Hello all…It feels like it’s been forever since we’ve last posted but I look and it’s only been two weeks….lots has happened since we’ve been here and we are getting to know the town and starting to figure things out. We’re still working on our Spanish but getting better than when we first got here. Brian can start a conversation but is usually a bit over his head when the conversation continues on and as for me…when I say, “No Hablo Espanol, (I don’t speak Spanish) “No lo comprendo” (I don’t understand) this too seems to start a conversation with most people…so we will be learning fast!
Can you see Moon anchored in the harbor?
Brian on the muelle (moo-AY-yay), or town dock
What you can get for about $5.00 US…we’re eating good here! Just the red peppers would cost that back at home.
One of the first things that we did was get a phone…good news right? We were excited that we could finally make the calls that we needed to back home. Well, less than a week after we had our phone they started a new program here in the country called 911…ever heard of that? Apparently they had never had 911 before and when they opened up the phone lines for emergency calls they had thousands of prank calls…nice huh? The solution to this problem was to suspend everyone’s phones in the country and make them re-register so that they could determine who was making the prank calls. Lots of people here had phones under other peoples names so they could not tell who was making the calls. Good solution but we had to go to Puerto Plata (the largest city near here) to re-register the phone…this was a pain in the bottom since we don’t have transportation. We figured it out though, we were able to rent a motor bike to make the trip. We now once again have a working phone…yea!
King Neptune “God of the Sea” perched on a small island just off of Puerto Plata beach
The trip to and from Luperon was an adventure in itself. Many of the locals travel by motorbike. The bikes are rigged according to what they are carrying. Some carry the locals while others are leased out as motoconchos or taxis, (50 pesos will get you a ride on the back of someone’s bike to most places in town locally) They even transport livestock on their bikes, we’ve seen people carrying chickens and even a pig! In the cities there appears to be no speed limit and the motoconchos seem to never stop, never slowing while weaving through traffic to beat the next light. An entire family will pile onto one bike and take off. Sometimes, 4, 5 or even 6 people on a bike, babies included. Unfortunately, helmets are not commonly used, which is probably one of the reasons that the hospitals have a special emergency room for motorcycle accidents. The only place that the law requires that you wear a helmet is in the big cities and this law is mostly enforced on the gringos. Oh yea…only the driver has to wear a helmet, kinda strange in my opinion…well, I guess that at least one family member will survive 🙂
Cows crossing the bridge….we learned that it is acceptable or rather required that you honk your horn at everything…really everything…except it is a big no-no to honk your horn at the cows because it might spook them. You just have to wait patiently for them to clear the way for you 🙂
Photo of the palms on the hillside as we whiz by on the motorbike
San Felipe Fort built by the Spaniards in the 16th Century on the waterfront to fend off pirates. The 2,000 square meter fort is the oldest standing edifice in Puerto Plata and the only remnant of the colonial time architecture.
Since this is the easiest and most affordable transportation, we are bikers too now…at least it feels like it. No, Mom…we haven’t gotten any tattoos…at least not yet…I do have my eye on a great tramp stamp that I saw in a shop window though…oh no, not really…lol! For $10.00 US + gas you can rent a bike for the day…nothing fancy or big just 125’s – 200’s but they get you where your going just fine. The roads are covered in large potholes so every ride is a rough one. Depending on what bike you get will determine how your behind feels the next day…suspension and comfortable seats are not a priority. We love it though! (Not the hurting behind part but the freedom of being able to explore on the cheap…lol!)
So far we’ve rode to Puerto Plata twice now and joined a group of locals and other cruisers on a motorbike tour to a place called Aqua Verde.
A downstream view from Agua Verde
Aqua Verde is cool…really…the water was very cool coming down from the mountains and it felt great! It is part of a river that has been damned into a swimming hole making it a popular hang out spot. It is a tavern on the side of the river with a swimming hole. They have a chair that is on a zip line that you can take to the bottom of the creek or you can walk down the steep stairs. We took the stairs just because the zip line chair looked a bit scary!
Our friend Kat taking the zip line chair to the bottom of the creek
Once you are at the bottom of the creek if you order a drink they send it down on a zip line to you. This was the first time that we had seen anything like this…it was pretty neat! We had a great time with our new friends and can’t wait to go back to Agua Verde again.
Brian enjoying the cool waters of Agua Verde
Enjoying the refreshing cool water of Agua Verde
It’s been fun riding a motorcycle around. This was the first time that I have ever been on one so it was scary for me at the start. Brian is like a pro though and as long as I hold on tight I have nothing to worry about. I’m starting to wonder if he had a second life as a biker it’s so natural to him!
There is a la playa (beach) not to far from our anchorage that we can walk to and we try spend a couple of days a week there. As you can see from the pictures it is beautiful! The only downfall is that it is a bit rocky when entering the water so we have to watch our step but the water always feels so refreshing!
Grand La Playa the beach that we walk to
We stroll down the beach and look for sea glass and shells and then hang out and listen to the very, very loud music that they play there. With as hot as it is here as you can imagine it is a popular place for the locals to cool off in the sea too.
Momma and baby that we passed on our way to the beach.
Oh yea…did I mention that it is hot and humid here…OMG!!!! It has been very hot and it’s not even the peak of summer. During the day it is usually pretty windy 15 to 20knts is average with higher gusts here and there but at night it is still and there is usually no wind making it very warm in the bunk below. Not that many do but, I am so envious of the boats here that have air conditioning!
Brian, Tracy and Randy hanging out at the beach…see the big speakers behind Tracy…that’s where the really, really loud music comes from that I was talking about. Boom….boom…boom…can you feel the vibrations too?
We’ve been talking of taking a big road trip up the mountains to where it’s cooler to do some exploring and to get out of the heat for a couple of days so we’re looking forward to that. There are also some waterfalls that are not to far from here called “27 waterfalls” where you climb to the top and jump and slide back to the bottom and that is on the list of must to do soon too.
Local fishing boat sailing by
Brian has been working on the cockpit for the last couple of days. The paint has been chipping off for some time now and we’re finally taking care of that. He’s been scraping, sanding, fiber-glassing and will be painting it soon so he’s been working hard. Seems that there is always something that we have to do to keep our Moon in shape.
Beautiful sunset behind mountain
Well, I guess that pretty much catches you up to what we’ve been up to for now. As always we will keep the pictures coming. We miss you all!!
Jennifer and Brian