There’s a lot to be said about dock time – both good and bad. It can be expensive and sometimes a bit dull but so far in the DR – we’re having loads of fun. As I mentioned in my last post, the marina is inexpensive and in good condition. The staff here are super friendly and will go out of their way to help you. Mark and I needed to do a bit of grocery shopping on Tuesday (Feb. 4) and we didn’t know how to get to the store (not in walking distance). We asked at the main desk (for the marina) and were given many options. A taxi was arranged for us and it was very easy!!
On Wednesday (Feb. 5) two Canadian sailboats arrived from Big Sand Cay early in the morning. Mark and I were just dropping off our laundry (they have a laundry service here!!) and saw the two boats at the fuel dock. We went over and had a brief chat before the boats moved over to our dock. We met Matt and his son Jonathan from BC and Sharon and John from Ottawa. On Thursday night we had a happy hour aboard our boat and learned more about our new dock mates. They had some interesting stories about their adventures coming down and about their crossing from Turks and Caicos.
Mark and I had been talking about hiring a car to take us on a tour of the area. We mentioned this to our new dock mates and they thought it was a great idea so we went ahead and booked a car tour for 6 people. On Friday morning our car and driver arrived at 9 am but only 4 of us took off to explore Puerto Plata and the countryside (John and Jonathan were not feeling well so they stayed behind). Our driver (who told us to call him T) first took us to the countryside where we learned about all the plants and produce grown in the area. We also had a little tasting of fruit, coffee, chocolate and this local drink called Mama Juana. Our second stop was a butterfly garden. It was very interesting and informative. After the countryside, we went to Puerto Plata. T showed us all parts of the city – the poorer areas and the very wealthy!! We had lunch at a little place that T recommended (he got a free lunch for bringing us there!!) and then we walked around a bit in the more touristy part of town (down by the cruise ship terminal). Our last stop was the Macorix House of Rum Distillery. That was lots of fun – had a tour and tasting!! Can’t go wrong with ending our 7 hour tour with a bit of rum!!
It hasn’t been all fun and games. As usual, there are still jobs to be done! The big job news is that Mark finished the installation of our main cabin air conditioning unit! Oh boy does it work well!! We ran it for Thursday afternoon and it was lovely inside the boat. We’ve also spent time washing the deck, inside the cockpit and all the cockpit cushions after our salty passage to the DR. Definitely our work pace has slowed down.
We’re now looking at the weather to continue our journey to Puerto Rico. Matt and Jonathon are headed for Trinidad and Sharon and John are going to the BVIs. We’ve decided to try to all travel together to PR. It’s really nice to have other sailors to chat about the weather and to figure out a good crossing window. So far it’s looking like we’ll be at the marina for at least another week. Time for more happy hours 😁
Crimson Kathryn and her crew 