Sunday, August, 20, 2006, 19:11 UTC
Chapter 7, Part I. How to describe Luperon? It's like somebody dropped Newark, New Jersey into the DR. Seriously ugly. First, you may wonder, why are we in Luperon? Well, the answer is simple. It's the only true hurricane harbor in this part of the Caribbean. The harbor is almost completely enclosed and surrounded on three sides by steep hills so there is great protection from all directions. The surrounding vegetation is all mangroves, so in bad weather you can get close to the mangroves and tie the boat off at multiple points. There are between 80 and 100 boats here when we arrive and almost all of them will spend the entire hurricane season. I don't know if it's peculiar to mangrove areas or not, but the water is so full of silt you can't see your hand in it. It's probably good that you can't see much because it is really filthy on top of that.
When we left LaIsabela, the radio had gone to Puerta Plata for repairs (about 40 minutes away by car) and the dinghy outboard was only running on rare occasions. Fortunately, it actually started after we anchored, so we went to the Puerto Blanco Marina where the boat people generally hang out. As soon as we step out of the dinghy, one of the locals comes up and throws his arms around Mark. Turns out, he had helped Mark 4 years ago during the delivery of a really lousy boat from the Virgin Islands that Mark had eventually left here (because it was falling apart) during a hurricane. This fellow (Papo) runs a boat service in the harbor (fuel, water, and virtually anything else you need) so we now have a connection. That's good, because the outboard refuses to start so Papo tows us back to Stray Cat. Mark continues to take the carburetor apart and clean it every few hours (mostly out of frustration) but nothing seems to work. This and the radio are proving really frustrating, especially for Mark, who is used to fixing anything that arises, but here are 2 problems that are out of our control.
Fortunately for us, people on 1 of the nearby boats have an extra outboard which they generously lend us so we are now mobile again. The decision is made to haul the outboard to Puerta Plata to try and get it fixed, but when Mark gets there he can't find an outboard repair place so it goes to a motorcycle shop on the assumption that they do carburetors by the dozens and a carburetor is a carburetor. Meanwhile we find out that a part for the radio has to be ordered from the States so everything seems to be happening manana. Next day we get a call from the cycle shop. Motor fixed, everything fine. JOY. Make another trip to Puerta Plata (by the way, each trip costs mucho dinero). Motor does exactly the same thing as previously and the head mechanic is out of town. Back to Luperon. Finally get the head mechanic on the phone. He, of course speaks only Spanish, so we have to work through a translator who speaks limited English. I think you get the idea. Mucho frustration!!! Mechanic says we need a new carburetor which, of course, will probably have to come from the States. Pulling our hair out. Mark can't afford this after his haircut in LaIsabela. Anyway, about this time one of the other boaters who had heard of our plight stopped by to tell us there was actually a Yamaha (our outboard is a Yamaha) trained mechanic on one of the boats in the harbor, but he was away in the States for a few days. We decide to wait till he gets back and have him look at the beast. Nothing else we can do at this point. Another trip to Puerta Plata to bring the motor back. Talk about frustration.
Just to lighten the situation, about this time we start getting reports that the 1st Caribbean hurricane is forming and approaching Puerto Rico with us pretty much in its path. As the storm approaches Puerto Rico, we decide to get out of the main harbor and go up one of the branching creeks where there is better protection. Fortunately, we move before most of the other boats make the same decision and get a good spot where we can put out multiple anchors and tie to the mangroves. This works well except now we are so close to the mangroves that the no-see-ums drive us below in the late afternoon and mornings. They find us very tasty. Plus, there is little wind in here so the boat is really hot during the day. Not a fun time. Luckily, the hurricane falls apart before it gets to us and we get virtually no weather from it so we can leave our little insect haven.
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