A Frequently Asked Question: What's Our Favourite Island?

This is a question that gets asked not just by non-cruisers but by cruisers alike so we've been chatting about it recently and wracking our brains to try to pick one.  The conclusion we came to is that often the island we are currently on is our "favourite" but really it comes down to what we love about each island that makes them so unique.

We're talking about our travels in the Eastern Caribbean so far so we're really looking at the islands from The Dominican Republic to Grenada.  We haven't been to Trinidad & Tobago yet so won't include them.  These are of course only our impressions and opinions - your mileage may vary.

I'm going to break this answer into four parts just to make it more manageable:

• Greater Antilles (Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico) and The Virgins (Spanish, U.S. & British)
• the outer Leeward Islands (Anguilla to Dominica)
• the inner Leeward Islands (Saba to Montserrat)
• and finally the Windward Islands (Martinique to Grenada).

By no means do I intend to recreate a cruising guide, I'll leave that to the talents of Chris Doyle and others, this is just a brief compendium of our observations about the islands and what we like or dislike about each one.  Who knows, perhaps at the end we'll even figure out if we have a favourite.

So here goes with installment #1:

Dominican Republic
The DR is a huge island and is a total enigma to me.  We visited the south shore - limited to the La Romana to Bayahibe coast, had a spell of bad weather (worst at anchor we've ever experienced), a fabulous visit with friends on a resort and a great side-trip to the capital, Santo Domingo.  At the end of it we decided that we had no big desire to revisit this island due to the constant hustle / coercion, hassle / corruption with officials, and what we found to be very unfriendly locals.  We don't speak Spanish so that was a definite barrier and we've heard mixed reviews from other cruisers who have visited the north shore.  Some absolutely love  A lasting little reminder of our time on the island was the bottom paint job we had done in what we thought was a reputable marina there.  We don't feel that the job was at all well done and after six months we had very little bottom paint left in certain areas.  It is pretty obvious to us that they didn't put on a primer and possibly less paint than was reported.  Shame on us for not doing the job ourselves - we won't make that mistake again.

In just a few words words - Love/Hate:
     Love:  Santo Domingo old city
     Hate:  Constant hustle

Insane driving with motoconchos zipping in and out.

Quaint street scenes in the old city portion of Santo Domingo.

Enthusiasm and energy of young guys is the same everywhere.

Chess and dominos - on the pedestrian street in between rain showers.

Puerto Rico
Another big island - this one is American.  We traveled westward and eastward along the south shore to get to/from the DR.  We loved our time on Puerto Rico, the landscape is dramatic and the little fishing towns are quaint and charming.  The people are friendly and welcoming and although many don't speak English and we don't speak Spanish, it didn't seem to stop us from communicating (unlike the DR).  Heading eastward is difficult as you are heading straight into wind, wave and current which means that you'll try anything to make the miles, including sailing close to reef-strewn, fish-pot laden shores in the dark of night.  Not a fun endeavour.  We haven't ventured much inland on PR and will definitely spend more time there in the future.
     Love:  People
     Hate:  East-bound passage making

Stunning mountain range behind Salinas on the south shore of PR.

The Spanish Virgin Islands:  Culebra & Culebrita, Vieques
We've spent quite a bit of time on Culebra and Culebrita off the east end of Puerto Rico but only had one visit many years ago to Vieques.  These islands used to be the back-water cruising grounds, many saying they were like the British Virgins were 20 years ago.  I think that has changed a lot and Culebra/Culebrita are soundly into the 21st century now.  The island is a weekend getaway for Puerto Ricans coming over on the ferry and their own boats, little cantinas are scattered around the beaches and in the little town making eating/drinking a fun adventure.  Golf cart rentals are the way to see the tiny little island and Culebrita can only be reached by boat.  The inside anchorage at Ensenada Honda is chock-full of boats with sheltered waters and easy access to the shops and restaurants, the outside anchorage on the west side is quieter if you discount the regular ferry that goes in and out.  The best thing about Culebra is that it is a resting and gathering spot for cruisers from all over the place after completing the difficult easting along the shores of Puerto Rico - there's an audible sigh of relief heard with each arriving vessel.
     Love:  Laid back
     Hate:  Too far west from the Eastern Caribbean

Flamenco - the most beautiful beach on Culebra and a top beach of the Caribbean.

Feeding time at the Dinghy Dock bar - patrons, birds and fish all partake.

The morning market is open in Culebra - best chance to pick up some fresh veggies.

