Bahia de Boqueron, Puerto Rico

Boqueron Bay is a sort of "Peoples' Resort" area. Puerto Rico has established very affordable vacation accommodations here, something like we might see in National Parks in the U.S.

These beach cabanas can be rented for the day quite inexpensively, and nearby (not pictured) are condominiums maintained by the commonwealth which can be rented by families for a week's vacation.
(I apologize for the cloudy day...)
















KINGDOM at anchor in the bay















The town dinghy dock - ours is the inflatable....















The low building in the background is the dining room of Galloway's Restaurant as seen from the end of the dinghy dock















View of the town of Boqueron from the end of the dinghy dock














Boqueron is a very small seaside village, with narrow streets, which are lined with vendors selling seafood, jewelry, baked potatoes, tamales, tacos, fruit, candy, t-shirts, etc. We counted at least 6 bars within three blocks or so. Away from the waterfront, there are all the usual stores and services one finds in small towns everywhere - auto parts, marine supply, doctor's office, law office, small grocery store, gas station, etc. The locals are friendly, fun, and courteous. Most are bi-lingual in spanish and english, and are happy to converse in either language.

The population at least triples on weekends, as people come to the beaches here from all over the countryside. It gets quite crowded. All kinds of watersports are offered, including banana-boat rides, jet-ski rides, sport fishing, kayak rentals, etc.

Last weekend, Hillary Clinton was in Boqueron, campaigning for the Democratic Primary election, which is to be held tomorrow, Sunday, June 1st. Some of the locals were upset because she was photographed drinking "Presidente" beer, which is made in the Dominican Republic, instead of the local Puerto Rican brewski, "Medellen". (Actually, they're both quite good!)

As I mentioned, tomorrow (Sunday) is election day, and one of our new friends, Terry, is aggravated as hell about it. It happens to be his birthday! He is an Irishman born and bred, and the bars are closed for the election!!

We are planning to move tomorrow, along the southern coast of Puerto Rico, to Salinas Bay for a quick overnight stay. Then on to Vieques in the Spanish Virgin Islands on Monday.

We do not know when we will have internet access again, so please be patient while we are moving down the Leeward Island chain.

We have made reservations for a month's stay in Trinidad, at Coral Cove Marina. We plan to have the boat docked there from July 15 thru August 15, while we fly back to Phoenix for a visit to family and friends, see our physicians, and take care of outstanding business details.

We are expecting to have Paige and Dmitry Babayev aboard with us the last two weeks of August. We will cruise Tobago and Trinidad while they are with us.

We will then have the boat hauled out for bottom paint and general maintenance the first week of September.

Can you imagine a more perfect FIRST DAY in a new port of call?

In my last posting, I mentioned the waterfront restaurant, "Galloway's", and promised more to come about it.
In fact, Galloway's was our first stop upon going ashore in Boqueron. It was recommended to us by the folks on a neighboring sailboat as "the cruisers gathering place, hangout, and home away from home." They told us that the food was excellent, the beer cold, the staff helpful and bi-lingual, and that they had free Wi-Fi. Did I mention the cold beer? Our sailing friends also gave us the name and phone number of a local private taxi service, since we needed to get checked in with customs and immigration here. So we called Raul, the taxi owner, and arranged to meet him at Galloway's at 1:00pm, right after our planned lunch there.























The patio bar at Galloway's

















When we walked into Galloway's at 11:00am, we were welcomed, even though they don't officially open until noon. We ordered beer, and waited for the kitchen to open. Shortly thereafter, we began meeting the most wonderful people! Two guys came in for a beer after completing their golf game. They introduced themselves as Don and Stan, and welcomed us to Puerto Rico. Both men are about our age, semi-retired, and had lived in Puerto Rico for 20 years or more. Both are long-time sailors, fishermen, golfers and boat enthusiasts. They were delightful ambassadors for the island, and we quickly felt at home. Don turned out to be the co-owner of Galloway's, Don Galloway. Don's wife, Gladys, is co-owner, and runs the day-to-day operations of the restaurant/bar. Before lunch was over, we were invited to dinner at Don and Gladys' home in the hills. We agreed to meet them at the restaurant for pickup at 5:00pm.

