Thursday, August, 24, 2006, 18:44 UTC
Chapter 9. Left Sosua about 5 am on the next leg. We were really struck by the beautiful homes and resorts nestled into the cliffs and hills along the coast. This area is really impressive with its hills and mountains tumbling down to the seashore. I'm finally getting used to seeing palm trees on mountain tops. Large stretches are uninhabited and it is really nice to see beauty like this where every square inch has not been built on. Benign trip to Rio San Juan, a small town about 30 miles up the coast where we arrive as planned before the Trades set in against us. Stayed on the boat and rested as we wanted to leave around midnight for Escondido about 55 miles further along.
Left Rio San Juan about midnight and, because this part of the route left us crossing a significant stretch of open sea, immediately began taking the Trades and accompanying seas on the bow. Not as bad as our approach to the Turks and Caicos, but not the way to spend an evening. About 2 am I go below for some rest/sleep, but only manage to rest as I have not learned to sleep while being levitated in the bed. Of course, our berths are in the forward part of the boat where the action is the most pronounced. About 5 am I relieve Mark. Mark is truly amazing, not only does he sleep under these conditions, but so deeply that it is hard to wake him later. For the most part, we have, to date, only traveled for a day or 2 at most and then settled down for a few before moving again, so our schedule has been relatively normal. Now, we are moving for several consecutive days and at odd hours. Being someone who has spent his whole life in a fairly regular routine, I have yet to adapt to the non-schedule, whereas Mark can sleep or eat whenever the opportunity arises.
Anyway, arrive Escondido early morning. The entire coast here is mountainous and if it weren't for the palm trees, the entrance to the small anchorage could be a fjord in Norway. Truly striking. At the back of the anchorage is a lovely beach with about 5 palm huts and about the same number of small fishing boats pulled up on the beach. These boats are the size and construction of what we would term rowboats, yet we see these fishermen out every night several miles offshore in the Trades and accompanying seas. You couldn't get me to go along with one of these guys for a single night for anything in the world. Here we are, not terribly comfortable, in a 45 ft. catamaran and they are out in these tiny boats every night. No thank you.
As we anchor, one of the fishermen is rowing his boat to shore and lets us know that a couple of the huts are 'restaurants' (I use the term loosely) and that we should come for a meal. We tell him 'in the afternoon' as we are both ready for some zzzzz's. We put the dinghy down and go ashore about 2 pm, where 2 women from apparently competing 'restaurants' try to convince us to sample their wares. Since one of them tells us she is the sister of the guy we met in the morning, we feel we practically have a reservation at her place. There is, of course, no menu, but fresh fish is available and what we both crave. There is no electricity and all the food and drinks are in a cooler with a big block of ice. We settle down with a Presidente and wait for the meal which takes about an hour to prepare. Meanwhile a couple of young local guys sit down near us and we begin our Spanglish thing. They are very interested in our journey and what we have thought of the DR. We, in turn, learn that they mostly live right here in the palm huts and just enjoy the peace and tranquility available. We enjoy the dialogue and, once again, value the opportunity to interact with local people in their environment. There is a small dirt road that comes down to the beach and, in fact, tourists come here from nearby Samana (our next destination) for the beach and beautiful scenery. There are actually a group of Italians enjoying themselves nearby. The meal turns out to be fried whole snapper, rice and peas and plantains. The Dominicans have a way of frying things where there is not a bit of grease left and even the fish skin is crisp and delicious. The fish is sauced with onions and tomatoes, cooked perfectly and would do any restaurant proud. Back to the boat for some more sleep, then a 1 am departure for Samana, the last port at the end of the island.
Stuart
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