Sailing La Vie Dansante

07/24/2021

Thanks for following along on our great adventure for the last three years! You haven't heard from us for a while because we've sold La Vie Dansante to move back ashore for a while. Catch up here, in our final post.

Our story of daring on the high seas aboard La Vie Dansante comes to a bittersweet end in this, our final post.

06/02/2021

Such a treat to have a turtle swim right next to me while diving the anchor! Usually they scurry away so fast I barely get a glimpse but this guy could have cared less about me. Apparently here in Culebrita, they will aggressively pursue your food!

05/26/2021

Yesterday we went to the Rainforest in El Yunque National Park and had fun trying to figure out how to climb over the huge boulders to get the waterfall. We were lucky enough to have the spot all to ourselves for a good while and took in the view.

If you look closely in one of the pics, you can see the Atlantic Ocean in the distance. Our boat is actually on the South of the island in the Caribbean Sea. So having the luxury of a rental car was the only way we would have made it to the Rainforest, only about an hour and a half drive back to our boat.

Along the way we stopped at a Costco (yes! They have many US companies here in Puerto Rico!) which enabled us to restock our provisions. This was a huge deal because getting to grocery stores from anchorages isn't always easy and the small markets don't have a lot. It was fantastic!!...until they gave us the total 😬 but at least we are stocked back up!

Next stop Vieques! Looking forward to the bioluminescence!!

🇵🇷

05/25/2021

After an unexpected trip back to the states we finally made it back to Puerto Rico. Before the long drive back to our boat, we decided to stay a couple of nights in San Juan and took a walking tour of Old San Juan which was beautiful. Such history here and a great experience!

Today we take our rental car to the Rainforest and then back to the boat! I'm thankful for the sailors that have watered my plants and kept an eye on our boat while we are gone ❣️

The trip back to the states was unexpected but a blessing in so many ways. We visited some family (so good for the heart!) and we were able to get a couple of parts for the boat we haven't been able to source locally.

05/03/2021

We made it to Puerto Rico this morning! The sail was much smoother than I expected and we avoided the common afternoon squals that frequently come off of the island.

TD caught another Mahi on the way so dinner was an easy choice🐠

After checking in, TD hoisted the Puerto Rican courtesy flag, and of course the first thing TD finds? A bar of course😂

I just ordered something on the menu, not sure what's coming but it's all about the adventure ❤️

04/25/2021

When you live on a sailboat and cruise the Caribbean, where do you go on vacation?

A marina - especially one that has 2 pools, 3 restaurants, a hair salon, a spa, a gym, and a few good men to detail your boat while you explore the island.

That's exactly where we are here in Samana Bay, Dominican Republic. The landscape is lush, with soaring mountains that have palm trees lining their facades. Parts of the island remind me of scenes from Jurassic Park.

We rented a car and explored Las Terrenas, which had a pretty beach and loads of restaurants. We thought Playa Rincon was the prettiest, but more shopping in Las Terrenas. TD asked me to navigate the GPS back to the marina and I gooned that up. But it was a beautiful scenic drive. Just ask TD 🤣

We also visited a waterfall that a fellow cruiser told us "Just take a left out of the Marina and at the yellow bridge, pull over and park on the side of the road. There is a trailhead there to the falls". So we go and at the trailhead we were met by 2 native children, Eddie and Layni, 8 and 6 years old. At first I didn't know whether they just wanted to interact with us in some way (they spoke very little English) or they were showing us the way.

Turns out, Eddie was quite the tour guide! He picks a fruit from a tree, cracks it open, rips off the top and eats one of the seeds. Then he handed it to us. I guess if he eats it, I will too. He says "cocoa" - it was chocolate!

He shows us so many things along the trail we would have missed: mangos, pineapples, avocados, & a plant that curls up when you touch it - like a Venus flytrap. They were the highlight of our day. We left them with some pesos and thanked them. I hope they knew we truly adored them!

Since then we have visited the public market in Samana where they sell chicken (unrefrigerated) and beef (also unrefrigerated) and just about any fruit or vegetable that you can image - and even ones you can't. I still don't know what some of them were. I'm not clear on how unrefrigerated, raw meat is ok, but no one here is concerned.

All good things must come to an end, and we leave this beautiful Marina tomorrow for a National Park, our last stop before we head to Puerto Rico!

04/24/2021

Today we are visiting Playa Rincon, the prettiest beach we've seen here in the Dominican Republic. It has stunning views of the mountains and the water is beautiful.

To get here, we rented a car. The drive here was picturesque but the drivers are literally crazy. After taking our lives in our own hands, the reward was real.

We ordered CocoLoco for drinks, and they are very similar to Captain Morgan's Loconut - which I love 💕

There are goats and dogs roaming the beach. The vibe is incredibly chill, just the way we like it!

04/17/2021

TD has lost another hat, so he bought a new one here.

We found a French pizza restaurant and got an entire pizza and beer for under $10. The best part of the restaurant was the view of "chaos corner" , a busy intersection with no stop sign or traffic light. We saw a guy with 4 dozen eggs (not covered like we buy in the US - they were in an open tray) speeding through the intersection balancing the eggs in one hand and steering with the other 😳. The couple sitting next to us said it was their TV lol

We walked to the beach and finished off the day at happy hour with other cruisers. Fun day and so much more to see!

04/15/2021

After a beautiful sail from Great Inagua, we made it to Dominican Republic under sail the whole way ! It was a long but good sail.

TD caught a Tuna, and a Mahi along the way which was the highlight. It was such a relief to have mostly following seas!!

Check in at Luperon was fun, and TD hoisted the DR courtesy flag. After 2 years of doing this, this is only the 2nd country that we've visited. Our Bahamian flag was definitely on it's last leg, the edges so frayed we couldn't use it again if we tried.

The people here are super friendly and a huge sense of community. It's also nice to see the prices for groceries and restaurants, such an improvement over the Bahamas.

We are excited to get out and explore and meet the people and learn more about this beautiful mountainous island. Fun fact: Dominican Republic has the highest peak in the entire Caribbean - Pico Duarte is a soaring 10,164 feet high!

Time for a nice long hike!!