After leaving Nassau, our next stop was the northern end of the Exuma Island Chain.  Allen’s Cay is famous for the huge iguanas which sunbathe on the beach all day.  They like to be fed by the tourists, and will actually run at you if you’re not careful.

We missed many places that we will get to the next time, such as the Exuma Land and Sea Park, the Abacos, Eleuthera and Cat Islands.

As we worked our way down to George Town, we stopped at several of the islands, including Staniel Cay (snorkeling in Thunderball Grotto of 007 fame), Black Point on Great Inaugua Island where we saw a special “Garden of Eden” in the yard of a very nice lady who identified all the trees and plants, and Little Farmer’s Cay where we hired a local teenager to take us to a cave with stalactites and stalagmites.

So it was four weeks after leaving Florida that we arrived in George Town where many cruisers spend four or five months and then go back to the states.  It’s quite an organized affair with volleyball on the beach every day, bridge club with lessons, church on the beach on Sundays, a daily net on the VHF radio with announcements for activities, etc.  It’s all a little too civilized, if you know what we mean, but we did meet many new friends and met up again with some we met along the way.  We stayed only two weeks so we could get mail, do our tax returns and get them mailed back to the US, do laundry, and buy some groceries.

On St. Patrick’s Day we tied the leprechaun windsock to a boat hook and “flew” it as we took the dinghy into town.  We got a lot of smiles and “Happy St. Patrick’s Day!” comments, and one couple even took pictures and gave them to us on a disk.

Just so you know it’s not all fun and games…we do have to spend time fixing things that break or fall apart, changing oil, cleaning, cooking, laundry, etc.!  We’re sparing you that part, but it’s just like taking care of a house and a car.

After leaving George Town, we moved on to Cape Santa Maria at the north tip of Long Island one of the places where Christopher Columbus made landfall. Then it was on to Rum Cay, one of the places we intended to stay only a couple of days, but ended up staying nine days waiting for the right weather leave for points south and east.  Ashore there we had a nice lunch at Kay’s Bar and Restaurant prepared for us by Delores, the island matriarch.  When you walk into the bar, the floor is sand with a small pool table in the middle of the room and cable TV playing MTV.  The dining area had linoleum flooring and a ceiling covered with warped, mismatched sheets of paneling.  Just as the yacht clubs on these small islands are nothing like a yacht club anywhere in the states, local restaurants are not what you would expect.  If you can’t “go with the flow”, you may as well stay in the States.  We met the people on several other boats there.  Some were waiting for the fuel freighter to come to the island.  The marina had been out of fuel, both gas and diesel, for two weeks, and it was another week before the freighter finally arrived on the day we left.  We might mention that there are only about 250 people living on this island.

Our first overnight passage was from Rum Cay to Mayaguana Island, 160 miles and 31 hours.  We started at 7 AM and arrived at 2:30 the next day.  This was an anchor only spot, no amenities to speak of here.  Most islands have private airstrips for the inhabitants and whatever visitors may come.  From Mayaguana we made our next night passage from 11 PM – 7 AM to the island of Provo (Providenciales) in the Turks and Caicos.  Crossing the Sand Bore Channel to get to the anchorage took almost three hours (8 miles) of constant vigilance as there are many scattered coral heads to avoid.  VPR stands for visual piloting rules which means that one of us, usually Roland, stands on the bow looking for coral while the other is at the helm.

In Sapodilla Bay we encountered friends we had first met in Nassau.  They were very helpful as they had local knowledge of the location of customs, etc.  Since they were renting a car to take guests to the airport, they offered to take us to town to the grocery store.  That was a wonderful offer as it was not only too far to walk, but also too dangerous to walk.  The drivers are HORRIBLE!  And they drive on the left as this is a British Crown Colony.  Except for the well maintained main road, the roads are hard packed sand or have potholes larger than anything Western New York drivers have ever seen!

