On the morning of March 11, Keith traveled into town to get a despacho, which would allow us to leave Luperon and head to Samana. Dominican Republic is the first country we have visited that uses this method of tracking. Essentially, every time we want to move the boat, from one port or anchorage to another, we need to visit the Armada office to get a clearance document. You are supposed to request a despacho within two hours of departure…so as soon as he returned to the boat we dropped the mooring and headed out.
This was another 160 mile trip, so we planned for about 24 hours underway. Conditions were nice, with 2-3 ft waves from the NE so they were hitting our port bow for a fairly comfortable ride. Once again, currents pushed us a little faster than we expected to travel so we had to make an effort to slow down.
This is a welcome sight after being at the helm in the pitch dark. We were warned that getting fouled in a fishing net was a high probability, as local fishermen float nets near the coast. The advice was to stay deeper than 500 ft, because they usually anchor the nets in water 200 ft deep or less. We tried to stay in deep water to avoid nets, but before dark I saw two different nets, each in water 800+ ft deep😳
Once we made the turn into Samana Bay, the sun came up behind us. Luckily we were close to our destination, because ‘red sky in the morning’ usually means bad weather is ahead.
Even with that beautiful sunrise behind us, strange fog banks hugged the mountains surrounding the bay.
We weren’t the only ones coming in from an overnight passage. When we arrived, there was a line of boats waiting for the marina to open. We hovered outside for about an hour before they were ready to receive us.
In the background of this picture you can see an anchored cruise ship. There is no cruise ship dock in Samana Bay, but they shuttle passengers to the town for whale watching excursions, and to the national park to see caves.
Once in our slip, I took our documents binder and proceeded to the marina office to check in...
In the marina office I had to produce our passports, insurance information, and our boat documentation. From there, I was sent next door to the immigration office 🤷♀️ (we are already checked in to the country).
For the immigrations officer, I had to produce our passports, boat documentation, and paperwork showing we checked in at Luperon👍. Next I was sent to the agricultural officer, whom did not speak English, and ‘fast tracked’ my paperwork by blindly stamping papers with information he thought was most plausible (he entered incorrect information in 3 blanks on the form😬). Finally, I was sent to the navy officer, where I had to produce our passports, boat documentation, paperwork showing we checked in at Luperon, AND our despacho…
I handed over all requested documents, and the conversation (luckily he spoke English) went like this…
Me: this is my despacho
Him: this is not a despacho
Me: 😳 this is my despacho
Him: this is not a despacho, where is your despacho…
Me pointing to the word despacho, at the top of the form, did not provide resolution to this problem🤣
Even though he spoke English, it felt like we were trapped in a loop of confusion caused by a language barrier!
During our drive back to Samana we passed numerous plantations.
Poor Keith…in the meantime, Keith was concerned that I had been gone for almost 2 hours, and had issued an APB with the resort front desk (which had nothing to do with any of this process), and they had personnel looking for me😂. Keith finally found me in the Armada office (because he was sticking his head in every unlocked door) and the previous conversation (between myself and the navy guy) was reenacted between myself and Keith…where is our despacho…this is our despacho…
Finally, officer Sheppard (the navy guy) got ahold of the Luperon navy guy, and after I received a stern talking to, it was agreed that the Luperon guy would create an actual despacho and send it to Sheppard. As it turns out, the form we had was a ‘pre’ despacho (given by an immigration official), which Keith was supposed to take to the Armada to get the real despacho. Sometimes our learning curve frustrates other people😂
After a few days of R&R, we decided it was time for a road trip, and rented a car for 3 days. Santo Domingo here we come!
DR has very fertile soil, and they grow a LOT of food. We passed several paddies (flooded field used to cultivate rice).
Only on the road for an hour when this happened. Thankfully, the car contained everything needed to allow us to quickly get on our way.
I had been trying to capture a picture of a whole family on a motorcycle, but had never been fast enough with the camera. Since we passed this family, a few minutes before our flat, Keith reminded me to get the camera ready👍. Yep, there’s a total of five!
Santo Domingo is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas. It is the site of the first university, cathedral, castle, monastery, and fortress in the New World.
Parque Indepencia (Independence Park)
The Altar of the Homeland, is a white marble mausoleum in Santo Domingo, that houses the remains of the founding fathers of the Dominican Republic: Juan Pablo Duarte, Francisco del Rosario Sánchez, and Ramón Matías Mella, collectively known as Los Trinitarios. These men were the leaders in the war of independence against Haiti, which began in 1844 and ended in 1856.
The ruins from several forts are scattered around the city, and open for exploration. At different times in history, twelve different fortresses were built to protect the city.
This canon is aimed at the marina😬
This is a downtown marina in Santo Domingo. It is designed in a Med moor (Mediterranean mooring) fashion, which means you pick up a mooring line to tie to the bow, and back the stern in to the dock. There are no piers or finger piers. Also, they keep a floating fence across the entrance to keep floating vegetation out of the marina. If you want to get in, or out, a person will row out to open the fence.
Anchor from a Galleon, sunk off the coast of Samana, in 1724.
The historic architecture is beautiful.
At no time were we uncomfortable with our surroundings, but it was nice to see several vehicles driving around the city, which appeared to be dedicated to ‘Tourist Protection’.
This statue of Christopher Columbus includes his ships, which appear to be coming out of the base. The pedestal also contains the figure of Queen Anancaona, leader of the Taino Indians.
The cultural energy was wonderful!
Cathedral of Santa Maria la Menor is the oldest existing cathedral in the Americas. Construction began in 1504 and was completed in 1550.
I wanted to peek inside, and get a quick picture, but the man at the door wouldn’t let me in…again, the language barrier hindered my understanding as to why. A nice lady walking past was kind enough to stop and interpret for me. It seems the church was getting ready to hold a mass, and we were not allowed entry because we were not dressed appropriately. Shorts are not allowed, but if we wanted to attend mass a nun could bring us appropriate clothes to wear🤣. Once she explained that a picture was all we wanted, we were allowed to step inside for a moment.
This is a taxi stand…yep, a motorcycle taxi stand😬
Palm
Coconut
TY for taking us with you on the tour!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome! We love sharing our experiences
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