Gladys Galloway and a happy patron



















Two more happy patrons at Galloway's



















Walt and Gladys Galloway


















During the course of our initial luncheon conversation, I mentioned that we had engaged a taxi to take us to the Hertz rental agency, where we planned to rent a car for our trip to the customs office in Mayaguez. Stan immediately offered us the use of "The People's Truck". This turned out to be an elderly Mitsubishi pickup truck which Stan keeps for just this purpose, as well as occasional hauling jobs. He has loaned the truck to friends so often, he came up with the "People's Truck" as a joke, and it stuck! So he painted a big red star on the hood, just for the hell of it. His other car is a beautiful white classic Lincoln Sedan, and he is rebuilding a '69 Nova SS as his personal toy.

Raul appeared at 1:00pm, as promised, and took us to the customs office in Mayaguez. He shepherded us thru the process, waited while the paperwork was completed, and returned us to the dinghy dock in Boqueron in time for us to freshen up for dinner. Raul was informative, helpful, and an excellent driver. He was able to answer many of our questions about the island, its customs, people and environment. Among other things, we learned that Puerto Rico is experiencing an expanding population of Rhesus Monkeys, apparently a result of escapes from research laboratories on the island. Maybe we'll see a monkey!!

Stan and his wife, Rita, picked us up in the Lincoln at 5:00pm, and chauffered us to Don and Gladys' home. We were cordially entertained, and royally fed! BBQ ribs, veggies, bread, salads, desserts, and Don's home-made pickles and chutney constituted the feast. We thouroughly enjoyed the conversations before, during, and after dinner.

In fact, during our visit to Don and Glady's home (which is beautifully situated high on a hill overlooking the bay), I mentioned that I was looking for a marine supply store, to order some spare generator parts. Don immediately led me two houses down the block, and introduced me to the owner of the local marine supply store. He assured me that he could get anything I needed within three days. As it was Memorial Day weekend, we could not place the order until Tuesday. But he was absolutely right, and obtained the parts I needed.

In addition, during dinner, we mentioned to the group that we needed to locate the nearest Costco store on the island, and that we planned to rent a car for that purpose. Rita, Stan's better half, told us that we were welcome to ride with her to Costco on the following Tuesday, as she had planned to go that day anyhow. WOW! We immediately accepted, and volunteered to pay for the gas in the Lincoln!

Now tell me; Can you imagine a more perfect FIRST DAY in a new port of call? New friends, calm clear waters, wonderful food, and great transportation ashore.

Passage to Puerto Rico from Dominican Republic

On Tuesday, May 20th, we began our passage from Ocean World Marina, Dominican Republic, to Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.

We started out in good weather at 7:00am, but as the day wore on, the wind picked up (25 - 30 knots) and so did the waves (6' - 8'+). We had intended to go directly to Mayaguez (214 miles), but it was just too uncomfortable for us to make the 36 hour overnight run. So we picked out a cove on the chart called Puerto del Valle, on the northern coast of the Samana Peninsula, and dropped the hook there just as the sun went down. Still, that was a run of about 91 miles. When the sun came up on Wednesday morning, we found ourselves in a lovely cove, with a small fishing village surrounded by steep mountains. It was beautiful, and so was the weather.

Western coast of Dominican Republic































When the sun came up on Wednesday morning May 21st, we found ourselves in a lovely cove, with a small fishing village surrounded by steep mountains. It was beautiful, and so was the weather.

These are various shots taken early morning in the cove at Puerto del Valle















No kidding - this is a real place, with real fishermen















Yes, those are coconut palms lining the beach - note the absence of a highrise resort hotel















The water drops to a depth of 30' just a few yards from the edge of those trees. An ideal anchorage for boats like ours.

































