Author: Mel

Living aboard a sailboat, blogging about the places we visit and the adventures we have. Love hiking, cycling, scuba, animals and adventure.

Why We Love Autopilot

It’s nice to post about good news, and we are so happy that Brian got the autopilot working! It’s been a long upwind slog without it. Read on for more reasons why we love autopilot.

The Mona Passage

The trip we just took is considered a tough one. Known as The Mona Passage, it is infamous in sailing circles, which I’ve just recently learned. This is because of the trade winds and variable tidal currents, both of which can kick up huge waves. We stayed in Samaná almost 2 weeks waiting for the perfect weather window, and we got it!

Samana to Puerto Real
Samaná to Puerto Real by boat

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Food and Drink of Dominican Republic

In our few weeks in the friendly and wild Dominican Republic, we had a lot of good meals. Here’s some of the highlights of the food and drink of Dominican Republic.

Rum

The rum in the Dominican Republic is plentiful and inexpensive. The main local brand is Brugal and it’s fine. The base rum is less than $10, and there are a few varieties. But we were introduced to something we like better in Luperón. It’s called Columbus – his name is all over the place here since he claimed to “discover” the island – and it’s delicious.

Columbus rum is smooth and good for sipping. And the bottles we bought in Luperon cost $275 pesos, about $6 US so its good for mixing too.

Columbus rum bottle
Columbus Rum

The rum drinks here varied: my favorite so far has been the piña coladas served in pineapples. One at a time though, of course.

 

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Five Ways to Have Fun in Samaná

Samaná is an oceanfront peninsula on the northeastern shore of the Dominican Republic. With a beautiful bay, islands, and a nature preserve nearby, there are lots of sights and activities to while away a couple weeks. Since our arrival on April 11th, we’ve found plenty of ways to have fun in Samaná.

Something about Samaná

We had read about Samaná before, in the book Pirate Hunters, a true story about divers who knew there was a hundreds years old wreck with treasure somewhere here. They spent years hunting it and… you’ll have to read the book to find out more.

That was all we knew about Samaná, and now we know so much more and have recommendations for those of you who will come here yourselves. We know how to have fun in Samana.

Bahia Marina

Marina Complex sign, Samana DR
Part of the marina complex in Samana

We have mostly anchored in our travels so far, and the marinas we have stayed in for a night or two have been acceptable. This place, though, is incredible. Besides the beautiful location, it has all the amenities and is so affordable. It’s not a bad place to wait for good weather: it’s amazing!

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