The U.S. Virgin Islands:  St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. John
St. Thomas (the island of the Big Hurry), St. Croix (once an industrial island, now in decline) and St. John (the island of nature), along with a few smaller islands make up the U.S. Virgin Islands.  The three islands are quite distinctly different and we have spent most of our time on STT and STJ with a couple of short visits to STX.  We have friends on STT which makes it a special place for us after having Mowzer based there for five years of charter.  This is the island where people can easily fly in/out and from there disperse to the other islands.  Cruise ships disgorge thousands (sometimes 10s of thousands) of passengers here on a daily basis in high season so you have to keep your patience and your wits about you.  Keep your wits about you too if/when you drive here:  American cars (driver on the left) but drive on the left as in Britain.  Our favourite of the islands is St. John.  You are immediately transported to the white sand beaches and clear turquoise waters of your Caribbean dreams.  Nature trails abound with a good dose of plantation history.  In some bays on the south shore you cannot see a single light at night other than moon and stars, if you are lucky enough to be there by yourself.  On a short visit to the Virgins, we have been happy to spend our time on STJ and not bother crossing over to the BVIs.
     Love:  Entry to "the Caribbean"
     Hate:  Americanization of the Caribbean

Leinster Bay on the north shore of St. John.

Looking west to St. Thomas.

St. Thomas on a busy day.

The British Virgin Islands:  Jost van Dyke, Tortola, Norman Island, Peter Island, Salt Island, Cooper Island, Ginger Island, Virgin Gorda, Anegada and many other islets
Each island in the BVI does have a unique element or attraction but they are all similar topographically other than Anegada which is a low-lying limestone island.  The others are all old volcanic islands and all of the islands in this region tend to be quite dry and scrubby.  The BVI have become home to one of the largest charter fleets in the world.  There are probably thousands of bareboat and crewed charter boats plying these waters and with good reason.  The waters are protected, the islands are close together, there is entertainment provided in every major bay / anchorage.  The place has been filled up with expensive mooring balls ($35US / night), loud beach bars and plenty of people that probably shouldn't be trying to sail a boat.  However, these are all reasons (other than that last one) why we actually love the Virgins - the sailing is easy, the waters are lovely and clear and there's always something to do, even if it just means sitting back and watching the antics in the mooring field each afternoon.  This is really where we learned to sail and fell in love with the idea of living on the boat so these islands are rather like coming home to us.  Those who complain that it is too busy and the anchorages are too full, just have to spend a little more time with their charts and look for the quiet little bays where the charter boats won't go (no beach bar or mooring balls.)
     Love:  Easy sailing
     Hate:  Expensive

Overlooking Eustatia Sound on Virgin Gorda.

Hazy, relaxed afternoon overlooking Tortola.

Anegada - a world apart from her sister islands.

There we have it - what's your favourite of these islands?  Stay tuned for the next instalment as we move east and south through the islands.

Return to Puerto Rico

We carefully studied the weather reports and timed our crossing back to Puerto Rico to coincide with a couple of days of light winds. We knew we were going to be heading straight into the prevailing winds so getting them as light as possible was key. The weather reports conflicted, we discussed with others on the dock and we all felt that Monday night/Tuesday was going to be the best time to go.

Farewell to Casa de Campo marina.

A happy goodbye to the smoke of La Romana. When we took down our DR flag, it was black along the edges with grime.

110 miles across the south end of the Mona Passage and the forecast winds of 5-10 knots never came down below 15, more often in the 20-knot range. The first 15 miles were a beautiful sail with the winds on the beam and then we turned the corner at the southeastern corner of the DR and from there we had the winds directly on the nose. We have also found some gremlins onboard and if we run our engines over 1800 rpm we get overheating warnings, so motoring into the strong winds, current and waves made for progress of about 4 knots. Hmmm, tacking all the way under sail which would about double our distance, or a slow motor directly across? We tried the sail option but with the swell now on our beam, we were being pushed so far back we were making very little progress towards our destination so we opted for the slow direct route. Long story short, we arrived (in the middle of a salt-cleansing downpour) at Puerto Real on the west coast of Puerto Rico 27 hours after our departure.

It took us until Wednesday morning to be able to complete our U.S. Customs checkin at Mayaguez - the customs office was closed and the patrol boat was out looking for a small plane that may or may not have gone down.

We combined our visit to Mayaguez with a huge re-provisioning, knowing the prices here are the best we will see - ever!

Now the fun begins to get all this food into the dinghy and back to the boat.

Sitting in the peace and calm of the anchorage at Puerto Real, listening to the dogs and roosters on shore and watching the pelicans dive for fish, all the anxiety of the crossing and rough seas was washed away. We watched the fishing boats return to the docks, bringing more birds with them catching scraps.

And finally a little note about "arrival beers". This is definitely a tradition we often embrace and I'm sure many others do as well. In Canada we're all pretty used to the standard 12 oz. can and will occasionally buy a bigger can to share. Down here, in PR the standard Medalla is 8 oz. but other beers are available in other sizes. We like to try a varied selection for our arrival tradition.

The Medalla Light had a stronger flavour than the Fosters which makes me wonder if the Aussies are just making sure they get their water consumption in as well, or is this telling us that Puerto Ricans are light-weights in their consumption. Either way, we enjoy each national beer as we find it :-)

Morning Walkabout

We're camped out at Casa de Campo as we wait for a rainy, windy weather system to move through, so we're taking advantage of being at the dock for a couple of days.

First advantage - being on the dock with easy access to the surrounding resort means no excuses, we're going to stretch out those unused muscles and go for a walk. It's been way too long!

Second advantage - shore power. So I'm getting out the sewing machine and getting on with one of the sewing projects on the list.