The next day a group of five boats arrived, having just come the same way we did.  We met all of the folks aboard, had a potluck dinner on one, and went into town one night for dinner together.  Since they were all heading for Luperon, Dominican Republic and would have to wait for the appropriate weather, we decided to join them for the trip down.  The sight of the full moon rising over the hill at the bay was absolutely a   beautiful sight.  Both the moon and the sun cross the sky almost directly overhead!

Another week later, off we went again, this time taking a day to travel across the Caicos Banks (VPR!!!) to Ambergris Cay (so called because of the ambergris from the whales that used to wash up on the shores in great abundance).  At one point Kathleen was visited by a dozen dolphins cavorting in the bow wake, just like a show at the aquarium!  And Roland caught his first fish!  Unfortunately, it was a barracuda, and he had to throw it back.  Barracudas eat reef fish, and when humans eat the barracuda, they can catch ciguatera poisoning – not a pleasant experience.

The day before Easter was spent at anchor there.  Kathleen had some frozen lamb chops so she made her version of lamb souse (lamb stew) with potatoes, onions, celery, and carrots, not unlike a New England boiled dinner.  So that was our Easter dinner.  The Easter Bunny left some Snickers bars in the fridge for us!!  At 9 AM on Easter Sunday we lifted anchor, using our VPR skills to get from the banks to the ocean, headed for Luperon on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic.  During the afternoon Roland caught his first dorado, filleting it immediately so we could get it in the fridge. The moon rose about two hours after the sunset so we had light on the water most of the night.  (22 hours, 100 nautical miles)  It’s difficult to take turns on watches because we’re not accustomed to taking two hour naps, and being bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when we wake up.  In talking to our friends we found out that they all have pretty much the same problem, no one gets much sleep.  So after arriving, everyone crashes for a while, and it usually takes a day to catch up.

We had read that when you are about 15 miles away from land, you will catch the smell of the earth, and we did!  Also when we still about 15 miles out, we could see the outline of the mountains against the dark of the sky.  What a sight!!!  All the boats in our little flotilla were keeping in contact throughout the trip, and we all marveled at what we were experiencing.  We were into the harbor and anchored by 9 AM, surprised by the number of boats here.  Many folks get here, and never go any farther.  And after a couple of days here, we understand why.

But first…clearing in.  The commandante didn’t come to our boat as we were told he would do.  At 3 PM I waved down a boat of officials who had just left another boat.  It seems they thought we had already checked in, and so had skipped us.  We went instead to shore to visit the offices of immigration, customs and the commandante, but then we had to go back to the boat for a visit from the inspectors of agriculture, one for foodstuffs and one for animals.  Now, you have to understand that every time you turn around you are paying someone a fee for something, and it was almost comical, but not outrageous like the Bahamas ($300).  We were charged $10 US to tell them we didn’t have any pets!  We were charged $10 US for the inspection of our fresh fruits and vegetable, our cheese and frozen meat, and the cherry tomato plants we are growing on board.  As long as we don’t take them off the boat, it’s okay.  The fees at customs and immigration were $25 for the two of us, and $11 for the boat.

It sure is strange to seem policemen or army men carrying guns!  There is an armed guard at the entrance on the pier where the dinghy dock is located, 24 hours a day.  That is to keep all the dinghies safe while the cruisers are ashore.  But they are the only ones.  The locals are very friendly; the small children greet everyone with a smile and “Hola!”.   This is a place that is very cruiser-friendly.  We could write reams about the last couple of days.  This is what we have been waiting to see.  We are quickly learning Spanish words and phrases because that is the primary language.  Goats wander about loose in the streets, as do roosters.  Local men deliver right to the boats, water, gas, diesel, fresh caught fish and lobster, or your groceries.  There are about six locals who do your laundry, wash, dry and fold.  As you walk around the village you see clothes hanging out to dry in the sun, rather they are lying on shrubs, hedges and fences.   Almost no clotheslines are in evidence.  There are motorbikes for rent, the local mode of transportation, along with taxis, buses and vans for hire.  The highways are loaded with the motorbikes and scooters with up to 4 passengers

