Time for a change

We loved our time in the Bahamas. For water enthusiasts, snorkeling in swimming pool clear waters with a powdery white sand beach nearby cannot be beat. However, after a couple months there (2? 3?) we were ready to move on.

Enter: the DR! We almost didn’t stop here. It had been shortlisted as “a good place for canvas work” which we were desperately in need of, but we met a sailor in Morehead City who had told us it was one of the most bureaucratically nightmarish (and accordingly expensive) places he had ever sailed to. Apparently you have to check in AND out of every port you visit, vs most countries where you check in once and then are free to move about. Each of these check in stops includes a visit from an armada official, customs, and immigration, each of whom request a tip (bribe?) for their services. To make matters worse, the armada has complete control over when or even whether you leave. If they decide the weather isn’t right, or it’s too late in the day, or just not the right day, you have to stay. Did we really want to deal with all that just for canvas?

I poured hours and hours of research into it before we finally decided that yes, we did want to visit the DR, but would only take the boat to one port to limit the amount of bureaucracy we’d have to deal with. We decided on Samaná after hearing good things from fellow cruisers, and planned to stay in the Marina Puerto Bahia for a week or 2 (a big splurge for us) to get canvas work done.

Our longest passage yet

Our passage from the Bahamas was not an easy one. We left from the island of Mayaguana and planned to bypass Turks and Caicos, go over three large banks, and then turn south and head straight into Samaná. We picked our window carefully, but even still ended up in some BIG seas. All of our buddy boats bailed to T&C to wait for the next window, but we chose to continue on. After 2 nights we made the decision to cut between the last two of the banks to shave a few miles off and get a better angle on the waves. We spent the next day surfing down huge waves at 9kts and shaved an entire night off our passage, allowing us to arrive just before dark on Monday rather than Tuesday morning as we had planned. Best decision! Surfing down waves is much more comfortable than taking them on the beam, though watching the swell rise up behind us was a little scary.

As we neared the DR the first thing we noticed were the lush green mountains popping up on the horizon. As we got closer we were hit by the smell…a rich jungly smell with peppery undertones. After so long in the desolation of the Bahamas this felt (and smelled) like paradise! Neal promptly said he wanted to stay for at least a month. I had the “we’ve made it to the promised land” song from Veggie Tales’ Josh and the Big Wall playing on repeat in my head.

We anchored for the night, planning to check into both the country and marina the next morning. In the morning we awoke to pink flamingoes frolicking on a nearby beach!

Check in at the marina was amazingly simple. All the officials we needed were located in one office with not even a hint of tipping or bribes. There was a kids club (air conditioned) next door that the kids hung out in while Neal and I checked in. Just past that was an outdoor restaurant with amazing $12 pizzas…the first time we had eaten out since St. Augustine! Everywhere we looked kids were zooming around on scooters and playing together.

Summer camp vibes

The way the marina was laid out was great for kids. We arrived the week before Easter and the marina was already packed and only became more so until Easter, with the vast majority of the boats having kids aboard. Our kids loved the freedom of being able to step off the boat as soon as they finished school to run off and find their friends. We had to instigate a “come home when the dock lights turn on” policy to make sure they made it home for dinner! Our kids haven’t had that much freedom since we left Mooresville and they LOVED it. Neal and I also loved the opportunity to have actual adult conversations with each other and those around us without interruptions every few minutes.

We ended up only spending two weeks in the DR, but were able to visit a nearby island, (too touristy for our tastes) hike to a waterfall, (also touristy but fun) drive to a nearby town for some grocery shopping, (so much fresh fruit! So affordable!) and get our 6 month teeth cleaning appointment in. I think we all wish we had been able to stay for longer and explore the national park nearby and maybe an overnight trip to Santo Domingo. Hopefully we will be back!

Next up: several weeks in Puerto Rico before meeting my parents in the US Virgin Islands. They will be our first boat guests and we are so excited!