We set out early to do a little exploring and with intermittent showers and cloud-cover the heat was kept at bay long enough for us to enjoy a two-hour walk. The enclave of Casa de Campo is a gated area of about 7000 acres including four golf courses. The area directly above the marina is all private homes and just at the eastern edge is a large river, the Rio Chavon. The river has cut a wide gorge and flood plain down to the ocean but the land beside the river still rises some 300' above it, providing some pretty amazing views. The strangest thing though is how they have decided to capitalize on it here. Altos de Chavon is situated at the highest point above the river and if you were to have been dropped there, not knowing your location, you would presume you were in an old Tuscan village, only this one has shops selling DR souvenirs. I kid you not, the attraction here is a medieval-styled village complete with weaver's cottage, church and amphitheater, and a multitude of cafés, restaurants and shops. I'm not sure what the amphitheater has to do with mediaval times since it seems more Roman in design, but it appears that they use it for local productions and entertainment. The whole thing was designed by some ex-Hollywood set designer and has been quite artfully put together, and they have certainly incorporated the location into the design with a multitude of good lookouts across the river.

One of the golf course views down to the ocean. The marina is nestled in the right-hand corner.

Brilliant bougainvillea and other flowers abound.

The Rio Chavon with rain approaching from the distant interior mountains.

Fountains and old-world architecture.

The central square with a little "church". Not sure that it's actually consecrated...

Enticing walkways through little walled gardens.

More tropical flowers showing brilliantly with the recent rain-spritz.

And look who we found sheltering underneath the bushes.

The walk through the rest of the community is rather like browsing the pages of Architectural Digest.

In a community of grand entrances, this one was grander than most. It was still early and the gardener were out in droves.

This is a gated, super secure community so not sure why this place warranted a separate guard and dog. Made us wonder who is in residence.

Another grand front entrance, and check the curb-side appeal in the next picture.

They certainly didn't skimp on their "tree budget".

More curb appeal, since this pool and step stones are not at all visible from the house.

Ok, now we're getting down to a more reasonable size.

Most of the properties had a Mediterranean feel, but some were more modern...

And some a tad more rustic.

Back at the boat, I set to work on a sewing project: making dinghy chaps for our dinghy. These will help protect the dinghy from sun damage and hopefully from getting too many bumps and bruises on rough docks. I'll post pictures later once they are done. Meanwhile. Henry is working through some of our maintenance items such as oiling our tools to try to keep rust at bay and back washing our watermaker to keep the membranes happy, and doing a final engine check before we head off back to Puerto Rico.

Monumental

Following yesterday's exploration of the old part of town, we decided to head down to the waterfront and see how Santo Domingo has incorporated the Caribbean into city life.

The Malecon is a broad walkway sandwiched between the ocean and a main road that roars with noisy traffic. There are a few token palms and other shade trees but for the most part it is a bricked & concreted corridor. Most of the buildings and definitely the seaside architecture dates from the 70s when there was obviously a building boom here (I need to study up on my history to know who was in power then.) The eastern end is marked by this notable statue, donated by Mexico, and representing one of the very first human rights activists all the way back in the early 1500s when this man spoke out for the rights of the native Taino Indians.

I had a good chuckle over this photo below. For those that know the BVI, we are definitely not on Jost! For those that don't, when we say we went to Foxy's, please don't put this image in mind!

Despite the Malecon running along the ocean, this stretch of coastline is rather like what we saw in Bayahibe, inhospitable, rocky ledges with the ocean swells crashing down on them. There are occasional little beachy areas but unfortunately they only serve as refuse collection points. I don't think I've ever seen so much garbage washed up on the shore, and when we looked carefully out over the ocean we could see a myriad of floating plastic bottles and other trash making their way back to shore.

Dominicans are the most patriotic bunch of people we've encountered so far. Everywhere the red, white and blue flags flutter and offices abound that have something to do with national fervour. In support of this mood, they build monuments and buildings to proclaim it. At the large roundabout where the road from the presidential palace meets the Malecon, there is this large painted obelisk. I didn't get to see the fourth side since the traffic was just to crazy to risk it, but I certainly would like to know more about the representation of these women on this one. I have some research to do!

Dominicans also love their sweets, and there are candy stores on most streets and candy vendors wandering between them. While I didn't get the sweet lady to pose for me, since I didn't really want to buy her wares, these carousel horses rather reminded me of the sweet, sugary concoctions.

We finally found a seaside cafe that served up the most delicious Frios, or fruit smoothies. I don't know how they manage to blend the fruit and ice together so smoothly so that there is absolutely no grittiness from the ice and the drink never separates no matter how long you linger over it. This is definitely a national skill that could be exported!

Refreshed with our Frios, we headed inland to see the Presidential Palace. The President doesn't actually live here, it is rather like our Parliament Hill in that this building houses the legislature and administrative offices. No access beyond the gates though, as they are solidly guarded by machine-gun toting young soldiers.

With the heat building and tired of the concrete and hustle and bustle of the streets we returned to our quiet little Casa with its private balcony. A nice little respite in the city.