suspended across an entire valley with a control tower suspended above it on cables so it can be positioned to pick up waves from a particular section of the sky. They had posters up from "Contact" & the James Bond movies that were filmed there to try to get the kids interested, I don't really think it worked. The kids we saw were pretty bored with the whole thing but it fascinated us.

We had quite a drive up to the hotel we stayed in that night. It was up in the Mountains & required navigating some really narrow winding roads to find it. The views were spectacular though as we drove by beautiful mountains & pristine lakes. We stayed at Casa Grande Mountain Retreat & it was all it was billed to be. It is an eco-hotel, which basically means that you get great views of the mountain (it truly is beautiful) & no amenities. The restaurant (Jungle Jane's) was great in spite of the name. I would highly recommend this hotel & might even come back here when I am sick of the rat race but right now I live "eco-friendly" all the time & when I go to a hotel I want air conditioning & cable TV!

The next day we drove through the Cordillera Central, the mountain range "backbone" of Puerto Rico. As beautiful as it was I think it was too much twisting & turning for Allen after hours of driving. I offered to drive for a while but he said my driving would just make him nervous. I couldn't help noting that his made me a bit nervous at times on those mountain roads too, anyone would. We stopped at Guanica State Forest for a walk but it was a dry, coastal forest so it wasn't too interesting. We drove back to Boqueron to spend the night on the boat (no air conditioning or TV) & returned the car the next day.

We were planning to leave today but I decided to do laundry after we returned the car & the laundry is right across the street from Galloways. We had to do something while we waited for the laundry to dry so we got stuck there for a while & today I don't feel much like sailing the Mona Passage.

05/15/03

Luperon, Dominican Republic

We had an easy sail across the Mona Passage & sailed most of the way to Luperon. The wind was great most of the way but slowed at night which was good as we were moving too fast and did not want to enter the harbor before sunrise. We got here at 8:30 AM & had help navigating the channel by Mike (Sea comber). Customs & Immigration visited the boat almost as soon as we hoisted the "Q" flag. They spoke almost no English but clearance was simple if not cheap ($80). This is a very well protected harbor, considered to be a good hurricane hole, but very shallow in spots. The harbor is surrounded by mangroves, pretty mountains & a small town that is completely hidden by the brush.

05/17/03

We met up with Lynne & Sean (Tarifa) our first full day & they showed us the town. It didn't take long so we had lunch a Dally Restaurant. It was good to catch up with them & we swapped stories of our passages. They, also, had the autopilot break on the trip from Bonaire & theirs stayed broken so they had to hand steer all the way to Luperon, impressive!

Allen & Sean went to the cock-fights last night. I had no interest in it & had less when Allen told me about it later. The roosters are partially plucked & have spurs taped to their legs. After weighing & betting they are placed in the ring where they kick & peck each other until one is dead or near death. The loser is sold & then the kids take them out back & stone them to death if they are not already dead. I will never understand it but it is still the national sport of Puerto Rico also.

05/20/03

We went horseback riding today. It was great! It was just Allen & I & Mario, the owner. We rode through the beautiful countryside for three hours. Allen was on Bon-Bon, I had Caramel & Mario rode Commando at the beginning but after a while he had me get on Commando. I think he is trying to get Commando used to other people riding him because he is a bit friskier than the others. It also helped me because Commando had an English saddle & I could get the stirrups shorter so my knees were more comfortable. We wandered small, shady lanes between pastures, galloped across a dry lake, & rode up a hill to overlook the harbor. What a great ride! Allen had the backpack & it disintegrated on the ride spilling the camera during the galloping. It was not working & rattled when we shook it so it didn't look good. When we got back he took it apart & put it back together (sans a few broken plastic parts) & it works perfectly! I wonder what those parts were for?

05/22/03

We took a tour to Puerto Plata ($50) with Pablo since Jose could not come up with enough people to do his tour. We probably should have waited since Pablo forgot to mention that the cable car ride was closed on Wednesday, I'm sorry we missed it. We did see the Amber Museum. Its logo looked familiar & we finally figured out why. The Museum got a lot of press during the filming of Jurassic Park shot here, in the Dominican Republic. Their logo is similar to the movie's. Amber is the petrified sap of a tree, which can trap debris intact in it. We were going to buy some with an inclusion of a mosquito but a small, golf ball size piece was about $1500. Can't see a mosquito worth that!

We had lunch at a restaurant downtown & Allen had a two pound lobster lunch for about $12. Then we went to the Mueso Fortalenza San Filipe. It was a nice fort but after El Morro it was not impressive. After the fort we visited the Brugal Rum Factory. It was really just a bottling plant with a store attached to buy anything with the Brugal name. At least we got a drink, RUM, lime juice & Crème de Menthe blended with ice. It was pretty good so we bought some rum, it was very cheap ($3/bottle).

