A weather window is coming our way 

Today is Sunday and we are looking at a nice calm weather window appearing on Tuesday and lasting until Thursday. Normally when moving in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico it is done at night and early morning before the trade winds pick up. We are seeing the wind will not be any more than 8 knots and waves no more than 3 ½ feet for the 3 day period so we have decided to do another 24 hour overnight to go all the way to Samana. Samana is on a large bay at the north east end on the island. It will be 125 miles and I don’t enjoy doing the overnight sails, we just don’t get any sleep. Samana has a great marina with everything we need and we can’t wait to get there and have a little comfort, like a fan at night. The marina also has pools for swimming. You can’t swim here in the bay at Luperon, it’s just too dirty. We have notice that the people here are not very conscience about keeping their town and waters very clean. It has been very hot and a little rainy at night so we can’t open the winds. Today the locals are starting a week long celebration for a patron saint of the church. From the boat about half a mile away we can hear the head banging music at full blast. I’m not sure which patron saint they are celebrating but I’m sure after a week of that music they will all have headaches! We went into town yesterday and I bought a replacement compass for the boat and we stopped for a drink. Sitting on the upper deck bar looking down onto the street.

Lawyers Office

 Main street watching the world go by

 

 

And it's time again for;

So Here's Interesting Tidbits SHIT for short. 

 

Luperon Puerto Plata

       This tiny harbor is known to be one of the best hurricane holes in the Caribbean. People leave their boats here on a mooring ball for the season. Economically the Dominican is far more developed then Haiti and has a much higher standard of living. Agriculture is their main economy. Small farmers produce plantain, beans and sweet potatoes. The D.R. is the top 10 gold producers in the World. Most Dominicans are very poor and on average have a grade 6 education. Healthcare and prescriptions and education is free and paid for by the government. Many Cruisers call this home for the season and stay months at a time and never leave. Boaters love how cheap everything is. They also help the economy here and the locals appreciate it and go out of there way to please.

 

Popo for example greets you when you arrive. He can get you anything in town and sets you up on a mooring ball for 2 dollars a night. Checking in in this country is a little different than any other. When you arrive the Commandancia Official will come to your boat and clear you in. As explained in an earlier post. They really emphasize and check your boat for illegal aliens when you leave.

 

There's a little bit of SHIT!