May 17, 2009 Well! Much happened since our last blog update - the big one being the wonderful trip from Luperon to Samana. After waiting and waiting, and waiting and waiting for the "right weather window", Chris Parker sent me an email on Sunday, May 3rd, which basically said "GO, AND GO NOW!". Unfortunately, we did not open the email till late on Sunday and by then we were much too drunk to go. However, first thing in the morning, we talked to Chris on our SSB and he said "GO FOR IT". Jim went to Luperon to get the dispatchio needed to leave Luperon and give them more money - they have fees for everything here and its never really clear what the fees are for. No receipts are offered. While getting the dispatchio, the weather rumour mill was going crazy and a few cruisers felt that it might not be a good window because heavy squalls and rain were forcasted later in the week. However, we, along with our friends on Southern Cross, decided that if Chris says go, then we should give it a try. We left at noon- a no-no for most sailors as the "preferred method" is to leave and travel at night so as to take advantage of the calm night lees. Off we go, out into the Atlantic Ocean, calm seas with just enough wind allowing us to sail for 4 hours till we were abeam Sosua at which time the winds were too light for sailing but good for motor-sailing. By then, more of our sailing friends, having heard our happy chatter about the great conditions we were experiencing, hoisted their anchors and set off for Samana too.. With little-no wind and calm seas we motored a straight rhumb line to Escondeda, arriving at 7 AM..That night the Domincan Coastline was lit up by the numerous small villages and lighthouses located along the rugged, steep shoreline. It was the nicest night run ever!

Escondeda is awesome. It is surrounded by high, steep hills, covered in tropical trees and ferns. Mist surrounds the area and two dugout canoes were at the entrance fishing. I woke up from my nap just as we were approaching and my first impression was that I was back on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. There was a considerable swell in the bay indicating that it would be a very rolly anchorage. The question was raised about taking a chance and motoring the remaining 18 miles along the rugged coast and around Cabo Cabron and Cabo Samana and then into Samana before the notorious trade winds hit. It was Chris Parker time on the SSB and we got him right away. He said "GO! GO! A TROPICAL WAVE IS COMING AND YOU WANT TO BE IN SAMANA BEFORE IT HITS!" Go, go, we went, with no winds, past the steep, dramatic shoreline and capes, anchoring at 12 Noon, just 24 hours after departing Luperon. Thanks were given for such a great weather window! More thanks given to Yanni, our wonderful engine and Emerald Seas for getting us there safely.

Our friends on Wind Whisperer, Turn the Page and Vesper Light had left three days before us and had just arrived the day before. They did the "night lees" and anchored in small harbours during the day. Their trip was much rougher than ours but they enjoyed the anchorages they visited. Opus and Alianna, who had left a few hours behind us, arrived the following morning after anchoring at Escondeda. Except for a nasty squall rounding Cabo Cabron and Cabo Samana, they had enjoyed a good trip.

Samana..........within minutes of anchoring here, the flies have descended upon us! Not just a few flies, but hoards of them. Its horrible here for the flies. Luckily, many months ago, I had bought a package of sticky fly strips which Jim swore would never be needed or used ever! Out come the tapes and within hours they were covered in flies. I figure we caught at least 100 flies per strip, along with the occasional catching of Jim who keeps forgetting they are there......We had no replacement strips so we kept the strips up for a week. I finally threw them away as I was getting worried that the dead flies were attracting more flies....Bought some insecticide, sprayed the boat liberally. All the flies survived the spray. When I get to Puerto Rico, I am going to buy more sticky strips.......apparently there is a SUPER WALMART in Puerto Rico.....

Samana is a busy town. There are a few fancy hotels around and they cater to those who want to get away from it all. The market in town is the place to shop for vegetables, fruits and meats. Jim and I enjoyed the market at Santo Domingo- it was colourful, clean and almost flyless. Samana, is a different story.....I have never seen so many flies. All the fruit stands, the vegetable stands, the dead pig, the dead chickens and the cow's head are surrounded by swarms and swarms of flies. The produce looks very fresh but the flies kind of turn you off. Although we were almost out of meat and chicken on Emerald Seas, we couldn't bring ourselves to buy chicken or any of the fresh meat being hacked at by a guy with machete who was surrounded by mangy looking dogs, and the flies, flies everywhere. Once back on Emerald Seas, we washed our purchases in water and bleach before storing them.

The crew of Opus, Alianna and ourselves went on an excursion to the waterfalls.To get to the falls travelled on horseback up and down steep, wet, rough terraine. The horses, although very small, were sure-footed and got us to the site safely. It was a real adventure to be horseback riding in the DR. The falls were beautiful as they cascaded down the cliff, surrounded by jungle. A few brave souls enjoyed swimming by the falls and exploring the little cave behind the falls. After returning to the van, we went to a small restaurant for lunch, did a quick trespass on some farmer's cocao field,which was then followed by the farmer yelling and hollering on the street at our DR tour guide while the rest of us felt terrible. We returned to our boats safe and sound. I invited everyone to come over to our boat the next night to enjoy a birthday dinner for Jim.

Birthday dinner......what was I thinking? There are going to be 13 people for dinner and vegetarian fair for sailing carnivores might not be a hit. I drag Jim to the market and we bravely buy 3 chickens which had been temporarily housed in a old refrigerator which did not work but was reasonably fly free. We headed back to the boat so that Jim could finish cleaning the chicken - there were many surplus feathers, feet attached and guts inside to deal with. Our boat flies were in their glory. Luckily the flies seem to disappear at dusk - the insects here work in shifts - flies during the day, mosquitoes and noseums at night.

The birthday dinner was a success. A great time was had by all. Special thanks to Jennifer on Opus, for her handmade Birthday Card, Lorue on Southern Cross for his poem about horses and dung, and Dodd on Vesper Light for his story on Gunga Din. As we continue on our cruising adventure we are thankful for the wonderful friends we have made. We enjoy the adventures we share, the laughs along the way and the caring and concern when things go wrong, the willingness of everyone to help out in whatever way they can, and the countless bottles of wine, beer and rum, along with tasty treats being consumed at Sundowners.

For the last few days we have been anchored at Los Haiteses National Park. It is incredibly beautiful here and very remote. There are lots of birds, huge caves to explore and hiking trails to enjoy. The caves contain ancient paintings done by the Tainos Indians. They remind me of some of the petroglyphs we have on Vancouver Island. One cave we visited had stunning cave formations. To access these caves, we travel by dinghy down little mangrove streams, the mangroves are the biggest we have seen so far and there are lots of flowers, ferns and succulents around. For any birdwatchers out there, we recommend you go to the Paraiso Ecologico, www.paraisocanohondo.com located at the park entrance. Its carved out of stones and features many man made waterfalls. Its rustic in some ways, very unique and the location is incredible against the steep mountains with the rice fields below them.

Tomorrow we plan to go to Samana and get another dispatchio so we can head to Puerto Rico. A good weather window is supposed to be coming on Wednesday which might allow us the opportunity to do the Mona Passage.

TOMORROW IS HERE........ Well, how things change..........although a good weather window is still supposed to be coming, it won't be here on Wednesday but might be here on Friday. We had postponed pulling up anchor till after the Chris Parker broadcast. It was immediately apparent that the weather window had stalled and that we might as well suffer here at this beautiful park rather than face another reunion with the flies, noise and rolly anchorage awaiting us in Samana. Opus and Alianna left early this morning for Samana but plan to return later today after they reprovision. Sounds like their trip to Samana is very slow. The winds are blowing about 20 knots and they are barely making 3 or 4 knots. Here it is sunny and calm and beautiful.

/EX