05/27/03

Friday we went to Santo Domingo, the Capitol and the oldest city in the Americas. Lynne & Sean had planned the trip & were supposed to go with us but Hudson (their dog) fell through the screened hatch in the V-berth last week & is seriously injured & hardly able to walk. They did not feel like they could leave him alone at this point so we went alone.

The bus was nice, a Greyhound type with AC. It was the express bus to Santo Domingo but I would interpret that loosely. We stopped all along the way at houses, bus stops, schools & any place someone had an errand to run. The "conductor" worked with the driver as a team, he helped people in & out & flirted with every lady on the bus. When he came to us Allen gave him the tickets & then he said something & pointed at me. It took a lot of (sometimes borderline obscene) hand gestures to figure out that he was asking where Lynne was (La otra chica!) since she had brought us to the bus stop. We were laughing hysterically by the time we figured it out. It was Friday afternoon so the crowd got more lively as we went along, especially after the rest stop where some bought bottles of rum & Cokes. The music also got livelier & louder as we approached the city. The"4 hour" trip took closer to 6 hours but for 90pesos (about $3.50) for a ride & a show it can't be beat!

We stayed at the Hotel Palacio, the restored Governor's mansion ($77). It was beautiful Spanish Colonial décor but with modern amenities (modern bathrooms, AC & Cable TV). Breakfast was served in the inner courtyard surrounded by tropical plants. Little flowers fell on the tables from the trees, Martha Stewert could not have decorated it more naturally! We owe Lynne big for this recommendation. I did, at least, save her the nightly chocolates, well, most of them.

The location of the hotel was perfect also. One block down was Calle El Conde, kind of a walking mall lined with stores one direction & the Old Cathedral Square the other direction. We spent the first day just walking around the City, along the Malecon (waterfront) & down some residential districts. We ended up with a late lunch at Anacaona, a very cute café on the Old Cathedral Square. It was great & the ambiance was that of Paris (except that the bottles on the tables were Presedente beer not wine).

The second day we headed for the Old City looking for museums. First we went to Alcazar de Colon, Christopher Columbus' son's mansion. It is beautifully restored & furnished. In the foyer was a full size replica of a horse & rider in full battle armor. I have never seen full horse armor before, I don't think our horses would have let us get within 50 ft with all that metal.

Next we went to the Museo De Le Casas Reales. It had a fully outfitted "pharmacy" in one large room & the best weapon collection we have seen since the museums of London. As we walked in to purchase our tickets we were instructed to follow a guide, Jose. He did a wonderful tour of the museum & added much to the experience. Afterward he took us outside & showed us some other historical buildings nearby & on up the street to the National Pantheon where the heroes of the DR are buried (except that the three most important have been moved to a separate, very ornate tomb). He walked on, with us, to the Fort & the Cathedral where we made it clear we were worn out & wanted to stop at one of the bistros lining the square. Allen tried to give him a tip & he replied that the standard price for a tour was $20! Instead of arguing that there had never been any mention of us hiring him we just paid it. He really was informative & did increase our enjoyment of the museums so it was worth it but it definitely left a bitter taste in our mouth.

That night we were looking forward to having dinner in a French restaurant we had found near the square, Campo De Francia. After we were seated the waiter came up & said we would really enjoy the meal as they served "tipico Dominican". That, in spite of the map of France on the wall, should have been a clue. Still, we had our heart set on the cheese fondue, so we stayed. It was a little more like cheese soup & the other dishes were not exceptional but the wine was good & the atmosphere pleasant so we had a good night.

Our last day we tried to go to some museums across town but all were closed that day so we just wandered the neighborhoods back to the Old Town & had lunch at Rita's Café, much better than expected. We spent the evening at the square at Restaurant El Conde dining, drinking "super frio" Presidente & watching the parade of people. There were many families, children playing in the square, old men sitting around talking & lots of young couples. It was such a nice place to sit & enjoy our last night in Santo Domingo.

The return trip on the bus was, again, a treat. The bus driver & "conductor" were the same team as before. A really nice couple with their three daughters were seated in front of us & as the trip went on we played & talked with the girls. The Mother was Dominican & spoke very little English, the Father was German & spoke broken English but the oldest girl spoke Spanish, English, German, French & some Italian. The show this time was an older woman who got on early in the trip. She sat in the front & talked and laughed the whole time she was on the bus. I have no idea what she said but she had the entire front of the bus laughing the whole trip, including the driver & conductor. It was so infectious we were laughing too, I sure wish I knew what was so funny.

06/01/03

We are getting ready to leave tomorrow. We have spent a few days enjoying Luperon, playing lots of dominoes with Sean & Lynne. Hudson has made a complete recovery so they are also getting ready to leave. Again, this is the hard part, leaving friends. We are heading the same direction for a while but will part ways in the Bahamas. We have really enjoyed the Dominican Republic. The land is absolutely beautiful, the people are friendly & Presedente is cheap & "super frio"!

(updated 6/9/03)