Sosua - Puerto Plata's Little Sister
21 May 2011 | Sosua, Dominican Republic
Friday, May 20, 2011
Passage: Ocean World to Sosua, Dominican Republic
We went into town for the supermarket today. The marina called the market in Puerto Plata and they sent a delivery truck to bring us back and forth. Three couples, the driver and one dog all in the front and back seats. There were motorcycles going in all directions cutting cars off, folks driving across the center of the road, it was mucho loco. We arrived in Puerto Plata at about noon and stopped for lunch- I had a chicken taco and John had something called Mufumgo (pork skin, plantains, fried garlic, beef broth). We did a little bit of shopping and then headed back to Ocean World Marina. We decided to leave that afternoon so it was a bit of a rush to get everything ready to go. We got our visit from the Navy (one young man without a ship) and got our despacho (permission to leave). He did not come on board the boat but said our boat was beautiful (of course in Spanish). Our $20 paid we were free to leave.
It was a very rolly ride out of Ocean World. We never seemed to get our night lee and even with the sail up we were rockin and rollin. We had hoped to make Escondido, but instead put in at the harbor in Sosua for a break from the weather. We had a good night's sleep and will leave later this afternoon to try again for Escondido.
Sosua is a resort town settled first by Jewish refugees after World War II. There are big hotels on the cliff sides and folks out in large party boats. The beach near our anchorage is full of multi-colored beach umbrellas and lounge chairs. I am told that they are 60 pesos and run by the local folks. Each one would like you to use their lounge chair. One you decide they will also bring you food and drink. The beach has small shacks selling souvenirs, food and drink - and probably anything else you could desire. There is a reef right off our boat and a very large catamaran dropped off about 20 people into the water to snorkel and swim. Since we are leaving in a few hours we will just enjoy the show from the boat.