P Is for Poquito de Espagnol

We have made it to Boca Chica in the Dominican Republic. It is a Dominican resort town and very busy and I am trying to speak a "poquito de espagnol".

We left Isle a Vache, Haiti on Saturday march 24th bound for Boca Chica in the Dominican Republic. We were hoping to sail straight through; however we met with head winds that slowed us down so much that at one point we heaved to and Rob rested while I stood watch. We knew that we were leaving a little early for the winds to be down but we were hoping to get through the DR and on to Puerto Rico in a weather window predicted for later in the week. As I have previously written it is never wise to leave before Chris Parker gives his blessing. Heaving to means putting the boat in a position with the sails backed and the boat drifts very slowly. It doesn't do away with the motion but it gives the crew a chance to catch their breath. We knew that we were leaving a little early for the winds to be down but we were hoping to get through the DR and on to Puerto Rico in a weather window predicted for later in the week. As I have previously written it is never wise to leave before Chris Parker gives his blessing. After two days and a night we were at Bayia de Aguillas(Bay of Eagles) in the Dominican Republic. We knew that we could stop here if needed and so we spent the night. It would have been a marvelous place to stay for a few days because the beach looked glorious and we were the only boat save for some DR fishermen but we are anxious to get to Puerto Rico and across the Mona Passage. Once we are there we know that the remainder of the journey to Grenada is day trips with the odd overnight passage. Our plans are to leave Celebrian in Grenada over the hurricane season and fly home much the same way we did when she was left in The Bahamas. Over the next few winters we will explore the eastern Caribbean and continue to put her on the hard in Grenada.

Today is Wednesday March 28th and we are on a mooring in Boca chica, DR. We arrived here after sailing 24 hours from Bayia de Aguillas. Our timing for this passage was perfect and we had a good motorsail on a relatively calm Caribbean Sea. We got to Marina Zar Par in time to check in with the authorities and get diesel at the dock. At one point I think there were five officials on board...immigration, customs, drug enforcement, security and so on. Thanks to Raul who owns the marina things went smoothly and quickly. My Spanish helps to smooth things too as the officials didn't speak much English. We were down 44 gallons of diesel so we were grateful that we were not jerry jugging this amount. Today we are going to a modern DR "supermercado" with a long list of provisions. It has been weeks since we have had lettuce so I am excited. The captain says that small things please me. I must say that you do appreciate things more after you have done without. We are only planning on being here a couple of days if we can continue to head east along the DR staging ourselves for the crossing to Puerto Rico. Unfortunately we couldn't hear Chris Parker on the SSB this morning as he was squelched out by Spanish conversations. We will hopefully have better luck tomorrow as getting the weather is critical for us right now in planning our next passage. Rob had quite the exciting trip to get propane. He thought that propane was nearby but as it happened he was taken by one of the yard workers(who doesn't speak English) on a hair raising ride on a moto concho (Honda90) several miles down a pot holed road to get the tank filled. Once filled the owner of the propane station would only accept pesos for payment and Rob had none. They locked our tank up as hostage while Rob went to a money changer. Unfortunately the change place was several miles in the other direction including crossing a four lane highway. After seeing his life pass before his eyes they returned to pick up the hostage tank, pay and return to the marina with the full tank wedged between the driver and Rob on the bike. I don't think that Rob will ever forget that propane fill. Life on a boat is so relaxing?!?! Boca Chica is a Dominican resort town ...colourful, vibrant,chaotic with loud music coming from every establishment. Unfortunately the marina mooring balls are not that far away and getting a good night's sleep is a challenge. We took a walk into the town yesterday....the pictures will give you an idea of the place.

I was enthralled by this woman's shoes and couldn't help taking a picture. The captain later informed me that she was a hooker?! The trip to the supermercado was tiring but entertaining. The marina provides a service to drive you there (about four miles) and Ole returns you in their shuttle. The ride back was a tribute to the fact that the worst and scariest drivers in the world are in the DR....speeds of 120kms swerving around people,dogs, chickens etc, bicycles, and the infamous motoconchos. We remember fondly our trip with Peter and Lynn to Santo Domingo three years ago and the incredible job Peter did driving us around.

