Checking out of the Dominican Republic

Our next stop was Boca Chica as were planned to visit Santo Domingo by bus from the marina there. The sail from La Salinas was all to windward so we planned a night passage to take advantage of the night time wind that rolls off the mountains and pushes the wind out to NE and hopefully an angle to sail at. Well leaving was really easy as we got 15-20 knots blowing us out of the harbor, it didn't feel like that inside! Once around the fishing pens they use here we turned east and had the wind on our nose at 20+ knots so it was rather lumpy and uncomfortable. We reefed and motor sailed for a few hours until around midnight the wind angle changed enough to turn off the motor and sail. We did well for several hours and then realized it was too fast and we would arrive in the dark. So we eased the main and slowed then tacked way passed the point at Boca Chica and sailed back to the harbor making it at full sun rise. The marina was not awake yet at 7:30am when we hailed them on 16 & 05 so we entered the harbor and tried to pick up a mooring but most were already taken. We did find two way in past the docks and the first we tried had no pendant and we couldn’t get it. As we were trying the staff shouted from the docks to tie to the fuel dock so we did, interestingly they said their VHF radio was broken. Well we gave them the paperwork and they told us to take the other ball which we got to first time but it is shallow at around 6 feet here. The mooring field is very protected however and we only ever had light chop even in the afternoon when the wind picks up from the south and across the reef.

 

Boca Chica is a nice little town with a big modern supermarket that the marina will take you to for free in their little pick-up truck. So we went with 2 other crews on the 2pm run. It has a large selection of fruit and veggies and lots of good grocery as well as clothes and hardware that makes it feel like a super Walmart (but not quite). We tried some local coffee and some local flat bread, the coffee was great and the flat bread disappointing but hey you don't know until you try. We also stocked up on some grains and beans as the prices of those were good and some don't have the 18% tax either. The crew of Unicorn really went to town and filled their trolley getting much more than us, in fact they liked it so much they went twice more the next few days. The supermarket has another pick-up truck and you ask them for a ride back which they are happy to do after they see your receipt.

Shopping in Boca Chica

 

We took the bus service to Santo Domingo and had a wonderful day out in the Zone Colonial. We walked our socks off on the tourist sites around the Calle El Conde. The street is for pedestrians only and full of street vendors and small tourist shops.

Calle de Conde

 

 Our first stop was the Cathedral Primada de America which is the oldest church in the Americas built in 1521-1540 . Interestingly some of it was taken down due to a lease issue to put in a road and then later put back the building, but the graves underneath never moved! It is a lovely tour and we really enjoyed it.

The alter

The side chapels

A lovely chapel locals use

An impressive site

The Bishops tomb

Stunning window art

 

Interestingly the Dominican Republic considers itself so culturally diverse it doesn't have a 'face' they call their own. So the statues in places have no faces to represent this, like these in the cathedral.

The faceless dolls

 

The next attraction was lunch on the Calle de Conde which was very nice although we chose local rather than the Hard Rock café.

Hard Rock - Santo Domingo

 

We then toured the Fortaleza Ozama which overlooks the harbor entrance, built in 1502 and enlarged off and on it is an impressive structure although some of it has eroded a lot. It also affords great views over the city and surrounding seas.

Great captains

A beautiful view

Another beautiful view

Santo Domingo city

Some old parts of the fort

 

We then walked the walls and Calle las Damas and enjoyed more museum's and squares which are very full of beautiful buildings.

Street vendors

Old city walls and walk ways

Calle las Damas - ladies ride of course

Alcazar de Colon

We finished with dinner in a local restaurant and had a nice meal with people watching as added benefit.

Street scenes

We then walked back to the Parque Independencia (Independence Park) before catching the bus to Boca Chica.

Independence Park

Gina's bus - purple of course

We also took a stroll around Boca Chica and the nearby town up to the main road. It has lots of little shops much like La Salinas and they seem to sell anything and everything but we couldn't get over how many barber shops and nail salons are around and of course Bars everywhere. We walked back along the track behind the beach and saw the little food stalls the locals use when they come to the beach. It seems fish and sausage with a fried flat bread is the lunch of choice, but it didn't appeal to us. We found a small store selling ice cream but they were out of the cones we wanted so we returned to the marina for lunch.