From this lovely cove, we headed for Punta Cana, on the extreme Eastern end of DR, thinking that we would lay up there overnight if the weather turned bad again. But as we approached Punta Cana and the weather and waves were still mild, we decided to go ahead with an overnight passage to Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. We had a very easy run across the Mona Passage, arriving around 4:30am Thursday morning in Mayaguez, where we dropped anchor in the bay.







During the overnight passage, we did have periods of light rain, but no high winds or squall conditions. Once the rain passed, the moon came smiling down, almost full, so visibility was excellent. Once anchored in Mayaguez, we had breakfast and slept a few hours. The bay there is polluted with much industrial runoff, so we decided to move about 15 miles south on down the coast to Bahia de Boqueron, arriving early afternoon. We retired for the night around 7:30pm, and slept through til 5:30 this morning (Friday, May 23).

Bahia de Boqueron is really picturesque. It is a relatively large bay near the Southwestern tip of Puerto Rico. It has a great beach, a small and active township, a couple of marinas, and a great waterside restaurant named Galloway's - More on that later.

Dominican Republic - Entry 2 of 2

On Friday, May 16th, we drove from Puerto Plata to Santo Domingo, the capitol city of the Dominican Republic. The drive was really quite scenic, as we passed over two mountain ranges, through high valleys, farmlands and the centrally located city of Santiago. The roadway was in much better condition, too! Once we passed south of Santiago, the road became a more modern divided highway all the way to Santo Domingo, so the trip took only about three hours.
The city of Santo Domingo seems like an earlier, smaller version of Los Angeles, with only slightly less traffic. Friday happened to be the day of the Presidential Election, a National Holiday, so traffic was lighter than usual and many businesses were closed. Restaurants were open, but were not allowed to sell alcohol on Election Day (except for those located in hotels and resorts).
We checked in to the Intercontinental Hotel, a modern facility located on Avenida George Washington, overlooking the Caribbean Sea. We selected it because of its close proximity to the historic old Colonial District, with buildings dating as far back as 1503. After freshening up at the hotel, we headed out for some lunch and sightseeing in the old city. The pictures here are not in any particular order, but I will try to caption them as best I can....

North side of the old cathedral



















Monastery entrance



















"The Lighthouse" - Since 1993, this has been the final resting place of the remains of Christopher Columbus. We learned that Columbus' body had been buried in a number of places after his death, including Spain, Italy, and Santo Domingo's origininal Cathedral.















This is the Presidential Palace - The DR's version of the White House in the US. Note that there is only a single guard on duty at the gate, though there are probably others in the small security building inside the gate.
















Our guide (Valentine) is explaining the workings of the sundial, which is part of the column behind Susan in this picture. We checked it out, and it was in pricise agreement with our digital watches. I wonder how they adjust it for Daylight Savings Time...















This a view of the old Governor's mansion, once inhabited by Christopher during his tenure as Governor of the Island of Hispaniola. Apparently, he was not well regarded by those he governed. They complained to the King of Spain that he was barbaric in his treatment of those who disobeyed his orders. He was eventually dismissed by the King, disgraced, and taken back to Spain in irons, along with his brother. His lands and wealth were confiscated, and he spent hard time in the dungeon. He was finally liberated after submitting an appeal to the King, wherein he pointed out all he had done for the Crown over his years of service.















Gayle, Valentine, and Susan















Midafternoon, we stopped in at this lovely old hotel for refreshment. It is in the heart of the Colonial district, and was originally the private home of a wealthy merchant. Built around a central courtyard, it now offers 19 rooms furnished in period style.





























This a view of the original Cathedral of Santo Domingo.















Our guide was able to get us inside this very old church building which was closed to the general public, and guarded by a small contingent of army troops. It is called "The Mausoleum", and contains the remains of illustrious citizens of Hispaniola. It is a great honor to be interred here, and the plaques read like a "who's who" in the DR for the past 500 years.
The frescoes in the nave were quite striking.

















Legend has it that this old anchor came from one of Columbus' sailing ships.




