Monday, March 30, 2009

Puerto Rico…almost like home.

Puerto Rico is, of course, part of America and it feels almost like home. We have provisioned $500 worth of American steaks and other staples at a Sam’s Club getting ready for our trip down the windward and leeward islands. They have Home Depot, K-Mart, West Marine and many of the stores we are used to back on the mainland. Other than food though, we didn’t need too much. We have ordered some specialty replacement items and had them shipped to family members of one of Kim’s co-workers at her dental office who live here and we will be picking them up when we get to the East end of the island.


The south side of Puerto Rico is blessed with several protected anchorages that seem to be placed perfectly to allow us to move 2 to 4 hours from one protected spot to the next. The trade winds die almost completely overnight and then increase steadily in the morning and are in full force (about 20 knots) by noon. We find we can get underway at daybreak and be comfortably anchored in our next spot before the wind machine gets warmed up. This gives us most of the day to explore a new town or secluded spot with the kayaks or dingy.


We heard about a bay near La Parguera where the microscopic organisms give off a phosphorescent light as a defense mechanism when disturbed. Since we had a moonless night forecast, we headed out with the crews of Emily Grace, Bay Pelican and the circumnavigators on Whiskers in two dinghies in the pitch blackness on a two mile trek to the bay. The route was littered with shallow coral that could chew up the outboard motor props so Marty and I had made the trip in my dingy in the daylight and laid GPS breadcrumbs on his portable GPS unit to make the trip fool proof. We did see some sparks in the water when running our hands through the water, but we did not see the phenomenon in its full glory. The guide books are not always up to date but we all had a grand time without any problems.


We spent a night at Gilligan’s Island, took on cheap fuel in Ponce and enjoyed several days anchored in Selinas that had numerous restaurants, stores and a nearby town. We only had one brief view of the Manatees that live in this bay one day while kayaking along the mangroves, but it was good holding for the anchor and very calm in the evenings. The free internet in the harbor was “broken” so Tom biked to the nearby town library to check the internet for news, weather and the status of package shipments.


Our next stop (for Lunch) is planned to be Cayo Santiago on the east end of the island. 700 rhesus monkeys have the run of this small island and have been studied by the Caribbean Primate Research Center since 1939. We are not allowed to go to shore, but hope to see the monkeys who are known to scream and perform for boats anchored offshore.


We’ll see….


Tom

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Semana

The trip to Semana from Ocean World was long and rough but we found the town to be much better than advertised in our travel guides. The guides talked about rampant petty theft and generally a place to be on guard. We are generally “on guard” and concerned about safety as we visit new places. I try to speak Spanish at first rather than ask the locals to speak in my language and that seems to encourage them to help. The Dominicans, in general, are a religious people and they have a great love of children. Having Emily along also seems to open doors that might not be quite so wide for a rich old Gringo couple.



In the harbor was Jenny, another Nordhavn 46, that is captained by David whom I have been corresponding with for several years. He had made several improvements on his boat that I have copied exactly since they were so well conceived. We toured each others boats and we both learned a few new tricks and ideas. He led us around town on the first day and showed us where all the key stores and restaurants were. Also in this harbor were cruise ships that would arrive two at a time and offload groups of pale faced visitors to the waterfront.


The town had a nice dingy dock and no shortage of boys to watch our dingy while we were in town. I’m not sure if I was paying them to keep my dingy safe or not to steal it. In any event, I found that the going rate was 50 pesos (about $1.40) from David, so I decided not to worry which it was.


We found that this little town had a local market with fresh fruits and fish, several grocery stores, restaurants and even a nice pharmacy. We took advantage of the pharmacy by getting two extra bottles of powdered antibiotic for Emily’s medical kit. The powdered form is nice in that it stays fresher (vacuum packed) and can be mixed up when needed based on her current weight. Our pediatrician in Connecticut would only give us one course and we had to beg for that. Here, the medication was available by just showing an empty box with the medication details and was minimal cost.


