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
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