Saturday 28 April 2012

More of the good stuff




Caneel Bay is home to an awfully gorgeous resort, set amidst the ruins of an old plantation. The main building is low lying, colonial style, surrounded by lush vegetation and tropical flowers. Inconspicuous cabanas, tucked into dense foliage, spread across the hills of the estate, each with a view of the bay. The long stretch of the beach is backed by rolling hills threaded together by a handful of narrow roads that wind about the island. We spent a few leisurely days in Caneel, taking time to explore the neighboring town, too. While there we picked up a hiking trail guide and some informational pamphlets. I'm telling you, we were having a hard time sticking to our preconceptions as we learned more about St.John.
After Caneel Bay we moved a whopping mile north to Hawksnest Bay to find another charming mooring with more stunning beaches. Later that day we were joined by Blue Kai, who had caught up to us after a 3 day detour to visit St.Thomas and together we set out on a short hike that led us to old sugar mill ruins. Rye and Hanna, the youngest crew from Blue Kai spent their time climbing rocks and snapping photos of everything in site while the adults discussed the finer points of cruising. Gabe and I hovered somewhere in between. We usually do. We have become very fond of the kids and we tend to get drawn out of the adult world and into theirs when we're all together. Since reuniting with all three boats in St.John, we have spent most of our time as a group, exploring the island by day and sharing pot luck dinners at night. Gabe's birthday was no exception. We joint forces for a BBQ on the beach to celebrate. Hawksnest Beach has common grilling areas with picnic tables, hidden among the trees. We took over one of those and caroused till dark, at which point we moved the festivities aboard Blue Kai for shots of Yagermaister and cake. Some sang and some danced until the children fell tired into the laps of their parents. The rest of us quickly took cue and retired to our own boats. 
Following morning we were on the move again, this time to Francis Bay at the north end of St. John. We loved Hawksnest because of its setting, but the mooring field was shielded from wind yet exposed to ocean swell, which meant pretty rolly nights. Without sufficient wind to push the boat away from the mooring ball, it was at liberty to smack into our haul as the rolling sea drove us into it. The hollow thuds were pretty hard to ignore the first night it happened. When it became obvious that we wouldn't be able to dodge the ball the next night, Gabe brought it out of the water and onto our deck. It worked, the banging stopped. Still, the swell persisted and even without the assault from the mooring ball we had a few rough nights of sleep. That's one of the reasons why Francis Bay was such a welcome change. It allowed enough wind to push Rodeo away from the mooring ball, but was sheltered from the swell. Having secured the boat we went ashore to check out the beach and the forest beyond it. There we a discovery path led us through the woods and towards mud planes. The path was a boardwalk, raised off the ground to minimize our impact on the soft forest soil. Lookout points granted clear views of the mud planes where curlews waded through wet spots, fishing for crab. Wild deer and chickens could be seen rustling through the dried leaf bedding of  the woods. Mongoose and lizards were hiding in the cool shade of the trees. The island was truly captivating and we could no longer deny it. We were getting smacked right in the face with it. 

Thursday 26 April 2012

Be careful what you wish for

We wanted to avoid going to the US and British Virgin Islands if we could help it. We felt asa though it wasn't going to be our cup of tea. Countless charter boats unloading masked bandits into our water, scaring our fish; beach combing tourist kicking up sand, disturbing our utopia! We certainly didn't tread the thorny path all this way to put up with that. Sure we wanted internet access and good provisioning, maybe a bar stool to kick off our sandals from at happy hour, and still feel like we were a world away from civilization. But at what cost?! The serenity of it would surely be ruined by the hoards of sun worshipers stepping on our sandy toes. Turned out St. John in the US Virgin Islands had enough beaches, palm trees and enough water for us to displace into our own little paradise. No elbow pushing necessary. Most of the island is a very well managed National Park with small settlements and resorts dispersed throughout. We joined our friends on Katarina in Caneel Bay, just outside a quaint little town of Cruz Bay. At 4PM it was still bustling with the day's activities. Large catamaran charters were picking up schools of beached snorkelers who had spent the afternoon exploring the area, but by 6 it all began to quiet down. We settled in for the evening on a mooring ball provided by the park. Anchoring is discouraged, because it damages coral and sea grass beds. We were happy to oblige. We set in the bay with a great view of St.Thomas on the other side of the channel. As the sun set over its hills, the city lights began to glow in the distance, serenaded by quiet lapping of waves against the nearby shore behind us. We were able to pick up internet from a resort close by, Cruz Bay and all of its conveniences were just around the corner, beneath us 30ft of clear, cool water arrested by a long stretch of a palm fringed beach. It was perfect. And we hated to admit it. We knew we were going to enjoy it, despite ourselves.

