A Visit From My Sister

I promised some blog posts from our recent visitors.  The first one is written by my sister, Stacey.  We had a fantastic 10 day visit with them and we really had a great time showing them around the Dominican Republic.  We know what a beautiful and friendly country this is, but it was really fun to show them around and to see it all anew from their eyes.  We also loved introducing them to our friends and cruising family.............


Deana & Troy invited us to stay in Luperon, The Dominican Republic, on Storyville for a week and to accompany them & their friends to Lifestyles Resort in Puerto Plata for the following week. They had spent about 8 months in Luperon last year and were excited to be back to this wonderful country again for hurricane season.



Mangoes at roadside stand

When we first arrived, Deana and Nino (their friend and driver) picked us up from the airport and took us straight to the beach for a cold Bohemia (a large Dominican beer). We made a few stops on the way to Luperon. We pick up fresh mangoes, avocados and home-made yogurt from road side stands. You can get just about anything you can think of right on the side of the road, from pig to cheese and everything in-between. (Note from Deana: Remember, the woman that tried to sell us a girdle at one of those road side stands!) That evening we went into Luperon to JR’S Tropical Bistro. Saturday is open mic night and the party is something to remember. Troy played his guitar, Patrick played his ukulele and Camilla played and sang along. We finally got a chance to put faces and names together as Deana & Troy introduced us to their friends and fellow sailors. It didn’t take long to realize they are more like family than friends. We are so glad they have these wonderful people they can count on. 

Stargazing Sisters

Later that evening we got to witness two very spectacular things. On our dingy ride back to Storyville we got to see the luminescence. As we went thru the water it light up a beautiful green color, like someone had put glow lights under our boat. When we got back to the boat we lay upon deck and watched the Perseid Meteor shower. It was mind blowing!

The next day was a lazy day. We just hung around and got to know the boat a little. Being a land lover myself I wasn’t sure what I could touch and what I shouldn’t …LOL There was a constant breeze in the Luperon harbor all week, I am pretty sure God didn’t want me to melt. After a day without air-conditioning your body actually acclimates to it. I would have never believed you could live without air. HAHA! That evening we hiked up to the blow-holes. It is where the Atlantic pounds against to coast until there are holes in the coral and the water blasts up thru it. It was an amazing thing to see.

We called Nino and he knew of a car we could rent for a few days. That is an interesting story for another time. We picked up the car and Troy drove us to La Isabella. One of those beaches where you think you should just stay awhile. That must have been what Christopher Columbus thought when he first landed here in the 1400’s. We hung our hammocks in the trees and spent a relaxing day over-looking the surf and mountains. One of those days you wish you could redo again. That evening there was a beautiful rainbow over Luperon Harbor. It was the perfect effect to end a perfect day.



This is how you relax at the beach....

Cocos y Playa

We were so happy that this whole trip was Dave's idea!

This is when things get even more interesting. We decided to go to the 27 falls of Damajaqua. We only wanted to do a few waterfalls and I thought it was lucky that they offered a 7 waterfall package. Little did I know that less is sometimes harder? Who knew? Well, Rene tried to warn us; from now on we do whatever Rene says. To get up the 7 waterfalls you literally have to scale them. We had two of the best guides in all of the Dominican Republic, Charlie and Anthony. They made the day enjoyable. I felt sorry for them when they had to throw me up the waterfalls. It can’t be easy with the anchor I have on my butt. LOL I left with a silly grin on my face and a sense of accomplishment, even though Charlie and Anthony did all the hard work. All I had to do was JUMP! 

 

The Waterfalls!

Food My Very Good

We had the best lunch that day, at a little restaurant in Imbert, a crazy little town with one gas station and some extremely loud music.  FOOD MY VERY GOOD! They weren’t lying. From fried chicken and french-fries to soup or fish w/ heads still attached, and all for about 180 pesos’ (about 4$ each). That afternoon we drove up the mountain and found Aqua Verde, up in the mountain they dammed up the river and it is where the locals swim. The people are very friendly and the water and the beer are cold. That evening Stacy and Rene made us reservations at a nice little family owned restaurant, Pan Alemond. They made the best Wiener schnitzel, EVER! I wouldn’t think you had to go all the way to the D.R. to find a great schnitzel. LOL

Another day of relaxing and then we are off to spend a week at Lifestyles. The best part was the VIP beach. OH and the air-conditioning!!! Deana/Troy, Darnell/Pat, Stacy/Rene and us, what a crew showing up for some R&R. All-inclusive, they can’t possibly make any $$ when we are there. The next day Lucy and Patrick came in from Canada. We couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to spend our vacation with.

The Gang at Lifestyles!

The Beach at Lifestyles!

