Luperon, Dominican Republic

[Kevin's Post]It seems like every conversation here starts with, 'So how long are you staying here in Luperon'. And the answer is always 'till the next weather window' or occasionally, 'we have no plans to leave'. There is a large community of expats here and the harbor is filled with unoccupied boats of people who came and never left. Some of them have even married Dominicans and have started businesses and families here. The cost of living is so low here that the cruisers can really stretch their cruising dollar. Plus the harbor is one of the best hurricane shelters in this part of the Caribbean due to the surrounding hills and mountains, so people can stay here year-round in relative safety. People say the longer you stay the harder it is to leave. Well, we'll be here at least another week since the tradewinds are relentless and there doesn't appear to be a weather window on the horizon.

Since returning from Santo Domingo, we have spent quite a bit of our time socializing with the other boaters and have made many new friends. Friday night we stopped by 'Oma & Opa' to thank Roger for his help securing our boat the previous day. Roger and Andi are a retired german couple, Andi was with us on the trip to Santo Domingo, Roger stayed behind. They invited us aboard for drinks and we stayed for a few hours before inviting them over to our boat for more drinks (a popular activity in Luperon). They have traveled extensively and we enjoyed hearing about their cruising experiences in Cuba, a place American vessels cannot go. Saturday night another boat decided to have a hot dog roast and bonfire on the beach since it was a full moon. So, Amanda made up some baked beans and we headed over to that. There were about 20-30 people there and it was a good time. We chatted for several hours with 'Eleytheria'. They have cruised throughout South America. Until now, the vast majority of the cruisers we have met have only been in the US or Bahamas, so it is exciting to hear about more distant waters.

Sunday is a big day at the Puerto Blanca Marina here in Luperon. In the morning there is a cruisers swap meet where everybody brings stuff they are trying to get rid of. We brought one of our 3 outboard gas tanks (containing fuel more than 2 years old) and sold it for $10. We also brought our 3 volume Atlantic light list publication which is about the size of 2 large phone books. We have never used them, so ended up giving them away. There were other cruisers selling baked goods, jams and jellies made with local produce, charts and cruising guides, dvds, etc. The swap meet was followed by a wonderful Dominican barbecue of chicken and steak served with rice, beans and vegetables. It was pretty pricey at $6 per person (ha), but we splurged.

There was just an announcement on the VHF that one of the local restaurants will be showing the Superbowl tonight. No guarantees that it will be in English though.