Our solar and wind power fun continues this week so no microwave or coffee yet but I am hopeful that this next week will be the one. We awoke this morning to thousands of butterflies! They are much smaller than US butterflies and they are pure white so it looks like snow. Very beautiful Dominican snow!
We spent this week getting our new hard top bimini fabricated and ready for installation. We went to see Felo (the welding guy in town that has been working on the bimini hard top) to check on his progress. When we arrived, he pointed to the storage unit and gestured for us to follow him. When he opened the storage unit, there was a pile of galvanized steel posts but no construction of any sort. He then gestured to Bill to start taking the posts out of the storage unit. Felo then began placing the posts on the ground in the configuration that Bill had given him several weeks ago. It was at that point that Bill realized that Felo was going to build the bimini right then and there which actually turned out to be a good idea so that Bill could be sure it was correct prior to any welding. However, we decided it was a good thing that we had stopped by to check on it all or I guess the posts would have just been in the storage unit forever (along with about 100 other pieces that were also in the storage unit….had to make me wonder who has been waiting on something from Felo that they never received….I guess they didn’t know they needed to check on his progress….) While Bill and Felo were assembling the bimini, I wandered over to the baseball field to watch the local kids play for awhile. There were several groups of children flying kites they had made out of garbage bags, sticks and plastic grocery bags for the long tail. They had their kite strings tied around empty plastic water bottles. What a wonder it was to watch! Their trash constructed kites flew better than any store bought kite I had ever flown. The older kids knew exactly how much string to pull in or let out in order to keep the kite from crashing into the trees and the speed at which the little ones could run to launch the kite was amazing! I have no doubt that these kids could have taught the Wright brothers a thing or two about air lift. As I watched, I also noted that older kids giving younger kids a heaping of abuse is universal. The little guy would run his little heart out, turn and yell “aqui?” (which means “here”?) and the older kids would say, “No! Mas! Mas! (No! More! More!) and as the younger child would sigh deeply and turn and run further, the older kids would begin laughing hysterically….I guess we all have to pay those dues at some point in life! As I was watching the kids play, a man approached me. He was obviously going to beg some money from me so I prepared myself. He was quite obviously Dominican but when he began to speak, he spoke perfect English without any trace of an accent! I was so taken aback that I asked, “Where did you learn to speak English? It is perfect!”. He responded, “In New York where I lived.” He then proceeded to ask me for some money in his perfect English but I was still too intrigued to be brushed off yet. I told him he should be a translator in town because we all needed a translator. He then explained that he could not be a translator because he had no teeth (at which point he widely opened his mouth to show me his no teeth) so people would not understand him when he spoke. As a speech therapist, I knew this “fact” to be massively flawed but I decided to let it pass. Our next interaction pretty much proved the ‘curiosity killed the cat’ premise. I could not help myself, I just had to know…..so I asked…. “So when did you leave New York?” His response, “I was deported about 30 years ago.”…..every instinct in my body was screaming ‘don’t do it, Sally…don’t ask….’ But alas, curiosity won out and the words came out before I could stop them….. “Really? Why were you deported?” His responded nonchalantly, “Well, I just had to kill somebody”. I can honestly say that I have never met anyone who “just had to kill somebody” and this scrawny old Dominican man who I could snap in half if needed hardly seemed likely as my first murderer to meet in life. Needless to say, I did a quick check over my shoulder to be sure Bill was in sight and then quickly gave my new friend a few pesos and sent him on his way! So, lesson in life….if someone tells you he has been deported….just let it go! After Bill and Felo finished the fabrication of the bimini, Poppo loaded it onto his small boat and transported it out to Gone Galt. Bill and I managed to get the solar panels installed but then we had to call in some backup help to get the bimini hoisted into position. That feat involved attaching the structure to the halyard lines and swinging it out over the side of the boat and then up onto the existing bimini. Our chores this week will involve securing the new bimini into place and removing the old bimini. We are just praying for no storms prior to that time or Galt may join the butterflies and kites soaring through the air! Until next week, may your path cross many butterflies and no begging deportees!
2 Comments
It is the morning following Tropical Storm Laura and we are happy to report that she came and went with only a whimper. We were super overly prepared this time and the entire harbor was a bed of activity yesterday as everyone moved boats, set up anchors, tied down items, etc. Luckily, we only had some high winds and a little rain for a few hours this morning so much less excitement than the last one! We had some excitement earlier in the week when we had gone into town to pick up trash for the launching of the new trashcans. I received a call from one of the other sailors letting me know that Gone Galt had decided to break away from the mooring again and go on a walkabout around the bay. Bill and I were on different blocks collecting trash so by the time I alerted him and we both ran back to the dinghy, Poppo had secured Galt back onto the broken mooring. Since this was the third time we have had issues with the mooring, Poppo assured us he would “fix good” this time. He showed up later with a brown rope instead of a yellow one like we had previously…..evidently the change in color means that we are now secure….hmmmm….we are not as trusting as Poppo is in the color brown so needless to say, Bill dropped and secured the anchor prior to the storm last night! Galt must have been tired after his earlier walkabout because he stayed right where he belonged all night. Maybe the color brown is the answer after all!