The last two evenings we have been out meeting some other cruisers who are heading our way. So far we have had to travel on our own and we have missed our boat buddy First Edition. We were invited by several couples to join them at a local restaurant. We had a fun evening of swapping sailing tales and future plans and the food was very good. We had the dorado which is called mahi mahi in The Bahamas. Catherine and John are from Toronto and new to cruising but after a year in The Bahamas decided to head to the Caribbean. Jim and Dianna are from Puerto Rico and St. Croix. Monica and Gabe are a young couple from Toronto on their way to Panama. All of them are full time cruisers and Catherine, John, Jim and Dianna are our age and all recently married just like us.

Believe it or not this is a flying dinghy??? Lots of things for the "touristas" to do?! Last evening the marina had a free dinner for all the cruisers in the marina. They do this if there are at least 20 boats on moorings and in slips. It was a great meal of salad, rice with sausage, plaintains and deep fried yucca (which was delicious). It was also another opportunity to meet fellow cruisers and talk about Weather.....and crossing the infamous Mona Passage to Puerto Rico. Nothing stirs the blood of sailors more than thinking about crossing the Mona. It is a notoriously dangerous passage if not crossed in the right conditions. The second deepest ocean trench is the Puerto Rican trench which runs between Puerto Rico and the DR. This deep trench causes very large and unpredictable seas. It will be nice to confer with the other boats on their plans and cross as a mini flotilla. It is always good to have other boats out there with you just in case you have a problem. At the moment it looks like we may leave Boca Chica tomorrow (Saturday March 31st) to sail to Saona Island to stage for the crossing to Puerto Rico.

Today is Saturday March 31st and we are planning on doing a night sail to Saona Island leaving later today with the plan to cross the Mona on Monday and Tuesday. Yesterday we did some laundry, visited with Cathy and John on Katerina and went for a walk in the afternoon. They joined us on Celebrian for happy hour later in the afternoon.

O is for One More Entry on Haiti

I really got into the Protestant Church festivities. Before I was through I had a ring of locals cheering and laughing as we danced. I just did what she did and created quite a stir.

The village people were singing and dancing as part of a religious celebration. Lots of drumming and singing and one costumed dancer climbed a tree. The town of Cacoq has both Protestant and Catholics along with a group who practise voodoo. We could have gone to a voodoo evening or a cock fight if we had wanted. We preferred this celebration which has similar aspects to voodoo without the blood.

He climbed to the top of a very high tree.

Carma and Ashley brought us bananas, tomotoes and delicious bread.

Isle a Vache means island of cows in French. The owner of the little house in the hills demanded money for taking a picture of his house.

Isle a Vache is a very beautiful island.

The Hotel Port Morgan is a beautifully built stone structure.

A paddle was a welcome relief to the heat.

We had to walk to the local school. Unfortunately school was done for the day when we got there. They teach both English and Spanish at the little school. All the children have to pay to attend school so many families don't have the money to send their children to school.

More scenes taken from the hotel.

A tranquil scene in the village.

The last of the Haitian hills as we sailed off to the Dominican Republic on our overnight passage.

O is for Once in a Lifetime Experience

Our first views of Haiti.

The boat boys come out in full force to greet you on entering the harbour at Isle a Vache, Hait,

We arrived in Isle a Vaches on Sunday March 18th after 40 hours of sailing and motorsailing. The trip took us from Great Inagua, Bahamas, through the windward passage between Haiti and Cuba and around to the south coast of Haiti. The ocean was much calmer, so much so that with Anthony's new intake valve we were able to run the watermaker for 12 hours in the windward passage. It was tiring but a much easier passage than our sail down to Great Inagua. We were greeted by many boat boys in dug out canoes as we arrived in the harbour at Boie a Fete. It was a little disconcerting to be trying to anchor and get settled while being pursued by umpteem boats. Of course the next challenge was trying to speak French after 40 hours of ocean travel; however most of the fellows speak enough English that between our French and their English we can figure things out. I had brushed up on my Spanish this fall in case we returned to the Dominican Republic but my French is pretty rusty. We can hardly believe that we are here as it seemed that this winter was not the year to push to the Caribbean. Tired as we were we rowed into the hotel Port Morgan to learn what we could about the island. As it turned out no one could speak much English so we sat down and had a glass of wine and a beer. That put the finishing touches on our tiredness and we ate baguettes that Ashley had brought to us and tumbled into bed for 11 hours. This morning we rowed over to a another boat to see what we could learn. As it happened the folks on the boat have been here for many years and spoke both French and English. Jeneu had even printed out some local information to help cruisers when they visit. It turns out that if we are only here for a few days the Haitians don't even hassle you to clear in. We had hoped to sail along the DR coast and get to Barahona before Doug and Jane, our cottage neighbours left but unfortunately the weather is not going to let us leave here until the weekend. Isle A Vaches is like stepping back in time. It is a tropical paradise that is unspoiled. There is no hydro or water on the island and the people live very simply. Once it is dark it is very dark in the village. The night we went to Jean Jean's bar he brought out a flash light for dinner lighting. The people in the village walk to the town well to get their fresh water and the local women wash their clothes in sea water. The two adorable girls have plastic jugs and were on their way to the well to get water. We thought it best to hire a local guide to show us around the village and so we chose Carma, a gentle man whose English was better than some of the other boat boys. He is married; however he lives with his mother because he and his wife do not have enough money to build their own house yet. She and his adorable daughter live with her mother. His wife did our laundry for us....by hand and gratefully not in sea water. He took us through the village and it was like reading a National Geographic magazine. It was hard not to take dozens of pictures; however many Haitians do not want their photograph taken as in the voodoo culture they believe it removes one's soul. I asked people in my best French if I could take a photo and in most cases I got lots of smiles. In the evening we went in the hotel for dinner hoping to do some internet but as is often the case their Wifi signal was not working. They said that I could come in the next morning and use one of their computers which I did but it was painfully slow and of course I could not post any pictures or do the blog. We had a delicious shrimp creole dinner and listened to Emmanuel on the keyboard singing local music. It was a lovely evening in a beautiful setting. The hotel is all stone and just beautiful and very intimate.

