As this is written, we are still in Luperon in the Dominican Republic, but we won’t be able to post it until we reach Puerto Rico. It is odd to be anchored amongst so many boats in a large harbor and yet it is eerily quiet. We hear wind generators on some of the boats nearby, but hardly any dinghies are out and about since going to town for anything is discouraged. The authorities (this word is used a lot here, and we wonder who these nameless authorities are) have road blocks in the countryside to minimize travel by anyone anywhere other than ambulances and trucks delivering food. We hear that it is getting very challenging for the poorer people. They are probably mostly day labor workers, and there is not much work going on now. We did, however, get the ok to go ashore in the countryside and walk which we do on most days. Riggs gets pretty antsy when he doesn’t get exercise. Antsy as used here is a synonym for obnoxious.
Luckily Riggs still loves to play with his toys so he isn't totally bored. We throw them the length of the boat which is not very far, but he still thinks it is a fun game.
There’s a positive side of course as with most things. The weather during the days is usually sunny with a cool breeze and the nights cool down nicely for good sleeping. We can work off our boat project to-do list at a leisurely pace since our world is limited to our boat, and there is more time for reading and musical pursuits. Some restaurants are still able to offer carry out, but that’s not all that appealing so we haven’t’ done that. We are both trying to improve our Spanish language skills in fits and starts, but I certainly am no gifted linguist. I wonder who Erin’s real father is…
The ten thousand or so boats in the harbor here in Luperon may still be here 3 months from now since it looks like countries are still “locking down” their ports. Yes I’m exaggerating, but there are a lot of boats here. They did let three boats come in here a few hours after the lockdown started, but the people were totally quarantined on their boats for 15 days. They disregarded this rule and went to town and were “caught”. As a result all cruisers were on total lockdown for a day or so until rational thinking prevailed. The next boat that tried to come in was given fuel and sent on their way and not allowed into the harbor. There is a Navy boat guarding the harbor entrance and a man with an automatic rifle at the end of the government dinghy dock where we walk into town. We can, however, still get off the boat and go ashore in lightly populated areas for needed supplies. One person per boat is allowed to come ashore to get groceries, use the ATM, visit the drug store, etc.
Lots of mountains in the DR. Roads here are mostly gravel.
The Playita-little beach that we walk to sometimes. Lots of trees for shade and very pleasant.
One of our favorite walks is along the coastline. It is lined with pretty farms. Lots of chickens, guinea hens, sheep, goats and cows.
Before the lock down started, Bruce Van Sant, who wrote "The Gentlemen's Guide to the Thornless Path", which is a must read for all cruisers sailing south to the Caribbean, came and did a talk at the marina. He really is a legend in the cruising community so this was a treat.
One of the most frustrating things is how difficult it is to get real information. We have heard rumors of both Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands (USVI) closing their borders. That appears to not be true for “boats in transit” rather than tourists, but it is hard to find the right person to get a definitive answer. For example, MB tracked down the phone number in US Virgins for the office that sets the policy for boats entering and leaving harbors there. The number had an auto routing directory system where you had to input the first three letters of a person’s last name…but if you don’t have a name, there is no way to talk to a person. She did talk to Puerto Rico Customs and Border Patrol to see if “boats in transit” would be allowed in. They said to call back the day before we want to leave here as things are changing daily. We did confirm today that we will be allowed into Puerto Rico and allowed out of the DR (which was touch and go for a couple days).
Our exit plans are complicated by the weather of course. We have been here 18 days and there was only one other opportunity to leave which was shortly after we arrived. The north coast of the Dominican Republic and the Mona Passage between the DR and Puerto Rico can be quite rough with dangerous currents. We now have a pretty good window with a little buffer time at the end in case we run into problems. Three other boats will leave with us so we can travel together and help each other if it is needed. We will be in touch with each other via the VHF radio. This is about a 48 hour passage, and that is plenty long with a crew of only 2 people.
The DR is taking the threat of the coronavirus very seriously which is a good thing. They seem to have found a reasonable approach that minimizes contact between people while still providing basic services. They’ve asked that boaters use the two guys (Handy Andy and Papo) who provide the moorings in the harbor to get people what they need and bring it to them on their boats. They bring gas, diesel fuel, propane, water and laundry right to boats for very reasonable rates. Now they are even bringing groceries and taking away trash if needed.
