Santo Domingo

The big trip for the week was to Santo Domingo which is the capital of the Domincan Republic (DR).  The first few days in the marina were spent relaxing, tidying up the boat and generally enjoying being close to shoreside amenities.  In the marina complex there are a couple of restaurants, a bar, a laundry, a shop and a pool which the kids enjoy.  There is also an animal/waterpark here which Calley is dying to go to.

On Sunday it was boat cleaning day. You have no idea how dirty the boat gets.  Its incredible.  The topsides gets coated in a layer of salt so thick the crystals make the boat sparkle in the sunlight.  Inside the dirt just collects in the corners.  You wonder where it all comes from when you are living on the water.  Luckily its not such a big job when everyone gets involved.  The next day we were due to take Sam and Calley to the animal park but the weather was raining when we got up so the trip got canned much to the despair of Calley.  Instead Nicole, Beth and the kids went into Puerto Plata for a look around.  

The marina at Cofresi

Scott remained on the boat with a local electrician trying to figure out why the bow thruster and anchor winch had suddenly stopped working.  This had happened just after we had berthed the boat and is a major problem.  At first we thought it was just the bow thruster which while a real inconvenience is not a show stopper but the anchor windlass runs off the same power supply and whatever the problem it had affected both systems.  Without the anchor windlass we cannot leave.  Even if we wanted to we could not manually handle the chain on the boat.

A local electrician called Elias came down and poked around for a bit.  As is usually the case Scott assumed the worst with scenarios of entire unit replacements and weeks stuck in the DR running through his mind.  After a couple of hours the problem was traced back to a broken terminal clamp on one of the battery posts - simple fix!  While the rest of the crew were away and the boat was in pieces Scott took the opportunity to do a couple of other odd jobs on the boat, the messiest of which involved the changing out of a couple of pieces of hose in the black water (sewage system) lines.  Most of the sewage lines on the boat are rigid plastic tube but there are some in a couple of areas where flexible hose has been used.  Over time the smell permeates the hoses and eventually you get an odour from it.  This had happened to two sections in the spare cabin where Beth was sleeping.  One section was relatively straight forward to replace but the other one turned into a bit of a nightmare.  Eventually both hoses were on and then the job was to clean up the mess made in the process.  Scott eventually finished around seven o’clock and then we went out to dinner leaving the kids with Beth.

We had booked a hire car through the marina and at 0900 the next day Scott and Sam went over to take receipt and fill in the paperwork.  The car turned up and it was a pretty battered Suzuki Grand Vitara.  The paperwork involved signing a single sheet which said we were responsible for everything and anything.  We had read that driving was bit dodgy in the DR and that it was a good idea to get full insurance as they tended to throw you in jail first and ask questions later.  Scott asked the hire guy about the insurance and he wrote on the form “full cover” and that was apparently that.  We were now insured although not convinced.  Scott went to inspect the car and point out any scratches etc (which would have taken a while) but the man said no need as it was full cover.  Remember all this is being done in Spanglish.  

Prior to leaving we had to move the boat to a more secure pen as the weather was up and the marina had a bit of surge coming through.  Its always a bit of a concern when we have to leave the boat without anyone onboard for a few days.  Finally around midday we got everyone off, locked up and loaded into the car.  First thing we noted was that there was no fuel in the vehicle so we found the nearest filling station and then headed to Santo Domingo around 230kms away.