We got armfuls of papaya, mangos and passion fruit and some items that we aren’t really sure what they are. The vendors embraced us and were offering free tastes of things when my meager command of Spanish was exhausted. We had lunch at a buffet recommended by David on Jenny and enjoyed chicken, beef, plantains and rice with drinks and walked out for under $20 which included our tip.


We went to Catholic Church (in Spanish) on Sunday and again found the people to be warm and friendly. Kim and Emily loved the lively (loud) Latin music. We said a few extra prayers for a smooth crossing of the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico that was to be our next move.


And Dear reader, don't miss the new map on the left that shows our route and where we are. There is a little angel and computer wizard out there named Linda that explained to this dinosaur how to do it.


Tom

Monday, March 16, 2009

The Puerto Plata Excellent Adventure

After being cooped up inside our fancy American-type marina, we decided a family adventure was needed and decided to make our own way into nearby Puerto Plata. We could have taken the taxis lined up at the marina who would take us on a round trip to town for a meager $50 US which we were clearly told did not include an expected tip. Instead we hiked the 1.5 miles to the main highway and Tom negotiated (in Spanish) an acceptable rate after talking to 2 other cabs that wanted to charge the tourista rate. We all climbed into the sedan for 100 pesos ($2.85 US) direct to our first stop on the other side of town. Not a bad start for our adventure and that included the tip!

Puerto Plata is located on the north side of the island (which is also known as the Amber Coast - Costa de Ambar). Christopher Columbus was first to sight the port in 1493 and named it "Port of Silver" because of the silver color the sea cast along the coast at sunset. In 1496, Columbus' brother Bartholomew officially founded the city and renamed it San Felipe de Puerto Plata.

Our first stop was the Brugal Rum factory. Today, Brugal has become the world’s third largest producer of rum behind the Puerto Rican brands Bacardi and Captain Morgan. Brugal, however, is the largest producer of traditionally made rum, aged in 120,000 American white oak barrels onsite in Puerto Plata. In 2002 the Brugal company produced 4.3 million 24-bottle cases of the rum. It produces 75,000 liters of rum every 24 hours and boasts an 80% market share of the rum market in the Dominican Republic.


Brugal is entirely produced in the Dominican Republic. Sugar cane is cut from plantations across the countryside and its juice is produced into molasses. These sugar cane fields are largely worked by Haitian immigrants or poor Dominican workers who get paid very little for the cane cutting. This helps to keep the costs of producing the rum fairly low.

The Brugal Company produces several different kinds of rum. After introducing its dark rum into the market in 1888, Brugal added its Carta Dorado and Blanco rums in 1920. The clear, white or “blanco” rum that Brugal produces is considered the purest among the white rums produced in the Dominican Republic. The Brugal Carta Dorado is a dark rum and is aged 3 years. The Brugal anejo, also a dark rum, is more expensive and is aged for 5 years. This rum began being produced in 1952. Then there is the Brugal extra Viejo, a dark rum which is aged 8 years and the most expensive of this group. After drinking several complimentary drinks, we added 3 bottles of extra Viejo and 1 bottle of Blanco rum to our backpack and moved on to our next stop.


We went through the cab negotiation game again and headed for the Cathedral of San Felipe in the center of Puerto Plata. There was a mass being held for a large group of young marching band members. They were warm and friendly, but rather than intrude in their ceremony, we moved on by foot to Fort San Felipe, the oldest fort in the New World.




Philip II of Spain ordered its construction in 1564, a task that took 33 years to complete. Built with 2m-thick (6 1/2-ft.) walls, the fort was virtually impenetrable, and the moat surrounding it was treacherous -- the Spaniards sharpened swords and embedded them in coral below the surface of the water. In place of the new walkway shown in the picture, they had a special bridge over the moat. When the enemy was partway across the bridge, it could be tipped and the enemy would fall into the moat and be impaled on the spikes hidden in the murky water. The doors of the fort are only 1m (3 1/4 ft.) high, another deterrent to swift passage. The doors were designed to cause the invaders to bow and enter the room head first. The defenders stood on either side of the doorway with machetes and would behead the invaders as they tried to enter. Very effective and they had actual machetes on display. It was a quick tour, but offered nice views of the bay and North coast.



