Hello all:
We arrived here safe and sound at 4:00 a.m. Monday morning. We waited out in the bay until daylight, and then headed into the Ponce Yacht and Fishing Club. We were exhausted to say the least. The trip went fine, we left Samana at 6:30 p.m., and motored along the coast. There were squalls along the way, the seas were a bit rough at times, (up to 12 ft.) but our Dutch Dreamer handled them fine, just as she was built to do. Our trip across the Mona passage was great. As predicted the weather calmed in the afternoon and we cruised along with one foot seas. The rest of the way was fairly calm as well. None of us got sea sick this trip, but we took lots of pills.
After getting settled into our slip at the marina, we had to call customs. They met us at the boat and we filled out all the necessary paperwork. Declaring our firearms was absolutely no problem as they are all licensed and registered. We cleared customs with ease. After that, we just kind of wandered around in a daze, had supper and went to bed early. Tuesday was spent on the boat getting her all sorted out. I did a major cleaning down below and Greg and the boys scrubbed and cleaned the deck. Our only problem this trip, was water leakage. Somewhere there was water coming in the starboard side of the boat, into the salon. Not a major amount, but enough to soak through the floor and into the engine room, which is not good. We have to look after that before leaving here. We are renting a car this weekend, great deal through Enterprise for only $14 bucks a day. We plan on touring around, and most importantly, looking for the stuff for the boat that we need. We may go to Suan Juan (about an hour away) and Salinas (1/2 hr. drive).
The rates here at the dock are very reasonable and the water is free, which is amazing! Being hooked up to shore power is just such a treat! Today I am doing laundry. The wind and sun are being very cooperative in drying everything as fast as my wonderful little washer can clean everything. With the free water I finally get to use my washer! I know most women might not be as excited as I am, but I actually love doing laundry, and miss it. Crazy, I know! Plus we get to take long showers which is another treat.
The grounds her are lovely, and they have a beautiful pool, tennis courts, a restaurant and more. The boys are practically living at the pool. We will take pictures and send another email soon. There is only internet at the office here, so we won’t have it on the boat. The weather is very hot and humid, but most places have air conditioning. It is simply beautiful here, very americanized. If it weren't for the spanish signs, you wouldn't know it wasn't a city in the U.S.
Lots of love from the Dutch Dreamers
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