We will try to bring you all "up to date" in our next blog entry, before we loose internet connections again. We plan to leave Puerto Rico on Monday, and have much to share on the fun we have had while here in Buqueron for the past week.
Love,
Walt and Susan

Dominican Republic - Entry 1 of 2

Our week’s stay at Ocean World Marina, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, has afforded us the time to explore the country somewhat. Arriving Sunday evening, we checked in with Immigration, Customs, the Navy Department, Agriculture, Animal Control, and the DR version of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Seven different officials representing these various Government Bureaus came aboard, all collecting their various fees. They were very cordial, as were we, offering one and all a cold drink of their choice. Some chose beer, others chose Coca Cola. On Monday, we rested, explored the Marina area, washed our clothes, and especially enjoyed having our air conditioning on aboard the boat! We also were able to start catching up on email, since the Marina offers free internet service as part of our dockage fees. We also reserved a rental car for Tuesday morning, so we could do a few road trips. Tuesday morning, we picked up our rental car around 10 am, and decided to drive to Samana Bay, which is on the Eastern end of the island. We were told it would only be a two and a half-hour drive, that the beaches were spectacular, and that a new resort hotel had opened there that would be a great place to have lunch before starting back here. Well, we drove like mad for three and a half hours, and were still more than 65 kilometers from Samana. Since we were starving, we finally gave up and stopped for lunch at a “typico” DR version of the roadside diner. The food was adequate, but nothing special. We thought it was on the expensive side, as well. When I say “we drove like mad”, it is quite literally true! The people here are really quite lovely – handsome, hospitable, reasonable, and kind – UNTIL THEY GET INTO A MOTOR VEHICLE! Then they appear to lose their minds completely! After driving a while, I had to make a radical Paradigm Shift – instead of assuming everyone would follow the rules of the road, I began to assume NO ONE was following the normal rules of the road. After that, I was not nearly as disturbed when scooters would dart out in front of our speeding car, or that other drivers would pass us on uphill grades with no possible visibility ahead, or large oncoming trucks drifted over into our lane, etc. etc. The road to Samana, for instance is a two lane road, with many curves, grades, and bridges. It winds around the coast, over the mountains, and through lots of small villages and a few larger towns. To say that the road is pot-holed in the extreme would be an understatement. So everyone using the road is constantly weaving back and forth to avoid destroying their vehicle’s suspension, or disappearing altogether. We shared the road with pigs, burros, horses, goats, cows, trucks, buses, cars of every vintage, size and shape, and several gazillion scooter drivers. Scooters – a topic in and of itself. In this country, the motor scooter is the pickup truck, family car, station wagon, mini-van, and thrill-ride, all rolled into one vehicle. It was remarkable how many people ride them. In fact, we saw only a very few bicycles. I suppose it is a sign of the relative wealth and health of the economy here, that people who might once have been able to only afford a bicycle, can now own and operate a scooter. On average two or three people are aboard any given scooter at any time. The record we saw was six – a man and his five children. But we noted scooter-equipped painters carrying up to six 5-gallon buckets, men and women hauling several hundred-pound bags of rice – you name it – they can carry it on the back of a scooter! We were lucky enough to be here during the final week of the Presidential Election Campaign. Our fist clue was the incredible number of signs posted on every conceivable upright surface, each bearing the countenance of one or another of the Presidential candidates. By far, most of them were promoting the incumbent, Leonel Fernandez, who was seeking re-election for his third 4-year term. Voting was on Friday, a national holiday, and by Saturday morning, we learned that he had won 52% of the popular vote, avoiding a run-off. During our Tuesday road trip, we became enmeshed in two of the many vehicular parades, sponsored by the party faithful. These folks were flying the party colors from banners, pom-poms, flags, T-shirts, hats, and posters. Cars, trucks, vans and scooters were overloaded with people singing, chanting, and shouting good-naturedly at each other that Leonel (or the other guy) should be the people’s choice on Friday! In every little village, every town the road was lined with people of every age, no one is immune to democracy here, it is heartening. In the midst of these road-rally parades, the two-lane road suddenly bore five lanes of traffic – four headed toward whatever rally the supporters were attending, and one poor pathetic stream of cars heading in the opposite direction, while trying to keep from falling off the shoulder of the road into the ditch. Occasionally a huge bus or truck would bull its way forward through the chaos, clearing a path for the hapless travelers behind it for a little way - something like a lineman clearing the way for a halfback to run a few yards before being tackled. We recovered from the Samana trip, after finding a great restaurant close to home for dinner. We dined al fresco, perched high on a hill overlooking the inlet east of the marina. This time, the food and service was excellent! It was also reasonably priced, considering our lovely view and upscale ambience.

