It has been a couple of weeks since I last updated this blog and since I first went live with the website. Thanks to everyone who sent me messages, I really appreciated it and will get back to you all individually when I can find an internet connection that lasts more than 3 minutes, or I learn to speak Spanish.
So, que pasa? The last week on the yacht saw us end up in St Christopher, otherwise known as St Kitts. We arrived there after a very early 5am start out of Saba Island. The sea was angry that day and resulted in some sorry stomachs by the crew onboard. We had a new crewmember on board, Marissa, whose stomach had less legs than the rest of us after sailing for only 1 day, and in the biggest seas we had seen on the trip so far. Lucky green is her colour. I seemed to have finally got my sea legs which allowed me to sleep through the whole experience.
On the way to the Marina at St Kitts we blew our screecher sail out and the boys had to act quick so as not to lose it completely. This nasty surprise came just after the fantastic surprise of a family of dolphins who came to swim alongside us for about 15 minutes. It was totally surreal.
St Kitts is tourist central with a different cruiseship due there everyday from now until Feb next year. We decided to get away from all the chubby whitehairs and park the boat around the corner in a protected bay called Frigate Bay. There were a few nice restaurants and bars on the beach which suited us just fine. A security parking lot may have been more appropriate though because the car we hired for 2 days ended up getting its battery stolen. We had to pay for the replacement but it wasn't too expensive.
Rick and I left the boat on Thursday and headed for the Dominican Republic. Our day started at 4am with a dinghy ride in the dark in a dinghy that has two speeds - doesn't work and flat out. After counting our blessings that the hire car was intact (and that I didn't drop my backpack in the ocean) we worked our way to the airport. We had heard a story that a tourist had hired a car and parked it in front of his hotel, and when he came out the next morning, the car was up on blocks and stripped of its tyres!
Two flights and 8 hours later we were sitting in our small but very comfortable hotel room in Santo Domingo, Domincan Republic (it has a shower and a tv!!!) I didn't know what to expect from this country. All I really knew was that they were next door to Haiti. Turns out, they are lovely, lively proud people WHO DON'T SPEAK ONE WORLD OF ENGLISH. I have been floored the last couple of days that we can't actually do anything without knowing Spanish. It's fun and forcing me to brush up on my espanol, but it's a struggle at times. Rick and I ordered dinner the other night expecting a burrito and a cheeseburger and we got tacos. Then we asked the hotel for a chair for our room and we ended up with a whole office! Classic.
Well, that's probably enough for now. I will elaborate more on Santo Domingo in my next post as this place is truly unique.
No comments:
Post a Comment