We wanted to see things that are truly unique to the island and our next stop certainly filled that desire. We walked to the Museum of Dominican Amber and learned a lot about what amber is.

Amber, a fossil resin, is one of the few substances aside from diamond, pearl and ivory that is considered a gem but is not a mineral. It was formed when sap emitted from trees dried up and hardened. The sap could have come out of the tree bark in a single drip, a large amount could have flowed out at one time or it could have come out several drips, one after another. The later method of multiple drops is known as shlaubs and generally has more fossil inclusions because the initial drops would catch the insects or animals and the subsequent drops would naturally cover them.

Nowhere in the world can it be found with the variety of colors and density as in the Dominican Republic. Actually, a large percentage of the amber used in commercial jewelry production comes from the Dominican Republic. Due to the year round warm climate, the amber found in the Dominican Republic also has a higher concentration of fossils and insects than anywhere else in the world. This makes it highly sought after by collectors and scientists alike.

Diaries of Christopher Columbus contain the first documentation in the New World. It is said that when Columbus landed in Hispaniola, a Taino Indian offered him a pair of shoes decorated in amber in exchange for a necklace that Columbus had offered him. Archeological digs have uncovered Taino burial sites that have been filled with decorative amber.

Amber has been traded since earliest times and was considered a mystic and religious material. Over the "amber routes" it was distributed throughout Europe and all of the known ancient world. Already the Phoenicians traded amber as a prime commodity with the ancient Baltic peoples. Since about 3000 B.C., Baltic amber was exchanged for goods from southern Europe and there were even 'highways' or trade routes crossing Europe and leading into the Far East.

For thousands of years amber was regarded as a precious substance, and for its mysterious origin considered as a divine protection from harm to the bearer of amber jewelry. As such, it also became to be used as an ingredient in medicines and for religious purposes by "pagans" and "Christians". Around 58 A.D., the Roman Emperor Nero sent a Roman knight on a search for this "Gold of the North" and brought hundreds of pounds of amber to Rome.

Another stone that is unique to the DR is Larimar which is a pectolite. Pectolite is an acid silicate hydrate of calcium and sodium and is found in The United States (Michigan, Arkansas, New Jersey, California), Canada, England (Scotland), India, Austria (Tyrolia), among others. It is a result of volcanic activity, many million years ago. Its color is a creamy white.

Nevertheless, there is one extinguished volcano complex where BLUE pectolite is found, on one square kilometer of land, the only place on the whole planet. There, this rare stone has been named "Larimar". Blue pectolite is much more rare than diamonds, which compared with it, exist in "rich" abundance. This blue color, distinct from that of other pectolites, is the result of cobalt substitution for calcium.

It was not until 1974 when at the foot of the Bahoruco mountains in the DR, a flash of blue in the beach sand caught the attention of Miguel Méndez and a Peace Corps volunteer and they scooped down to discover larimar. Natives, who believed the stone came from the sea, called the gem Blue Stone. Miguel promptly took his young daughter's name Larissa and the Spanish word for the sea (mar) and formed Larimar, by the colors of the water of the Caribbean Sea, where it was found. As it turns out, the few stones they found were sediment, washed into the sea by the Bahoruco River. An upstream search revealed the mineral in the mountain range and before long the Los Chupaderos mine tapped the only known larimar outcropping in the world.

On part of the tour, there was a woman making hand rolled cigars which was cool to watch. They had several flavored leaves that could be added to give the cigar a slight cinnamon or apple flavor. We passed on buying any cigars. Tom did negotiate for a pair of earrings for the Admiral that each have two stones of larimar and one piece of amber wrapped in 24K gold and the adventure continued.