The next day we spent jerry jugging diesel from the hotel in the morning and paddling the kayaks in the afternoon. Ashley, one of the boat boys who has been going to the "boulangerie" bakery for us had asked if he could try the kayak. We were a little worried that we might be inundated with other boys wanting to do the same thing but Ashley obviously handled the situation well and we did not get a stampede. I asked him if I would try his dug out canoe at the same time. The canoes are hollowed out of mango wood on the island and the paddles are solid mango wood as well. Ashley usually uses a coconut tree palm frond for a paddle; however he borrowed a paddle for me. I think I would have preferred the palm frond because the paddle was extremely heavy. If you think a canoe is tippy you have not paddled a dug out canoe. The boat boys make it look easy but it is definitely a skill.

In the evening we went to Jean Jean's place for a conch creole dinner. We had met him on our tour with Carma and he is trying to start a little business.

Jeneu, the cruiser that had helped us the other day had recommended eating there. There was just Rob and I and one table. We asked he and his wife, baby and young son to join us. It couldn't have been more at the other end of the continuum from our night at the hotel. That being said we enjoyed the food very much; however the next morning was a different story for me. I was so sick that I completely passed out twice, was totally incoherent and the second time hit my head so hard that I made it bleed. Needless to say I gave the captain quite a scare and he went to the hotel to get help. Kiki, one of the local boat boys who speaks good English went and brought the nurse to Celebrian. She didn't speak English but Kiki did the translating. She seemed to feel that it was a severe reaction to the conch meal that I had eaten at Jean Jean's and said that there is a lot of oil used in the local creole cooking which can cause some people dsyentery. I am on antibiotics and several other medications to get my strength built up. My fever broke over night so I am feeling much better but still very weak. The captain ate the same thing but had no ill effects...thank goodness.

Every day the boat boys come by to try and sell you things or try to get you to give them things like diving masks or money for school etc. but we are gradually learning who the scam artists are. Yesterday Rob was so frazzled when he was being bothered with passers by that he said in his best French "No merci...mon fille est morte." "No thank you...my wife is dead." I managed to raise my head enough to say...not morte yet...but definitely malade.

We had planned on going to the market in Mme. Bernard today. |It is supposed to be quite the experience, but Rob did not want to go without me. We will be leaving on Saturday afternoon if the forecast remains the same so unfortunately will not get another opportunity to see it. Our plan is to motorsail the coast of Haiti and the DR and go around the points during the night when the wind is down. This passage of two nights and a day will take us to Boca Chica, just the other side of Santo Domingo where we will clear into the DR.

These happy little girls were on their way to get water from the well.

Our walk with Carma, our guide took us to some beautiful beaches.

This is the local bakery in Cacoq....and the bread was delicious baguettes.

We met Carma's family and his pretty daughter.

Boat building is all done on the island. Our stay in Isle a Vache was truly a once in a lifetime eperience. More scenes from Isle a Vache.....

It is quite amazing what the Haitian women are able to carry on their head. It certainly makes for good posture.