Cable Car Ride

While we were in Puerto Plata we rode the cable car up to Mount Isabel del Torres. The ride is quite the adventure, once you reach the top the view is beautiful, but go early before the clouds set in. It was a beautiful cool day on the mountain; you could see all of Puerto Plata. We again hired a guide to tell us what we were looking at, Noel, just like Christmas, he said. He showed us exactly where to stand to hold Christ the Redeemer in our hands, a replica of the famous statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was helpful in giving us information about when the cable car was constructed. He said it was 1975. Which made all of us look at each other. Then he says they change the cable every 10 years. Which our next question was when was it last changed? He said seven years ago. Right about then we were getting sore necks from looking at each other. We put aside our fears and stepped into the car. For being so old it was a real nice ride. UP WE WENT! From half way up the scenery was amazing and our ears started to pop. When we arrived at the top the temperature dropped about 20 degrees, very refreshing from the hot and humid shore. They also have a nature trail to see the plants that grow on the island. We noticed some are what we have in our own back yard; ours are nowhere near that size. They have a few people that tend the grounds there; we got to see an outdoor kitchen where they cook their lunch. It was kind of primitive but what can you expect from a couple of thousand feet up. I was glad we had a guide because I’m sure if we had done that trip without one we would surely missed some of the more interesting sights.

That evening we had the big welcome party at Lifestyles. It was a luau on the beach. They had every kind of food you could imagine, dancers, fire twirlers and more drinks than we could drink. We ate, drank and danced until late into the night. What a fun party that was. Just thinking about it makes me want to go back.

Now to the only sad part of our trip, it was time to say our farewells. I think that is sailor for see ya later? We are very fortunate to have had this experience. We met some very interesting people that we will never forget. I can only hope they had as much fun hosting us as we had on our visit. As we were leaving I had the best idea, maybe, just maybe, David and I could stay?

A sister can be seen as someone who is both ourselves and very much not ourselves - a special kind of double. ~Toni Morrison

Visitors on Board

We always ask our friends and family to come visit us on Storyville.  So far we have scratched our head and wondered why no one would take us up on that offer.  I mean, have you looked at the cost of chartering a boat in a beautiful location?  I thought people would jump on the chance to experience the cruising life without having to mortgage their home or sell their firstborn.  Then we started to wonder, maybe it's just us.  Maybe our friends can't stand the thought of spending a week trapped on a boat with us.  I mean, we do shower almost every day! Then we came to our senses and realized that, of course it's not us.  How could we doubt our fun-loving selves?  I guess one deterrent is planning the logistics of a visit.  Mainly, where do you fly to in order to meet a moving target?  Especially when that moving target is very much controlled by the weather and sea state.  That does make planning a little difficult, but we are now spending the summer in Luperon, Dominican Republic, so at least we are stationary for a while.

Well..... we finally got some visitors this year.  And the best part, some of them are willing to share their experiences with you and are writing blog posts for us.  I will be posting a couple of them in the next few days.  I thought it would be nice to let our readers experience a visit to Storyville from the eyes of the visitors. 

First up will be a post from my sister.  Her and my brother in law, Dave came for a 10 day visit here in the Dominican Republic.  We spent 5 days on the boat and another 5 days at an all-inclusive resort in Puerto Plata.  Her post will be coming soon.

Another visit was from our friends Damon and Marcie.  They caught up with us in the US Virgin Islands (St. Thomas) and sailed with us to the Spanish Virgin Islands (Culebra and Culebrita).  The funny thing about that visit - we met Damon and Marcie at the all-inclusive resort in Puerto Plata last year.  They really enjoyed meeting all of the crazy sailors and getting to know a little about our lifestyle.  They are interested in becoming cruisers so we invited them to come back and visit us on Storyville when they got a chance.  They actually took us up on the offer and we had a great time getting to know them better and introducing them to the cruising lifestyle.  I think they are hooked!  I will post their blog in the next few days.

Our beautiful daughter, Tory and beautiful niece, Zada, also came for a visit while we were in Puerto Rico.  I am still trying to get them to commit to writing for the blog, so we will see how that goes.  If they won't write about our fun visit then I will, and they will be at my mercy!

We also have some boat projects and community projects going on that I want to blog about, so stay tuned to hear more of the fun and adventures aboard Storyville.

If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself alone. A man should keep his friendships in constant repair. ~Samuel Johnson

Who Wants To Go Cruising?

Have you ever dreamed about sailing in the US or British Virgin Islands?  The islands are beautiful and relaxing and the water is cool, refreshing and so blue that words can't do it justice.  We did lots of snorkeling while we were there and saw incredible fish, turtles, rays, cuttlefish and more.  The beaches are world class with palm trees ringing white sand beaches.  It really is picture postcard perfect. It's an experience that we will never forget, and of course, for those of you who know us, you know that we are planning more sailing in this area early next year.

If you have followed our blog from the beginning of our cruising experience, then you will remember our friend Captain Steve Schlosser.  Steve left Texas with us in December of 2010 on his Tayana 37, s/v Anchor Management.  We had a great time in the Bahamas and were really sad when Steve left us to continue on down to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.  There, he made a decision to sell Anchor Management and buy a bigger catamaran with plans to charter in the Virgin Islands.  He found a Voyage 440 cataraman with 4 separate cabins, each with it's own head.  His new boat, s/v Alternate Latitude is big and beautiful and Steve is ready to start booking charters in the Virgin Islands.