Sam picks up admirers everywhere 

The driving is nuts.  They drive very fast and the cars and buses are in all sorts of condition.  The roads we were on were not too bad but you need to really concentrate not just on your driving but anticipating what everyone else going to do.  It was similar to driving in some parts of Asia so luckily it was not completely foreign to us.  The countryside is very hilly and quite spectacular.  There are three main mountain ranges running across the DR separated by fertile valleys and we had to drive across them.  You can see its is a relatively poor country as you drive across it.  Very similar to Indonesia in that way.  Along the roadside are villages which comprising wooden huts and then every now and then is a bigger town with buildings but very haphazard.  There was one main town en-route called Santiago where we stopped for lunch but apart from that we drove straight through to Santo Domingo arriving in the early evening.  The outskirts of Santo Domingo are like many other cities in poorer countries with a population of 3 million:  It is dirty and dusty, the streets and buildings unplanned and poorly maintained, cars and motorbikes are everywhere along with the accompanying exhaust fumes, power lines are strung on poles which are never straight and people are wandering around trying to survive.  It is amazing however that even though the country is obviously struggling with it’s economy and that many people are below the poverty line  there is always space for premium western brands like Ikea and Carrefour.

We had booked a hotel in the old part of town.  The old part of town is a contrast to the rest of the city.  While certainly not pristine it is quieter and does not have the same feel of urban chaos and madness about it as the rest of the city.  Contemporary buildings have not completely overrun the beautiful old buildings although it seems like they are making a very concerted effort.  After a few issues with the hotels we got settled in the Hostal Nicholas de Ovando.  This was the residence of the first Spanish Governor of Hispaniola.  A beautiful building on one of the oldest streets in Santo Domingo and a real treat for us having just come off the boat.

Parque Colon and Catedral Primada with statue of Columbus (Colon)

Our first view of the Caribbean at Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo Old Town Street

Calle en Conde - the main walking street in the old town

The next few days were pretty laid back.  We would get up for breakfast then wander around the colonial zone in the morning until lunchtime.  Early afternoon was siesta time or the kids would play in the pool.  In the evening after aperitivos at the hotel we would go out for another wander and dinner.  The old town is really interesting and the history of the place fascinating.  This was the first colonial city in the new world and the image of and reference to Columbus is everywhere.  There are some beautiful buildings like the cathedral, city courts, houses belonging to the prominent citizens and the old fort and city fortifications.  There are some small squares and quaint narrow streets.  Most of the old buildings date originally from I guess the 1500‘s and 1600‘s although there are some more recent additions from later periods with stunning architecture but generally run down.  Some of the older buildings like the cathedral are in excellent condition while the sprawling city fortifications have been restored in parts but in other areas they are crumbling away.  The history of the place is just so compelling and interesting that you wish you knew more about it.  The kids obviously have a limited attention span to this - there are only so many old buildings they can look at - but we try and drag them around for while and engage them.  Once inside most of the older buildings there are these courtyards with shaded gardens which just exude tranquility and make you want to just lie down and take a nap.  In between the old colonial buildings there are contemporary dwellings many of which are run down and in need of maintenance.  Everywhere, black overhead power lines droop above the streets.

Beth and Nic in Cathedral garb

The spectacular interior of the Cathedral

One of the many tranquil courtyards

We have found the DR people very friendly and helpful and the language barrier is not such a problem once you have mastered cerveza, por favor and gracias (usually used in that order).  Even the touts who harass you to buy small souvenirs are polite and go away once you tell them you are not interested.  There is plenty of fresh food in particular fruit on offer which is a step up from the Bahamas.  There are also many opportunities for excursions like rafting, hiking, diving etc.  but on the whole however the DR is a little disappointing in that we thought there would be a bit more unique culture with a European flavour about the place and not so much poverty.  We like wandering around and finding interesting shops or cafes or restaurants but there do not seem to be that many here.  Some investment and an efficient economy would do wonders here.  The unique items here are a semi precious stone called larimar, amber which is very common and cigars.  In Santo Domingo the fantastic history makes up for all of the other drawbacks - wandering around the old buildings makes it easier to try and visualise what it would have been like - now I have to go and get a book on Caribbean history and I still haven't started the one on the American Civil War.  We will need another sailing trip after this one to catch up on all the reading.

The old fort and city walls

The old fortifications 

Canon along the old battlements

We got back to Cofresi on Friday night and were relieved to see the boat still afloat.  We have a couple of more things to do here and then hope to hit a mid week weather window to get further down the coast to a place called Samana.