The rest of the week, we have been dealing with our solar and wind set up. Here is a very brief synopsis of what is needed to generate power on a boat: diesel generator, solar panels and wind generator, wires, controller unit (so you don’t overcharge and fry the batteries or run too low and drain the batteries beyond saving), batteries and a converter to convert the power from 12V to 120V so that you can run 120V appliances. Our only appliances are the following: refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker, 3 fans, a CPAP, 2 computers, 2 cell phones and a tv. Well, you might be thinking, “That doesn’t sound like too much energy needed…how hard can it be?” I am here to tell you….VERY! If I try to make coffee and warm up something in the microwave at the same time, it trips the breaker. If we run the fans and the tv (only about 2 to 3 hours at night), we have to start the generator in order to have enough electricity to get through the night. Generally, we have to shut off the refrigerator for a few hours every day to keep the power charged. So, it is definitely time for upgrades! I have learned more about volts, watts and amps this week than I ever wanted to know. We think the solution is to have 4 solar panels rather than just 2 (they are 77 inches X 40 inches so try to find that space on a boat!!) as well as our wind generator and two smaller flexible panels. We need to change out our charge controllers so that they can handle the extra load. So I am here to say…..any politician or scientist hired by a politician that tells you that the United States can run on wind and solar power given today’s technology is delusional! We can’t even get enough generated for our 46 foot sailboat to be fossil free….and I didn’t even mention that we have had no power generation for the past two days due to no sun and either no wind or wind too strong so the wind generator shuts itself down in protection mode…..I miss Duke Power and just flicking on a switch without giving it a second thought! So, now we are waiting for our new bimini design (bimini is a shade cover that is over the deck area) which will hopefully be able to house at least 2 of the four solar panels. Bill and one of the locals are working diligently to get it completed so that Sally can finally make coffee again in the morning! Until then, I will continue to survive with no first world necessities like a refrigerator and a microwave….ah, the sacrifices that we make to live in paradise! Another busy week passes in the Dominican Republic. Today is a national holiday as they inaugurate the new president of the DR. Evidently it was quite the upset election so we are hoping it will be a positive thing for the country and the people. We ran into a fisherman this week and were hoping to buy some fish from him but he stated that he was using all of his catches recently to feed his family. Tough times here with Covid so we are hopeful the tourism restrictions will be rescinded soon so the locales can survive more easily. We started the week painting trash cans for Luperon. One of the sailors wanted to donate trash cans so that the town people will have places to put their trash. She worked very hard with the local government and successfully got them to agree to be in charge of the cans once we purchased them and painted them. This week will be distribution of the cans and then trash pick up day is on Tuesday. We are looking forward to working with the locals on this daunting task!
Our tourist destination this week was Santiago which is about an hour and half drive. We rented a car from Junior and on his way over to the marina, someone ran into him and wrecked the car. He then took us to his girlfriend's house and she unloaded her car and handed us the keys....talk about feeling guilty! She assured us it was fine so I prayed for forgiveness and we headed to Santiago. Santiago was very crowded, much like Puerto Plata, but instead of the thousands of motorcycles, Santiago had thousands of cars, buses and trucks. The main issue is that they drive cars, buses and trucks as if they were motorcycles! Bill did a little research when we returned home and found that the DR has one of the world's highest mortality rates related to vehicular accidents in the world! We think perhaps they should focus less on Covid and more on learning to drive in the designated lane! Other than traffic, Santiago did not have much to offer tourists but we did enjoy seeing the Monument to the Heroes of Restoration which is the center piece of the city. It was closed due to Covid so we could not climb to the top but we got a few good pictures from the bottom. Yesterday, we ventured over to 27 Charcos de Damajagua (27 waterfalls). We went with two other cruising couples and had a great time! Only 7 of the 27 falls were open to the public at this time due to Covid restrictions but after the hike to do the 7 waterfalls, we decided that 27 waterfalls probably would have killed us. Our guide would state, "only 20 more minutes!" about every 20 minutes or so which means that it was 20 minutes in Dominican time. Dominican time is measured in "just down the road" and "only 20 minutes" which translates to "whenever you get there, you get there." When we passed the donkey that was waiting patiently to be used to transport any injured persons back down the mountain, I decided to double up my efforts to stay upright on the path! Once we reached the first waterfall area, we jumped about 12 feet off of a cliff into the quite chilly water. From there, it was amazing views and waterfall slides back to the bottom. I am now just waiting for the bruises to appear! I hope you all have a wonderful week and remember....if you see a donkey waiting to cart your busted butt down a mountain, you might wonder why you did not have to sign a waiver......perhaps Bill should have researched "death by waterfall" instead of "death by traffic"..... (PS: Diana: I will try to post pictures of food more often!) Photos of 27 waterfalls contributed by Barefoot Sail and Dive I often get the question, “What do you guys do all day?” so I am going to try and explain a typical day of boat life. I used to be a person who slept in when given the chance but on a boat, you generally have no choice but to rise when the sun rises because there is no dark place to hide. So, we get up in the morning and eat breakfast. We generally try to do most boat projects in the mornings because it is cooler. Boat projects consist of pink and blue jobs. Blue jobs are ones that Bill does and they involve yucky things like changing the engine oil, fixing the generator, attaching solar and wind generators, etc. He also takes on quite a few of the pink jobs such as cooking….those of you who know me well know why he takes on that particular pink job! I do the other pink jobs…cleaning, laundry, figuring out which show we want to watch on tv that night, refurbishing teak. I think the main difference between blue and pink jobs is the amount of sweat that it takes to complete the task….needless to say, I don’t like to sweat!