Wednesday 25 April 2012

Magic all around


We spent a few days bobbing around Culebra Island and its sister island Culebrita, a National Turtle Sanctuary, where we were able catch a glimpse of some native Green Turtles and their habitat. At Culebrita we rafted together with our friends on Pura Vida and Blue Kai. We swam together, explored together, and at the end of the day we shared meals together. A little floating commune. Culebrita was a blast. An unpopulated island with beautiful ruins of a light house that afforded stunning views of the area and great swimming and snorkeling, which meant great hunting grounds for Gabe. He loves diving and spear fishing, he does it with compulsive determination. He has gotten very good at it, and we were all reaping the benefits, but the few 5lb lobsters Gabe could catch at Culebrita would only feed his habit for so long. He needed a bigger hit. We heard through the cruising grape vine, that Vieques Island, just south of Culebrita had what Gabe needed and we all coveted: bigger, juicier lobster. We moved our flotilla to Vieques where Gabe and the boys from the rest of our fleet set out on a dive immediately upon arrival. Like I said, compulsive determination. And it paid off. We dined on lobster alfredo that night, but it wasn't until the following day that he speared a 20lb king of the reef. We pot lucked on Blue Kai that evening along with friends from Pura Vida and Saltwhistle, 12 of us in total. Oh what a feast that was. Complete with French 75 cocktails by Susan and tuna patties by Gerard, who sang and played guitar for us after dinner. But the treat of the night came once we got back in our dinghy and made way for Rodeo. South coast of Vieques is famous for abundant bioluminescence which flares up on the surface of the water when it's disturbed. There in Bahia Salina del Sur, under a nearly perfect cover of the night, with only the light from our anchored boats piercing it, we saw what looked like underwater fireworks. Ahead flashes of lime green glow appeared deep under the surface, where current and fish disturbed the luminescent microorganisms, while the wake from our propeller left a milky way of glowing dust behind us. It was magical. 

Saturday 21 April 2012

All's well that ends well




Despite all of its natural beauty the Dominican Republic just didn't click with us. We really enjoyed the quietness of our first anchorage, Bahia de las Aguilas and the magnificent climb up to see El Limón, but in the long run DR left a bitter-sweet taste in our mouths. Much like Boca Chica, Las Terrenas is a tourist town that attracts a great deal of working girls and foreign visitors in search of them. Many European and American expats settle there because of this "natural resource". We found the atmosphere in both towns disquieting and depressing. Brazen glances from burnt out, middle aged gringos followed girls around everywhere. I couldn't help but feel a part of the meat market, even in the company of Gabe and João. 
There was also garbage everywhere. Beaches and streets were awash with plastic wrappers and styrofoam cups. But what I found most heartbreaking in DR was the mistreatment of cats and dogs. City streets are full of battered, hungry animals that wonder around in search of their next meal. Dominicans have no sympathy or patience for them. They get kicked, run over and left to live out their miserable lives on empty stomachs. 
Dealing with Marina de Guerra, especially in Boca Chica, further cemented our sentiments toward DR. The day before our scheduled departure from port, Rodeo and 2 other boats traveling with us were boarded by the Customs and Immigration as well as Drug Enforcement officers. It was late Friday afternoon, and these guys had apparently started their weekend a few hours prematurely. They were drunk, rude and very unprofessional. We watched from our cockpit as one of them urinated on our neighbors' boat before boarding it. They later told us that one of the officers stole a camera while performing "a routine search of their boat". It was a farce. The four officers pulled up to Rodeo and began swearing at Gabe in spanish, laughing, until the marina manager, who brought them out on a tender warned them that Gabe speaks it fluently. That made them laugh even harder and they began to turn it all into a joke. They came down below requesting drinks, when we told them we had no alcohol on board, they started tossing cushions, opening cupboards and looking through personal items. It all seamed very superficial and pointless. At one point the Drug Enforcement officer pulled Gabe aside and asked if he wanted to buy drugs. We had no choice but to grin and bare it. We needed those clowns to clear us out of the country and give us the despacho for Puerto Rico. It was all very disheartening and we were all too happy to leave it behind. 
Now that we're in Puerto Rico we let out a quiet sigh of relief for having returned to the kind of cruising we love. Surrounded by clear waters, clean beaches and quiet anchorages we're swimming and diving again, back in our penny-pinching ways of making our own water and catching our own dinner. All is right with the world again. 
The Spanish Virgin Islands are shaping up to be great cruising grounds. 

