Cabarete

We are now in Cabarete on the north coast of Hispaniola. This little town is crowded with tourists because of its amazing long beach. The conditions for surfing and kiting are among the best, with steady winds all year, so this is the place if you want to learn. But it is expensive, so Hansi and Sandra are not taking lessons even if they started in St.Lucia.

After Santo Domingo we took a bus to Jarabacoa not far from the mountains and the national park. The day after we took a local transport(guagua) to the little village of Cienaga, from where it is possible to walk Pico Duarte, the highest mountain in Carribean. But, this is a big prosject, you need camping gear and guides and mules an it takes three days, so we decided not to. But the transport from Jarabacoa to Cienaga was an experience, a pickup car loaded with 14 people on the most, 9 of them on the back, along with food, cement, diesel cans, beer and a poor hen in a sack. Maybe not safe, but we didn't fall of. In Cienaga we were invited to the house of an old man and probably his daughter. They served home grown coffe from their garden, with a lot of sugar, and they also gave us a some grape fruits. Very nice people, and even if they only spoke spanish, we were able to communicate a little.

After spending one night in Bonanza in Luperon, we took taxi and bus to Cabarete. We were happy to see that the boat was ok. Not so much to worry about maybe, boats have stayed here for many years on the same anchor and the theft is not so common. On thursday and friday we will leave for Puerto Vito on Cuba, where we can place the boat while travelling on Cuba by other kind of transport. Our german crew, Tatjana, is suppose to leave the boat here in Luperon, but she has to find a new boat in order to sign out from Bonanza. She is working her way through the world, and she got a job on a restaurant in Luperon the same day we arrived. If she does not find a boat, but has the money to buy a ticket from Cuba, she will probably come with us to Cuba.

Here in Cabarete, the hotels are really cheap, but nice standard. We enjoy sleeping in a real bed and zapping through the channels on the cable tv. We have also met many norwegians here. 30 norwegian students from HIF(Hogskolen i Finnmark) live here here for three months, studying tropical outdoor life. Sounds really nice actually!