We found our way to the fruit and vegetable market, but found no suitable fare for lunch. We asked a few of the friendly merchants (who spoke no English) for directions and found our way to a roadside cart serving up warm pastries filled with beef, pork or egg, We all had one or two and they were great. We are also happy to report that we are still well and healthy. We are confirming that people everywhere must eat…they just may not eat exactly what we are used to.

With full bellies and tired feet, we made our way back to the resort and our boat (home). It felt good to experience some of the country without tour guides and their outrageous fees.

Tom

Friday, March 6, 2009

A Nice Place to Wait for Weather

We have been here at Ocean World Marina in the Dominican Republic(DR) for over a week now. We are having some stainless work done and the seas are too high to move on. Getting any work done in the DR is a test of patience as there is always Mañana (tomorrow) to get a job done. I haven’t been too upset since there is a nice pool and restaurants here and our stay has been pleasant. However, the real treat is there is an adventure park that is part of this complex.



Dad got to take Emily to the adventure park for a full day while Kim did some varnish work. I guess this was payback for when Kim took Emily to Disney while I toiled on boat projects. In any event, we saw Love Birds, Parrots, and Toucans up close and personal. We actually swam in a big fish tank full of coral and tropical fish. It was really cool and Emily could touch the fin of one fish (it was a Permit Jack). There were dolphin, seal and bird shows too.




Emily even had the courage to volunteer during the bird show and bowled against one of the trained parrots. He won because he carried the ball in his mouth and knocked all the pins down. She did get three pins down on her turn and I was proud that she took it all as fun. She was OK being in front of all the people and her self confidence that was always good has been getting stronger.



We also saw tigers, sharks and sting rays up close. One tank had piranha fish that have big teeth and Emily learned they can eat people.



The marina here offers free car rides into Puerto Plata to the Supermercado for grocery shopping. I got to dust off my Spanish as we tried to figure out what was on the shelves. We got fresh papaya, bananas and a pineapple that were the juiciest and most flavorful that we have ever had. The language barrier did not detour Kim and we managed to load 7,500 pesos worth of food into our 5 canvas bags.

It looks like the winds and waves will be coming down by Wednesday of the coming week and we can make our move East towards Puerto Rico. We have to play the weather just right, since the Mona Passage between the DR and Puerto Rico has an earned reputation for being a rough passage. This leg will involve at least three separate overnight passages to avoid the roughest waves and keep the entire crew happy. We are still traveling with Bay Pelican and it’s nice to have another captain to review passage planning ideas.


Tom

Monday, March 2, 2009

Livin’ off the land

We may not be the Robinson Crusoe of this century, but we have managed to enjoy some of the bounty of the sea. Kim suggested we pick up some coconuts that were on a beach in Rum Cay. We shook them and sure enough we heard the coconut milk sloshing around. A few days later, I took out my machete, hammer and pliers and after about 10 minutes of hacking and peeling, I had two respectable inner nuts. We pierced the eyes and out came that sweet nectar. We saved the juice with the coconut pieces and they were very good.

We have harvested a few conchs and although my skinning is not surgical, we manage to get enough meat to make conch salad. We all like it raw with lime, lemon juice, and healthy amounts of chopped onion, celery and tomato.

Despite trolling all the way from Maine, I have only managed to catch 3 barracuda and 1 Spanish mackerel so far. The first two barracudas were returned unharmed to the sea until we heard from a local that the small ones caught well away from reef areas are unlikely to have the ciguatera disease that we were told they can carry. I’m happy to report that the third barracuda tasted just fine. I also managed to land a Almaco Jack on a rod at anchor which was really tasty. A few flying fish have landed on deck during night passages but they don't count since they were quite stiff in the morning.

The Caribbean lobsters although smaller than their northern brethren, are still pretty tasty.

I’ve tried spear fishing on one occasion, but never got close enough to get a good shot. Besides, I was distracted by a small hawksbill turtle and followed him slowly for most of the dive. Maybe I’m just not hungry enough!

Tom