For our friends Steve has agreed to give a 10% discount on any charters in the Virgin Islands! Just use discount code "Storyville". So, tell all your friends and be sure to click this link to check out his web site and read all about Alternate Latitude and book your next vacation today! - Alternate Latitude

If you want to experience offshore sailing, or spend a few days in the Bahamas aboard Alternate Latitude, check out the web site for opportunities to sail with Steve on his way down to the islands.

This summer Alternate Latitude will be available for charter in and around Galveston Bay. 

Whether you want to sail, party, shop, eat great food, snorkel beautiful reefs, experience the Baths, or take quiet walks on the beach, you can do it all in the US and British Virgin Islands.

CLICK HERE TO SCHEDULE A FUN FILLED VACATION - ALTERNATE LATUTIDE - and don't forget to use your discount code "Storyville".

The Baths

At long last we made our visit to The Baths.  This incredible place merits its own blog.  What a wonderful experience.  The Baths are located on the southwest tip of Virgin Gorda.  It is an unusual formation of large granite boulders.  The sea washes between these boulders creating pools with shafts of light shining down through the rocks.  It really creates a dramatic effect.  There is a trail guiding you through the boulders and pools.  Sometimes you climb, sometimes you crawl, but around each corner you are guaranteed another breathtaking view.  Once you make it to the end of the trail you are rewarded with the beach at Devil’s Bay.  This has to be one of the most beautiful beaches that we have ever seen.  White sand, incredibly blue water, palm trees and, adding something a little different, lots of large boulders.  It really is breathtaking.  We spent a whole morning there exploring the path through the boulders and swimming in Devil’s Bay. 

The boulders of The Baths were once embedded in volcanic lava, once the winds and sea wore the lava away and carved dishes and holes in the harder granite, we were left with the beautiful natural phenomenon. 

I had a hard time editing photos for this blog post.  There were so many beautiful shot of the boulders and the sea. 

Underwater view of The Baths

Sea Grapes

Stairway to Heaven or.... Devil's Bay?

Devil's Bay - I told you this beach was gorgeous

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Anegada (da Vita Baby)

The Island of Anegada

We had a great overnight sail under the super full moon when we left St. Martin.  We sailed on a beam reach and enjoyed the night, with the exception of a few thunderstorms in the distance, we didn’t encounter any problems. We made it to North Sound, Virgin Gorda early Sunday morning and spent the day getting caught up on our rest and getting the boat sorted back out after the overnight passage.  That evening we decided to sail to Anegada the next morning since it is an island that we had not yet visited.  

Anegada is a little different from the other Virgin Islands because the entire island is only 28 feet above sea level.  It is called The Drowned Island.  It is made up of coral and limestone and was created by the movement between the Atlantic and Caribbean plates, which meet to the northeast of the island.  Anegada is 11 miles long and has mile after mile of beautiful white sandy beaches.  It reminded us of the Bahamas, which is a big difference from the mountainous Virgin Islands.

One interesting thing about the island:  I guess because they are a remote island, we should expect things to cost a little more.  The prices we found were staggering, at least to us “value centered” cruisers.  A beer at the local beach bar will cost you five dollars, a lobster dinner, $50.00.  That’s not so bad for lobster you might think, but even the ribs and BBQ Chicken dinner was $28.00 per person.  Not in our budget.  We did end up at the beach bar on Cow Wreck Beach and found of the of “serve yourself” honor bars.  You make your drink and mark it down on your own tab.  It’s a good thing Troy and I only had one rum & coke each, because we discovered upon paying our tab that they were $8.00 each.  That was a drink made in one of the little plastic solo type cups (no, not the big red ones either).  We were shocked because usually that type of drink can be found at some bars for $1.00 - $2.50 at happy hour.  We also discovered that Anegada does not believe in happy hours at the bars.  They just say “every hour is happy hour”.  Too bad that’s not reflected in the prices!

The salt pond in the middle of the island is home to a flock of flamingoes which were reintroduced to Anegada.  They brought eighteen birds from the Bermuda Zoo in 2002 and the birds are thriving with a flock that far exceeds 100 birds because the habitat is prefect for them.  At least that’s what the guide books tell us.  We went looking and only found 2 birds.  We did see pictures of great flocks of them though.  Maybe we just didn’t look in the right spots.

The 8 of us decided to rent a vehicle for the day and tour the island and beaches.  We checked on motorcycles, bicycles and cars.  The best deal we found was a truck with bench seating in the back.  It was a perfect way to see the beautiful beaches and look for flamingoes.  As usual, Rene was voted as driver, this time Troy was navigator (I suspect that they were running the A/C while we were baking in the back of the truck!).  Anyway, what a fun day we had.  Driving around, taking in the scenery and eating lunch on a perfect beautiful beach.  What a life we are living.  I’ll let the pictures tell the story:

Stay seated until the vehicle comes to a complete stop







The word through John's eyes!



Rene has a glass of wine at the beach - why not?

"The desire to build a house is the tired wish of a man content thenceforward with a single anchorage. The desire to build a boat is the desire of youth, unwilling yet to accept the idea of a final resting place." -Arthur Ransome