There is some humor in the situation. One morning this week there was a frantic call on the radio by a woman who said that two men had just stolen her dinghy and they were racing toward the harbor entrance. Sure enough, we saw a dinghy that fit the description go flying by a hundred meters or so from our boat. Hot on their tail were several cruisers in their dinghies. It was quite exciting with all sorts of people calling on the radio and trying to alert the navy boat that is guarding the harbor. It turned out that one of the people in the dinghy was the woman’s husband and the other was the Commandante of the local Navy force. The Commandante had apparently come to the government dinghy dock just as her husband was returning from grocery shopping, and he asked her husband to drop him off at the Navy ship patrolling the outer harbor. As the radio traffic about the stolen dinghy escalated, the Commandante got on the radio asking for more information on the stolen dinghy since he didn’t yet know that he was riding in the dinghy that people were talking about and that the now armada-sized force of cruisers in dinghies was pursuing. With much radio chatter the situation was resolved pretty quickly and no harm was done, although I suspect the woman felt foolish. It was impressive how fast the cruiser armada was summoned though!
One enterprising cruiser has organized a radio “show” for the evenings. There is chitchat about a number of things, and partway into the discussions one night there was debate on where to buy the best salami in town. It is amazing, but in some ways reassuring, how childish we “mature” folks can be. The salami discussion quickly degenerated in predictable ways, but it was fun to laugh with others about nonsense given the seriousness of so many discussions in these times. Subsequent “shows” have been a little better – some of the sailing stories are amusing.
Fortunately the quarantine restrictions are evolving toward reason with people allowed to go ashore individually as long as they do not socialize with each other. We’re even allowed back on marina property as long as we sit by ourselves, at least six feet from anyone else, and we can even buy a cold drink. Mr. Riggs is very happy we can resume our walks.
Tomorrow, 3/26, we head out of Luperon Harbor bound for Puerto Rico. There is no certainty that any place is better or worse than other places for virus avoidance so that choice is kind of a crap shoot. We do feel that we have no obvious good options which is very frustrating and creates a nagging anxiety in our guts. I am more susceptible to this than Mary Beth as I tend to turn unsolvable problems and unknowable things over and over in my mind. The theory driving our near-term plan is that we would be better able to obtain good quality medical care and be less apt to be forbidden to leave a country in US territories since our citizenship carries some weight, but there isn’t really anything to confirm this. The Dominican Republic is definitely a second world country with the associated problems of poverty, confusion in government, and high under-employment. There have been rumors of rioting in the DR this week. It was announced today that the local hospital has a shortage of alcohol to sterilize things. We are hoping that if things escalate, the government structure in Puerto Rico or the US Virgins will be better able to control unrest and provide decent medical care if needed.
We still plan to leave the boat in in a boatyard on dry land in St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands and then to fly home from there at some point. It appears that airlines may be discontinuing all flights shortly so not sure if we will be able to get a flight home. We still don’t have a firm solution for how to get Riggs home. American Airlines announced this week that pets can no longer be checked in cargo and we expect other airlines to follow suit. It is hard to be away from home with so much hardship going on there. MB’s parents have also had some health issues recently, which at their ages is always concerning. We are feeling some pressure to return home, or to at least have a way to get home if needed.
Even with all this going on there are still many pleasant times and small fun things to do, for example the whole harbor got to wish a little girl who turned 5 Happy Birthday by blowing horns and singing on the radio which her parents say made her day. You have to admit that it would be cool as a five year old to hear all these disembodied voices on the radio wishing you happy birthday.
Sunrise as we left the harbor in Luperon, DR
We hope and pray for a resurgence of peace and “normalcy”, as we’re sure most of you do as well. We have no way of knowing what the future holds, but one thing we find is that these times help us savor the moments, the relationships with friends, family, and especially each other. We also pray a lot, which is a good thing.
David and Mary Beth
PS. Due to limited internet access we cant upload more pictures. Sorry!
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