Exodus

Where did you leave us? 

Oh yes, we were just getting ready to head east, from Marina Zarpar in Boca chica, to Casa De Campo in La Romana, both in the Dominican Republic.  I don't know how long ago it was, but it feels like months have past...

So much action! 

It seems fitting that I'm writing this post just before the Jewish Holiday of Passover. You see, the story behind Passover, is the story of the people of Israel, who were slaves (in Egypt) and then at some point decided they don't want to be slaves any more, and that they want to go back to the promised land. It took some struggling, ten plagues, and one miraculous crossing of a see before they got out of Egypt, and then another 40 years in the desert before they finally made it home. 

Those were 30 seconds about maybe the most important Jewish holiday. Now Back  to our story...

In the Dominican Republic you can not sail anywhere without a dispacho. A piece of paper signed by the police, coast guard and national security all these guys have to come to your boat right before you head out. Not a day before, which means that if you plan to leave at 6am, you have to arrange for them to meet you at 6am and then hope they get there... 'Tip' them (mandatory) and off you go. Unless they don't come...

We were ready to leave at 6. Pedro, the local Marinero who was to join us was there on time, but the police and coastguard guys simply weren't there. 

They missed an amazing sunrise 

At 7 Pedro and I drove down the street to the police station. I was surprised to find the policeman who promised to be on my boat at 6 sitting at his desk. Why didn't you come? I asked. He replied calmly that his colleague headed our way and should have already been there. The station is on the end of the road. The marina is on the other end. We just drove from A to B and didn't see him headed our way and yet we turned around, drive back to check in the Marina and guess what? He wasn't there! Long story short he finally arrived non chalant an hour later. It took 3 policemen to write down our passport details and we were off. The long way was uneventful except for an unlikely encounter. After we bought the boat, our broker sold our seller a new boat which he was supposed to deliver to him from Puerto Rico. Against all odds, the only sailboat we crossed was the new boat captained by our broker.... 

Remind me to tell you about my theory about the production budget of this movie we live in...

transaction completed full circle. 

When we got to casa de campo we finally took out the hammock I've been optimistically carrying with me for almost 4 months and could finally relax!

And as things always go with this trip, coincidence and good people found us again :) about an hour after our arrival, while we were busy scrubbing the deck a family walked by our boat and stopped when they heard us speak Hebrew. Turns out they're Israelies who live in te capital, but own a house in La Romana. Ten minutes later it was agreed that we will spend the following morning with them ;) 

The kids were excited to play with other Hebrew speaking kids and we all had a great time! Thanks guys!

La Romana is a huge complex including the Marina, a complex with restaurants and stores, luxury houses, beaches a hotel, golf courses and even an old restored village. We rented a golf cart and explored for a couple of days. 

Amazing place !

Altos de Chavon

As you may recall, our old boat, or what's left of it, as well as a lot of our stuff, are still waiting for us in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. And so our next destination was  to cross the infamous Mona passage and get to Puerto Rico. We've made a decision to use help for this passage. We knew it would be rough and long, and wanted to make sure we could tend to the boat and the kids. So we called Ciro. Ciro was the surveyor sent by the insurgence company to inspect the dammage after the accident. We liked him, both as a professional and as a person and when it was time to do a surey before buying this boat we hired his services. He was happy to assist with the passage. We are so happy he joined!!! The passage was VERY rough! The wind was on our nose the whole long journey. the waves were high and we were pounding through out. Everyone (except for Captain Oren) was sick, but 26 hours later we arrived in Boqueron Puerto Rico!!!

We were tired, dirty and weak, but we made it! And it felt good!

The next day, after Avery good night sleep we went to shore were we mat Cito's wife and daughter who came to pick him up. It took about 30 minutes for the ice to break and the kids became great friends, they spent the morning playing on the beach, jumping off the jetty and collecting sea shells while we got to know Ciro's lovely wife, Laura of whome we've heard so much. Such fun! We hope to get together again soon!

Mika and Gur jumping in hand in hand

We ran into another cruising family who came onboard as our first guests! They also have 3 kids and we spent a nice afternoon together. 

Calm seas, Happy Chaos!

Obriens and Eliases playing Set

So why excudus you ask?

We lost our boat in December. For almost 4 months we've been vagabonds, leaving out of 5 bags, drifting with the winds looking for our new home. Then came the crossing of the see, and now we are finally cruising!!!

It's been a week since we said good bye to Ciro. Our first Solo sail came 3 days later and I'm proud to say we've been doing well! Now in Ponce, PR we are slowly making our way back to Fajardo. The original starting point of this journey. Like the people of Israel, we're learning how to be independent again, and know for sure, that if we really want something, we can make it happen. 

Thank you all for your support,

May we never be slaves!

Happy Passover!

Darya 

And the floating Eliases