Our first night here we met up with friends who had been here 10 days.  We met them at the yacht club for happy hour, and then went to dinner at a restaurant called Gina’s.  Regina, the chef, and her husband own this place where the dining room is on the “Upper Deck”.  They are going to be featured in People magazine sometime in the next month!  Hope you can check it out.  We didn’t get home until 11 PM, and we slept well that night.  On Tuesday we found the Verizon office where we used the internet to pay bills and check Hotmail.  We ate lunch at Pico Pollo, chicken, rice and beans, and cole slaw for $1.50 each.  The bowl of rice alone was enough to feed a family of four, but we ate every morsel, pushing away the begging cat, and ignoring the baleful stare of the dog in the doorway.  We’ll get some pictures of some of the buildings to add to the site.  Most of the buildings are open-air, businesses and homes alike. A young lady guided us to the farmacia where they sell ice cream cones so we bought one for her, too.  As we walked back down the street past Gina’s we were hailed by several of our traveling companions so we went upstairs to join them for a beer.  Yes, Kathleen actually didn’t dislike the taste of the beer.  Good thing, too, because it’s one of the cheapest things to drink.  In fact, cases of empty beer bottles are piled up 15 feet high along the sidewalk in some places waiting for the truck to come and get them.  Tuesday night was a “thankful we made it here safely” potluck on one of the boats, featuring the dorado caught by Roland and Terry on another of the boats.  While we were gone during the day, Rafael, a local who serves as the interpreter for the commandante and has his own service business as well, delivered a refilled propane tank and dinghy gas to our boat. 

Yesterday, 4/19, we shared a van with new friends, Mike and Linda from Portland, OR, and Dan and Jaime from Houston.  They were part of the original flotilla.  The way people drive around here, you never saw six people so happy to have a driver/sightseeing guide!  We departed Luperon about (9:30) bound for the city of Puerto Plata.  It’s difficult not to use superlatives when describing all the new sights.  The ride through the valleys!  The mountains!  Palm trees growing on the mountain sides!  People using their front porches to sell bottled water, drinks, and food, whatever!  Fortunately, Jaime is fluent in Spanish, and sat in front with the driver.  We stopped at the roadside stand of a coconut vendor, had fresh coconut water and the coconut meat, and bought fresh mangos.  Our first stop in Puerto Plata was to take the cable car to the top of Loma Isabel de Torres.  At the top of the mountain is a smaller version of the statue of “Christ the Redeemer” that stands overlooking Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  We walked around the botanical gardens where there are orchids, spider plants, impatiens, ferns, lipstick plants, tiger lilies, palm trees, and much more.  In the center of this garden is a cave where the Taino Indians once lived before the Spaniards decimated their people.  Next we had lunch at a seafood restaurant.  We both had the fish fry which is not like a WNY Friday night fish fry.  The name on the menu was Pescaderos Enteros.  That meant the whole fish, yes, head and all, battered and deep fried!  The French fries were Tostones which are actually plantain slices, deep fried once, pounded flat, and deep fried again. They taste like sweet potato fries, but need a lot of salt to give them some flavor.  The Coca Cola is at least what you would expect, but served warm in glass bottles with glasses of ice cubes.  Lunch took two hours, not at all unusual.  The next stop was the Amber Museum, a very interesting place.  The northern coast here is also called the “Amber Coast” because of the five working mines which mine the amber.  If you are not familiar with amber, it’s fascinating.  Take some time to look it up! 

Our next stop was the oldest fort in the New World, Fort San Felipe, 442 years old.  It’s not very large, but it has a wonderful vantage point on the harbor.  It was built to protect the city from English and French pirates.  On from there to the Rum Factory which unfortunately was closed by the time we got there so our driver took us to the super mercado (super market) for groceries, and by the time we all finished that, we were ready to head home and relax.

Today is Thursday, 4/20/06.  We just had 25 gallons of bottled water delivered by Rafael.  The dirty clothes have been collected to take to town. The list of things to do has been made and we will soon take off in the dinghy to run our errands.