March 23-24, 2010... Finally, the Dominican Republic

Tuesday the winds were forecast to be N-NE and light, so we decided to go.  Well, the winds were definitely light; how about 0-3 knots?  And from the south.  But we motored on.  Eventually we motorsailed across to the Dominican Republic, slowing our progress every so often so that we would arrive Wednesday morning in the daylight.  The trip was beautiful and we were accompanied by dolphins every now and then -- always a delight to see.  For the night sail we had a half moon and a sky full of stars.  And we had radio from the DR -- we must have picked the 'all torch songs all the time' station -- and it was great!  Arriving at Ocean World Marina, we fueled up first thing and entertained the administrivia of entering a country.  We saw the Navy, Narcotics Bureau, Immigration, and Customs.  Then we raised the DR courtesy flag -- a signal that we made it through all that.  After doing a couple of loads of laundry, we headed out for a walk; surprised that we were still functioning after minimal sleep last night.  Our initial views of the DR are so positive; all the people are very nice and willing to try to make it through our broken Spanish.  And, the scenery is gorgeous --- tall hills covered in green; palm trees everywhere.  We stopped at a beachside restaurant for a wonderful grouper dinner listening to more beautiful music.  Back to the marina.  Evening fun will be landside showers!

Ocean World Marina, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic:  +19° 49' 39.00", -70° 43' 50.04"

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