Wednesday, we drove westward from the marina, having been told there was good snorkeling to be found in that direction. Unfortunately we discovered that the bay access and beach were completely restricted by three all-inclusive resorts. We would be expected to pay a daily rate upwards of $80 apiece just to get our feet wet. Maybe it would have been a good deal had we spent the entire day – since the day rate included meals. But we declined the opportunity, and instead we found another lovely resort, brand-new, having just been open two weeks. The staff there was more than happy to have us dine in their bar and grille. This was the “Social” restaurant, where I had a real, authentic Reuben Sandwich for the first time since leaving the US. Susan ordered her favorite dish AGAIN – Ceviche! She declared it to be excellent, but Susan has never met a raw fish she didn’t like.

Walt and Gayle at "Social" - the restaurant




















Thursday we prepared for our trek over the mountains to Santo Domingo, packing our bags, making hotel reservations online, generally goofing around, and playing a cut throat game of Scrabble. We stopped for a late lunch at a nearby beachside joint that advertised steaks and RIBS! Up to that point, we had been trying to ignore this sign as we passed, but finally succumbed to its lure. The ribs were excellent, and the local “Presidente” Beer was cold. The bartender, “Charlie”, was a charming young man who spoke excellent English, including idiom and slang. He really wanted to go to Miami with Gayle!

KINGDOM at rest in the marina - prepared for the long haul to Puerto Rico



















I’ve gotta stop now and get this posted. Dinner is ready. We will post our pix and a narrative of our road trip to Santo Domingo once we get to Puerto Rico. Tomorrow morning (Tuesday, May 20th) at 7:00 am we are setting out for our first overnight passage; from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, to Mayaguez, Puerto Rico - a voyage of some 214 miles. We estimate that we will be underway for 32 hours, arriving around 3:00pm on Wednesday.

Looking eastward toward Puerto Rico - 214 miles distant
















Anchors Aweigh Mateys!

Love,
Walt and Susan

From Sapodillo Bay, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos to the Dominican Republic

A friend of ours from Phoenix, Gayle Danner, flew into Providenciales to spend a couple of weeks aboard, arriving on Saturday, May 3rd. She is an avid Scuba Diver, so we booked a “wall dive” for Monday. The dive boat took us to the west side of West Caicos Island, where we made two dives that day. We were happy with the sea life and corals in the area, but were not happy with the dive master’s instruction or the way the dives were conducted. There were 20 divers on this trip, and only two crew members aboard to manage this large group. There should always be at least one dive master or crew in the water for every five or six divers. In this case only one professional was in the water with 20 people. Anchored in Sapodillo Bay, waiting for the weather to settle a bit, we explored Provo, did boat chores, and made preparations to depart for Grand Turk. On Wednesday, May7th, we crossed the Caicos Banks using the Gingerbread Channel to Long Cay, in the company of "Egide" and "Yankee Zephyr". The passage across the banks was tricky, requiring much “eyeball navigation” to avoid the many coral heads, and shallow sandbars. For much of this route we had only a few feet of water (or less) under the keel, which makes the Captain VERY NERVOUS! The anchorage at Long Cay was okay, but the boat was rolling a bit due to the swell coming around the island. The next day, Thursday, May 8th, we crossed the channel to Grand Turk, (21'30.42N 71'10.00W) in fair conditions (4-6' seas), and anchored in the lee of the island off Town Dock, Cockburn Town. We splashed the dinghy and went into the town to look for a Dive Shop and some dinner. This may be our favorite place so far. We enjoyed fabulous diving with Grand Turk Divers. Smitty, the owner, has all our votes for best dive master in the world! Early Friday morning we participated in a reef relocation project, harvesting healthy corals from a reef near the new pier where ship traffic is damaging the reef. Later the coral will be “planted” on a metallic grid where electrolysis furthers acclimation after transplantation and speeds the growth of the relocated corals, and new ones join the man made reef. There are about 200 projects like this being conducted around the world, and we felt honored to be invited to participate. In the afternoon, we enjoyed two more dives, and have now braved depths to 90 feet! We saw a sea horse!!! A rare site indeed and we are proud to have bragging rights to share with other divers who have not been so fortunate in their many years of diving. Of course we saw magnificent sights; sharks, rays, eels, and the poor pathetic ugliest fish in the sea; a Batfish. OMG, it looks like a plucked Cornish game hen with duck feet and a face like a pit bull, alone, with no other fish around, go figure… We strolled around the tiny town of Cockburn Harbour, gawking at all the quaint architecture, and stumbled on the “Sandbar”, the perfect open air watering hole, for fresh cracked conch, fries and rum punch.

