Can you see the kid in the center? I experienced Carnaval Latin style about two hours inland in a place called La Vega. Myself and two other boats hired a gua gua (taxi) for the entire day to transport us and interpret where necessary. We were just about the only gringoes at the festival. It was crazy and a very good metaphor for the society in general. Some organization, but just not enough to make things go smoothly. People just kept walking around in circles along the circuit. Every hundred feet or so a set of bleachers or staging was set up with ear crushing Latin beats. Then folks dressed up in dragon like costumes and would come along and try and whack you with round implements on a rope. So if for some reason you turned your back on the dragons you'd get whacked and it did not tickle. The history behind the whacking was trying to expunge the devil out of the wackee. There were a few thousand people in attendance, it was warm and beautiful. Dominican Republic really is a beautiful place. It was also great to spend the day with two other cruisers. Dan and Kim from SV Snark, an Island Packet 31 and Dan and Derek two young dudes on SV Ultima Nouche, a Pearson. So a good time was had by all.

Onto another topic. I was able to speak with the transmission section of Macboring Company in Union NJ. Macboring is the Yanmar factory and distributor for all of America. So if you get a Yanmar part in California, it came through Macboring. Anyway in terms of my after-market seal the mechanic said that if the new seal is not leaking now after being tested in the harbor, I really have nothing to worry about. According to him, only 3 or 4 companies manufacture seals. So the seal that Roberto measured for and obtained here in Dominican Republic very well could have been the exact one Yanmar would have sent me from the states. Many farms use Yanmars in Dom Rep so it is not unreasonable to think that I received a perfectly good replacement seal. I also ran the engine again in reverse yesterday at the mooring for awhile, ensuring that I heated up the ATF in the transmission. The motor and the transmission are fine. I am just paranoid.

Yesterday I also bought a second hand Compaq Evo laptop computer for $300 beans. My nav computer, also a Compaq laptop is on its last legs. So the new old laptop is very small and fits perfectly in the laptop tray. This week I also contracted with Penny Whistle Canvas to have a new Biminni that covers the cockpit stitched up. So each day is filled with activity. At the end of each day I am shocked at how quickly the goes by. 12 other boats arrived from Provo Turks and Caicos yesterday so new faces are puttering around the harbor. Tomorrow night is movie night. A bus is rented and cruisers pile in and go to a local restaurant where you have dinner and watch a movie, all for less than 8 dollars. I've now been in Luperon for longer than any other stop along the infamous thorny path. I can see how this place grows on you. So much to do and a great place to strike out and see the inland portions of this country. A little trivia for you. Dom Rep has the highest peak and the lowest point in all the Caribbean. Also just off the east coast is the second deepest place on the planet, of course the Marianas Trench being the deepest. This place must get geologists all jazzed up. Anyway I'm pretty jazzed up myself. More later.

Capt Chris

PS: Posted a short video in Youtube from the Carnaval. Check it out under My Videos to the right. Also the bulk of my pictures are under My Google Photo's vice the Photo Gallery.