We left Luperon on May 16th and spent a day and a half sailing along the north coast of the Dominican Republic to Samana. Along the way, we caught a nice blackfin tuna. A shark took a bite out of it as we reeled it in, but there was still enough for us to have a big sushi dinner.
We arrived in Samana on May 17th. It took a couple of hours to check into Marina Puerto Bahia. Afterwards, we washed the boat and made a few small repairs.
The next day we set out to explore the city of Samana. We weren’t quite as impressed as we were with Luperon, but we were excited to discover a big outdoor market, “El Mercado Publico”. We bought tons of inexpensive spices and produce, including the best avocados we’ve ever had. They tasted like a buttery egg yolk and were completely different than the bland Hass avocados you’d find in US grocery stores.
The boys spent much of the week playing with Maddy, Lizzy, and Aliza from S/V Koinonia. We also enjoyed the inexpensive marina restaurants and made a couple more trips to downtown Samana.
On Tuesday, May 23, we met with officials from the Armada and Immigrations to obtain permission to leave the country and head to Puerto Rico. While we enjoyed our time in Samana, it wasn’t anything spectacular. The street vendors and tour guides were especially pushy and aggressive. We definitely preferred the small-town feel of Luperon.