Locals on the beach

At last Liz captures a local bread seller using her head

We had some ups and downs in the DR with the anchorages on the whole being the highlights. They really don't understand cruising here and when we got to the Marina at Boca Chica it was very evident. Still we had a wonderful time at the Bay of a Eagles and La Salinas meeting some great folks and enjoying a few nights out too! But crime is an issue so you have to be careful here as a Norwegian couple had a bad experience in Santo Domingo with an attempted mugging which left minor injuries to the wife, very unfortunate. Liz was always telling me to be more careful locking things and using our iPhone in public places and she was right!

We had a bit of a mix-up in leaving here when we asked for clearance. We hoped to get clearance the day before and depart early the following morning and not wait for the officers to get to work as we had done this before in La Salinas. Well apparently in marina Zar Par they need to have 1 day notice to get officials to do the paperwork and searches then you MUST leave in 1 hour of the paperwork being completed. We requested early clearance and they mistook it for not giving 24 hours notice so that afternoon after inspections and paperwork we were told to leave within 1 hour!  We were very disappointed with the marina dock master who was supposed to Handle everything as he was useless. He should have said "no you cannot have the paperwork earlier than the hour before leaving".  He didn't even tell us we had to be at the dock for the dog to get aboard to search the boat either and that delayed the inspectors! I'm afraid too many poor performance stories about the marina staff who say yes but don't deliver to others as well. But it is all part of learning and we understand that and are no worse for the experience. Oh and this year they charge $50 for paperwork to check out! But at least they gave us all a wonderful party the night before leaving with free food and some punch.

The band at the party

A nice dinner

Cruisers always enjoy free and a party!

Thankfully the weather was good so we left that night instead of the morning and anchored in the NW corner of Isla Catalina arriving at 1am. It was a little rolly but a pleasant night and a nice rest stop for the next leg. When we woke in the morning there were 3 other boats tucked in closer and nearer the point and we would probably been happier there if it had been light enough to get in and find a spot.

The rest of the trip the next day was across the south of the Mona Passage to Boqueron, PR and we had chosen a calm weather window to make the 110nm easting. It worked perfectly or perhaps a bit to well as we motored all the way in light winds on the nose. Still we made good speed in very light seas too and at least it was quick so less fuel used as well.

So here we are back in the US, or nearly as it's a commonwealth really! We checked in here by phone as we are a USA vessel and it was a  piece of cake. Of course we did buy the customs decal in the USA before leaving and also did all the Local Boater program paperwork as well back home and then filed a float plan on-line the day before leaving.

The bay at Boqueron

Flying Penguin (far left) in the bay by us

Unicorn in the tranquil bay

We want to spend  the next two months between here and the British Virgin Islands. Then after that we have May to travel the leeward islands to get to Grenada for hurricane season.

For Sailors only:

We are not going to recommend the south route to folks for a number of reasons but to sum it up there is no real advantage it's just a different route. If you do it for the first time follow the crowd on the north side as there are more day hops following Bruce van Saint as opposed to our 3 day from Great Inagua to Bay of Eagles. Of course our insurance didn't allow Cuba or Haiti and if you could go there I would probably recommend going on the south side as you have so many more options for a break of the long windward passage we had.

The south coast of the DR appears easier to transit in Day hops but you still have to play the night lee and that is not a huge advantage but you do miss the north swell of the other side. The downside is there are so few official stopping places. Two anchorages are at Barahona and La Salinas then after that only the 2 marinas. Marina Zar Par were we stayed at in Boca Chica was inexpensive at $19/day for a mooring but even that adds up when waiting. Also they charge $50 just for paperwork to leave, even port to port, so it got expensive. The second marina Casa de Campo is dockage only at ~$1/foot/night and again $20 to leave so we passed and went straight through. It's a shame as we did see many boats anchored at the southern islands, as we did for some nights too, but apparently it's not allowed and at the coast guards discretion, which could be difficult if weather gets bad.