Some days, we have to wait for Poppo or Handy Andy to bring us fuel and water. They both tend to run on CMT time (Caribbean Maybe Time) so that can either be just the morning or…whenever! Some days, we have a job to do. Yesterday, it involved pulling out the toilet and changing the joker valves (joker valves are not funny nor entertaining but they keep the poop smell away from you so they are important). For any boat job, you must multiply the time you think the job will take by at least two and sometimes by four. The reason that boat projects take longer than land projects is that a) you don’t have the parts you need so you have to stop and go to town and get them…or order them if they are super special; b) you have the parts you need but you drop them somewhere into the bottom of the boat so you have to go to town and get another one; c) on a boat, you must be a gymnast just to reach the initial screw that you need to remove so getting to the screw can take twice as long; d) it’s a boat and you don’t really have any idea what the problem is so you have to stare at the situation and then guess your way through the first few hours of the project; e) all of the above. On other days, we need to go to town for supplies. Here is how those days go…..Prepare the backpack with everything you could possibly need for the day; get in the dinghy; hope the dinghy starts; drive 10 minutes over to the dinghy dock and hope there is a place to tie up; get Sally and the backpack safely onto the wobbly dock; double check the dinghy line to be sure it is secure to the dock; put on face mask; walk 10 minutes into town; now the fun starts….figure out which errands involve items that will melt and items that are more durable; figure out which stores close from noon to 2pm for siesta time….then, go to the hardware store, get squirted with hand sanitizer by the doorman, try to figure out how to say ‘acetone’ in Spanish, find no acetone, leave empty handed; next go to see the “man who can weld” to discuss some parts you need for the next project on the boat….he speaks little English and we speak little Spanish so that takes at least 30 minutes longer than it should; go to bank to get money for the welding man; get to bank…get squirted with hand sanitizer….get money; go back to welding man to pay for materials that he needs to order; next go to the vegetable stand to get fruits and vegetables, step over three sleeping dogs and one cat; go to get chicken from the “smoked chicken man” who is on the corner; go to the bakery if you need bread; go to the large market (aka market with 8 aisles), get squirted with hand sanitizer and get yogurt and eggs; go to the medium market (aka market with 6 aisles) and get soda, candy, beer and cheese; go to the small market (aka market with 2 aisles) and get rum; figure out how to fit all items into the backpack; walk back to the dinghy dock; hope dinghy is still there; hope dinghy will start; load all items into the dinghy; maneuver around all of the other dinghys that have arrived after you arrived and just tied up behind you; travel 10 minutes back to boat trying to avoid getting the backpack soaked; unload Sally and backpack safely onto the boat; put away grocery items. THAT, my friends, is why going into town takes all day! On non-town days, we usually try to squeeze in a couple of hours of computer work for Bill’s company while we sit and have beverages at the restaurant and take a shower at the marina. I use the word marina loosely because the marina consists of the restaurant, one washing machine, one dock that holds about a dozen boats, a rickety dinghy dock and two showers that we have nicknamed piss and spit due to the amount of water that comes out of the faucet. Most of the time, work turns into social hour because inevitably, a boater comes by and once the talking begins….not much work gets done. One day a week while we are doing computer work, we also do laundry. This past week, laundry took longer because the water main at the marina had burst and flooded the restaurant so there was no water. Once the water was fixed, I began the pink chore of laundry. The washing machine looks like your typical US washer but it is a far cry from my much missed GE washer. If I am lucky, the one load of laundry is washed in about an hour. If I am in a hurry, I can take the bucket that sits next to the washer and fill it with water to pour directly into the washer to get it started….that cuts the washing time to about 45 minutes. After washing, I take the clothes outside behind the restaurant and hang them on the line to dry. I remember mom hanging out the laundry when I was little and I thought it was so much fun….it is no longer so much fun! Dinner time is around 6pm each night and since there is a 7pm curfew most days, we are always back on the boat by then. After dinner, we watch a couple of hours of Netflix. Some nights we star gaze for a few minutes before bedtime and then it’s off to sleep again! So, that is an average day in the life of Luperon, DR. We are trying to plan outings at least once every other week to see the country and do touristy things. We also seek out beaches because the bay we are in is filled with boats so not ideal for water activities. Life here is a slower pace and we are both adapting very well to Caribbean Maybe Time! Manana, my friend, manana! |
AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
|