Wednesday, March 12

We have had a lovely stay here at Marina Bahia, which is in a resort residence just outside of Samańa, DR. It’s been a very welcome break from bouncing in Changes on anchor. The weather has a pattern to it each day. The mornings start out cool, which for us is the mid 70’s and calm winds. It doesn’t take too long before the day heats up to the mid 80’s and then around noon, the winds pick up providing a welcome breeze. In fact the last two days the winds have been in the mid teens providing picturesque whitecaps in Samaná Bay outside the marina’s protection. In the distance we see the mountains and typically fluffy clouds above them. Then late afternoon the winds start moderating so that around dinner time they are 6-8 kts and the air is starting to cool off. It’s just cool enough that my shawl provides welcome warmth.

The surroundings are so beautiful both inside the hotel lobby just at the end of the dock. There are no doors, as the weather doesn’t need it. The floors are ceramic and there are plenty of comfortable couches to sit or recline on to enjoy the view.

Phil and I have had the opportunity to work on Changes and be able to relax making us feel emotionally better. Phil changed the exhaust pipes, cleaned the barnacles off the bottom and prop while I fixed the main sail cover repairing the melted zipper and patching the burned areas when the cover fell next to the engines and the hot manifolds. We’ve had Internet good enough to contact family at home and download more audiobooks and ebooks for our next passage. We’ve even had enough electricity to watch this seasons Downton Abby episodes on the evening, which has been a real treat.

We’ve even had the luxury to have beautiful WARM showers EVERY day. I think the last warm real showers I’ve had were when we were in Fort Lauderdale Marine Center mid December. Cold showers were to be had at South Side Marina in the T&C’s.

We have enjoyed our stay not only here in Samańa but also our week stay in Luperon, but now it’s time to leave tomorrow morning for crossing the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico. This is the last good weather window and we don’t know when the next one will be. We expect it to take 24-32 hours depending on how fast we motor as we’re expecting and hoping to have winds less than 10 kts. It might be higher tomorrow morning, but if the winds acts like it has the past few days, then we’ll be ok.

If anyone wanted to send us mail and we get it soon, now is the time to send it to our Green Cove Springs address as once we have a place to stop in Puerto Rico, we’ll be having a big shipment of mail sent to us. We will be slowing way down once we’re in Puerto Rico if anyone wants to visit us and get away from the winter.

Here are some recent photos. I would put in more but the internet doesn’t like it.

View of Bannister hotel lobby at top of dock

Sunset from dock at Marina Puerto Bahia

There are boats for the locals in Luperon, DR They rest on the bottom at low tide.