Walt and Gayle, walking a quaint and peaceful street of Cockburn Town, Grand Turk Island.



















The following day, Saturday, May 10th, we made a short 25 mi. run to anchor overnight off Big Sand Cay. This was our last landfall in the Turks and Caicos Islands before making the passage to the Dominican Republic. Big Sand Cay(21'10.70N 72'30.00W) is a deserted island and wild life sanctuary, possessing a lovely little bay and a white powder sand beach. Gayle enjoyed a solitary walk on the beach at sunset while we did a few chores. She came back with a little bag of perfect shells, but decided to leave the huge conchs she found at the southern tip of the island. Not many people can say they’ve had a sunset walk on an island without another living soul (except for a gazillion birds). The easterlies held, and we had great holding and relatively calm seas on the lee side in about 25’ of crystal clear water. Tough way to enjoy a evening, but somebody’s got to do it! At 4:30am the next morning, Sunday May 11th, we hoisted the anchor, and made the 88-mile passage to Dominican Republic in ideal conditions, arriving about 4:30pm at Ocean World Marina (19'50.1.N 70'43.60W)near Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. The marina has FREE INTERNET, which we can access directly aboard our boat! Check out their site on the internet, what a place: casino, dancing, fine dining, Ocean Adventure Park, and all the cruiser amenities. So, we are treating ourselves to a first class marina stay while waiting for our next weather window to cross the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico. D.R. is a beautiful country, with actual mountains, streams, rivers, and tropical jungle vegetation. There is a lot to see and do here, so we've rented a car for a week to explore, maybe play golf, see museums, etc. It is such a welcome change from the flat sandbars of the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos.

The rugged North Coast of the Dominican Republic



















KINGDOM at the Ocean World Marina



















The poolside bar and grille at Ocean World Marina
























The harbour entrance at Sunset


















Our friend Gayle flies back to Phoenix on Saturday, May 17th, so we are planning to drive over the mountains to Santo Domingo on Friday, stay overnight, and get her to the airport Saturday morning. At least they drive on the "correct" side of the road here...We hope to see some of the sights, especially the "old colonial district" of Santo Domingo.

The wind has picked up, and is from the North. The forecast calls for higher winds and waves along the northern coast until Monday, when we plan to head on over toward Puerto Rico.

Our favorite stop prior to here was the anchorage off Cockburn Town, Grand Turk Island. We really enjoyed the friendly and helpful people of this small island. We also had three great scuba diving experiences with the premiere divemaster of all time! We learned soooo much from him! The reefs, wall dives and coral heads were amazing. If you ever get a chance to see a BATFISH, you will know what we mean....look it up online, maybe...

That's it for now.
Love to you all!
Walt and Susan King
M/V KINGDOM