December 5
        Subject: Log. 12/5/99
        Date: Thu, 5 Dec 1999
        From: <rudys@pocketmail.com
        
        
        Sorry for the delay! It has been too long since our last update. I promise I'll try
        harder....
        
        We did get to Luperon, DR on Thanksgiving Day morning but we couldn't contact
        my brother until that evening. Faith and I had lobster for Thanksgiving. We missed
        having everybody with us! We did wish you ALL a very happy Thanksgiving!
        
        We spent Friday and Saturday morning with Ken and Chris. They rented a car,
        picked us up at Luperon, showed us Puerto Plata and treated us to a few nice meals
        and a real bed in the condo they rented. It was a real treat! I did feel strange though
        being far away from our boat, our home, in a strange country. The people of the
        Dominican Republic don't really have a lot. We would probably classify their
        homes as shacks with no glass, screens and many holes. Many did have TV's
        though. Few had phones. Most used the public phone facility in the center of town.
        The roads were poor and dirt except for the main roads. I can understand why these
        people might think we were rich Americans! In spite of the conditions, the people
        are friendly, helpful, and generally nice. They accept what they have, they seem to
        be trying to improve their situation and they look like they enjoy life. While they
        don't have all of the things that we take for granted they are still very much like us.
        We do take ALL we have for granted! It is great to be an American!
        
        Kenny dropped us off at the boat Saturday morning. We were planning to stay
        another day or two and do some more touring but the weather was near perfect for
        a trip across the Mona Passage, which can be very rough, to Puerto Rico. It took
        us several hours to get some additional fuel on board get the boat ready and clear
        Customs. We finally left the harbor around 3:00pm. To get diesel fuel we had to
        take our fuel containers to the shore, find a guy to get fuel at the local gas station
        a fair distance away. He had to find a guy with a Moped who actually made the trip
        and returned the full containers to the dinghy. We did this twice, 24 gallons. I paid
        50 DR, about $3 for each trip, the fuel was extra. I overpaid because I felt guilty.
        
        Our trip to Puerto Rico was wonderful. The conditions were good with little to no
        wind  and small seas. We did burn a lot of fuel but it was worth it. We arrived at
        Mayaguez, PR at 5:00am on Monday, a little under 40hrs. We anchored in the lee 
        
        
        
        of a Dole packaging plant, it smelled horrible, and prepared to clear Customs. They
        opened at about 8:00am and we were done by about 10:00am. 
        
        A bit of a hassle but not bad. Much less expensive than the Bahamas where they
        charged us $100 for a cruising permit. We left immediately for the South Coast,
        primarily to get away from the Dole plant!
        
        Monday night we spent in Bougeron. It is supposedly a roaring college town on
        weekends but Monday there wasn't anybody home! We left the next morning, still
        motoring in reasonable seas! We spent Tuesday night at Ponce. The anchorage was
        small with almost no wind. We really do need a breeze to cool the boat down for
        the night. The area did have some amenities but it was mainly industrial and the
        local Marina was not very cooperative. We left early the next morning for Salinas.
        This is a cruiser's port. The local marina is helpful, they depend on the cruiser's
        trade, the harbor is very protected with plenty of room and great hard mud for our
        anchor! We arrived here Wednesday afternoon. It is now Sunday and we are still
        in Salinas and it looks like we'll be here for another day or two at least. A cold
        front has moved across the Island. It caused a lot of flooding on the North Coast
        while we didn't  get a drop of rain. The wind did get up to maybe 30kts. but we
        were well protected in this great harbor. There is a Restaurant, Bar and Snack Bar
        at the Marina. There are several good restaurants in the area.
        
        See next Log!