Travels with Wildcat

Log : Luperon to Puerto Rico

We are sitting at anchor in Boqueron, Puerto Rico. It's been quite a trip so far and we're still excited about traveling east-southeast. No matter how many guides you read, it is difficult to go against the trade winds.

We left off in Luperon, Dominican Republic. We did indeed take a trip over to Puerto Plata. Some savvy cruisers, Jeanette and Bill, arranged for a minivan to take themselves, us, and Maarten and Yvonne to the big city. Our driver turned out to be Billy, the same driver who took us to the waterfall. It was a lovely ride. Again we were struck by how green everything looks. As we got closer to Puerto Plata we started to see more stores and more people. It was a beautiful clear day, so our first stop was to ride the cable car to the top of Isabel de Torres mountain. At the top the view is breathtaking and there is a gigantic sculpture of Christ looking out over the town and water. The statue of Christ was the original one that stood overlooking Rio de Janerio, which has been replaced by a larger one. We strolled around the botanical gardens there and took lots of pictures, which we'll post soon.

But we had lots to do, so down from the mountain we came and went over to the Amber gallery. Amber is formed from the sap of a now extinct tree that used to grow on the island. Lot's of small plants and animals got caught in the sap, and many are on display at the gallery (think Jurassic Park). In fact, when you first walk in you are greeted by a large Tyrannasaurus Rex with amber teeth. Both amber and a stone called Larimar are on display here, as well as cigars and some drink concoction that cures everything. The highlight, or course, is the gift shop at the end. But, we were running late and we were whisked through the gift shop with just a glance to the left and right, much to the chagrin of the salespeople. So onward to the grocery store.

The grocery store was large, and for Chris and I we were hoping for good produce. Unfortunately that was in short supply. Bananas were non-existent. As an aside, we saw banana trees everywhere. However, they are exported. They are picked green and shipped out and the locals don't see them too often. Lucky for us, Jeanette knew of a Haitian market in town. Sure enough, we found our bananas there.

So now it was time to say goodbye to Luperon. We studiously read our Passages East book and prepared the boat to battle the trade winds. In the DR you must get a "despacho" to leave one harbor and arrive in another. We got our documents in order and were ready to leave at sunset. But the wind just kept blowing and blowing. The whole next day we waited. Finally when the wind abated we headed out. It was not comfortable. The seas were short and choppy and the winds increased. We thought of turning back. One boat did. But we carried on, and eventually it got calmer.

We had planned to sail all the way to Puerto Rico. At the end of the next day we decided to head into Samana. Samana is a tourist town. Lots of Europeans vacation there, but not on the side where the boats anchor. All in all, Samana was a disappointment. We felt welcome only for our money, not for ourselves. But the winds were not good for the crossing, so we decided to go to Los Haitises National Park.

This park is located in the Bay of Samana. It is surrounded by mangroves on one side and high cliffs with caves on the other. It is absolutely beautiful. We anchored off a gigantic rock covered with greenery and birds. The rangers came out to the boat and, speaking no English, and us, speaking poor Spanish, we had a heck of a conversation. Somehow we figured out what the cost of the park was and the "tip" they hoped for. The tip was taken with much gratitude and the rangers went out of their way to show us the sights here.

First off, was the cave of the Arenas. At the entrance to the cave we saw the carvings the Taino indians had made using the local rock. Inside the cave it was so spacious. In one chamber bats were flying overhead. In another birds were flying in and out. Every once in a while you could see out to the water. It was hard to imagine this being a tribe's home.

The next day we visited the Line Cave. To get this cave you take your dinghy through the mangroves. Then you hike up a path and then enter the cave. This cave was much larger and much darker than the previous one. In various chambers we saw the cave paintings made by the Taino indians. It was amazing. We were not allowed to take pictures there though, so you'd have to look on the internet to see what we saw. One chamber was enormous. It looked like they had a fire pit in the middle of the cave. Again, our imaginations soared.

There's still more. There is an eco resort nearby in the hills. Those at the resort can use kayaks, walk trails, and do some rock climbing. In addition to the resort there are a couple of locals living nearby. We watched as some fisherman came in after there day's work, lifted their 15 hp engine plus gas tank onto a motorcycle, with their catch, and the two of them cycled away. They are very strong people. Anyway, to get to the resort we followed a mangrove creek. It was the most amazing mangrove area we have ever seen. Instead of mangrove bushes these were mangrove trees. It didn't seem real. Plus we saw unusual birds with extremely unusual bird calls flitting about in the trees. We took a movie of traveling through this creek that I hope we can upload to our website.

This park was so beautiful and unspoiled. Only us and another cruiser were there. Twice a week a tour boat comes out for about an hour from Samana. That's it. For us it was a fabulous hidden treasure.

So, can we cross the Mona Passage yet. Well..., the weather wasn't perfect but Chris and I said let's give it a try. We set out from Samana at 6 pm. The winds died and the sea was glasslike. As darkness approached all was calm but wait. There were white lights everywhere. Taking a look at the radar and nothing showed up. Until you got close, these were small wooden rowboats with small outboard engines, miles offshore fishing for squid. There lights attracted the squid to the boat and they could scoop them up. At one point we passed a boat so close that I yelled "Olla", and got an "Olla" back.

So we motored down the coast of the DR, passed Cape Engano and the dreaded hourglass shoal. Even a big freighter was on our route past the shoal. Then the winds were just right to head off to Mona Island.

Mona Island is part of Puerto Rico. It's in the middle of the Mona Passage. There is one anchorage inside of the reef. They have put very nice moorings there and they're free. There are numerous trails on the island, a beautiful beach, and great snorkling. Unfortunately, because we couldn't clear through customs there, we had limited access to the island. But we walked the beach and snorkled in the crystal clear water.

From there we motorsailed to Boqueron. We'll be heading to the south coast of Puerto Rico soon and we're looking forward to exploring Puerto Rico.

Fair winds. Pam and Chris aboard Wildcat

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