Friday 20 April 2012

El Limón



Having spent some time in Puerto Rico now, we are taken aback by the cultural differences between here and Dominican Republic. Clean streets and beaches, courteous people including law abiding drivers and  a mindful boating community, and above all a healthier natural environment. Our last port of call in the Dominican was Boca Chica. There we found more of the familiar Dominican ruckus. The only place to stay in town is Marina ZarPar, incidentally owned by the author of the cruising guide which has lead us there along the south coast of Hispaniola. Centrally located between town of Andres and Boca Chica, it was a great place from which to explore the area, and from which to appreciate it for the prime tourist destination that it is. Boca Chica beach was teeming with activity all through the days and into the nights. Power boats carrying exuberant passengers zipped across the harbor and slalomed between our moored sail boats, elevating the wake and our frustration. But despite all the activity the marina was a much needed refuge, allowing us access to proper showers, laundry and a shuttle to and from town where we could do provisioning. We also rented a car from a nearby airport and set out to explore the interior and the north coast of DR. Still in the company of our friend João Paulo, we drove towards Las Terrenas to see Dominican Republic's most beautiful waterfall, El Limón. It took us a little under 2 hours to cut across the country. Our little rental car climbed up the highlands that flank the south coast, flew pass the plains that followed and got into the mountain range of the north. The steep slopes there were covered with lush vegetation that in places revealed rich, red clay soil underneath. Wide sweeping highway serpentine took us between the peaks and towards the north coast. There we rolled through town and toward the hotel lined beaches of Las Terrenas. After grabbing a quick lunch of fried fish, chicken creole, rice and beans with tostones, we headed for the base of El Limón. There were two ways to tackle the 700 foot climb: by horse or on foot. The horse back trek would get us there in half hour, but would set us back $50 each. On foot we still had to pay for a guide, but it was a more reasonable $30 between the three of us, so we chose to do it by foot. The latter option was insistently discouraged by the base camp personnel, who tried to persuade us to do it on horse back. We watched a procession of grinning tourists click clack their way into the forest on horses, ornately outfitted in colorful, hand woven wool saddles, and I must admit it looked like fun, but we had made up our minds. Escorted by Juan, a middle aged local villager, covered in lean muscle head to toe, we slipped into the hot, moist air of the forest. There we followed the horse trail, into a ravine, across a stream, up through a canyon and into the highlands. The foot path, or hoof path rather, was soft and damp rain forest soil, strewn with horse dung and rocks. Juan wore knee high rubber boots, we tackled the slippery slopes in less appropriate foot ware. I don't know how we did it, but we flew up that mountain in less than half hour. Blood was pounding in my ears and I could barely catch a breath. Though once we reached the peak and caught first glimpse of the waterfall the looming cardiac arrest was forgotten. El Limón was falling down moss covered rock face of an adjacent cliff in a cascade of lime green water. We then eased our pace and began to make our way down toward the bottom of the falls, where we took a long, refreshing swim in the fresh, energized pool fed by El Limón. Full of new pep we dashed back up and down the mountain towards the base camp. Back in the car we devised a plan for the rest of the afternoon which included finding a hotel room for the night, taking a nap and later heading to town for drinks and dancing. We found all that and more in Las Terrenas. 

Monday 16 April 2012

Estamos em Puerto Rico


Vinte e oito horas no mar e mais uma travessia bem sucedida.  Desta vez pela passagem de Mona (parte do mar entre Republica Dominicana e Puerto Rico), temida por muitos devido as fortes correntes contrarias e vento aliseos também sempre contra para quem vai de oeste para leste que e o nosso caso.
O highlight da travessia foi a pesca de dois peixes um atum ainda em aguas Dominicanas e o dourado ja em aguas Porto Riquenhas.
Ponce foi o nosso porto oficial de entrada no pais, em cerca de 40 minutos já estávamos com os passaportes estampados e toda a documentação do barco em dia.
Ancoramos em frente ao yacht clube de Ponce em uma bahia bem calma a nao ser pelo grande movimento de barcos que saem e entram do yacht clube.  Ponce e a segunda maior cidade de Porto Rico, pode-se achar de tudo aqui.  Aproveitamos para reabastecer a dispensa do barco.  Proximo destino,  Culebra (Ilhas Virgens Espanholas)