Caribbean - Diary - Volume II - No. 10 Dominican Republic Goodbye

07.01. – 13.01.2025

Adios Dominican Republic…

After we enjoyed our first dinner together, Bernd's fun is over – he suspects he'd tried the meat too raw. In any case, he struggled with diarrhea and vomiting all night and was completely unwell the next day. Luckily, we have a comprehensive first-aid kit, and with intensive use of Immodium, he was able to get back on his feet during the day, or rather, get off the toilet...

So on Wednesday we set off for the big grocery battle. Loaded with all the bags and backpacks we have on board, we try to get an Uber to the Jumbo grocery store, about a 30-minute drive away. This is more difficult than we expected, as there's a tourist surcharge starting at the Ocean World gate, and the prices are often quite outrageous. So it takes quite a while before we can hail an Uber willing to take us for a halfway reasonable price. The Jumbo supermarket lives up to its name – it has everything from non-food items to textiles and electronics to groceries in almost unmanageable quantities. We struggle from shelf to shelf with our shopping list, easily filling three large shopping carts – and that's just the first installment... for the February tours in the Bahamas... The Jumbo battle lasts a good three hours... now we just have to find an Uber...

Purchase 1st tranche — The first big purchase – basic equipment for 2 crews by the end of February…

This turns out to be just as difficult as the outward journey – but we finally get a driver – he barely flinches when he sees us with the three large shopping carts. But he doesn't have room in the trunk – his stereo is in there...

We manage to persuade him to open the trunk after all, and we can stack toilet paper and kitchen rolls around the giant box – which is urgently needed, as Bernd is wedged between bags in the back seat and has a shopping bag on his lap, and I'm also sharing my seat with a bucket of groceries...

Bernd in the taxi — The shopping fits into the Uber with difficulty – every corner has been used – but the driver takes it all in stride.

We arrive at the marina fully loaded, now all that's left to do is load everything onto the boat – other sailors watch the battle of materials with interest and offer help – and soon everything is stowed in the boat.

At night, I get severe diarrhea—I have no idea why—but the toilet is my main place all night. I immediately take Immodium, but it takes a while for it to kick in. The next day, things finally get better. I'm still pretty weak on my feet, but at least I don't have to keep running to the toilet. I spend a day in bed, and Bernd takes a day off to work.

On Friday, we'll both be back on our feet – just in time for the arrival of the next crew – Mona and Simon are due to arrive around 11 a.m. – so we'll have to keep up with the preparations...

When the two arrive with their backpacks, we're on the home stretch – well, the boat is still full of laundry – but they're also bringing plenty of laundry back from their land tour, so we can get on with the laundry right away...

Simon and Mona — Mona and Simon will accompany us to the Bahamas for the next three weeks.

We had originally planned to spend two days on site for safety briefing and provisioning, but a glance at the weather forecast showed that there would be absolutely no wind on Sunday, and we would have to motor the entire crossing to the Turks & Caicos, which we planned to spend a whole day on. On Monday, the winds were favorable again, so we decided to stay in the marina for an extra day.

This turns out to be very foresighted, because that night Simon joins the diarrhea group and is laid up for a while. I hand over my Immodium, and Bernd and I head back to the Jumbo supermarket with Mona and a huge shopping list.

We're already familiar with the battle with Uber drivers, and after waving the rip-off crowd through, we finally set off for Puerto Plata. Armed with four shopping carts, we work our way through the store. This time, fresh produce is also on the menu, and since Simon and Mona are vegetarians, we fill an entire cart with fruit and vegetables. Now we just have to get our loot to the boat and stow it away...

Bernd with transport cart — With the marine cart we can transport our mountains of food to the boat…

As expected, Simon is fit again after two days and Mona seems to have simply skipped the diarrhea…

On Sunday, we enjoy our last day in the marina – we go to the Mexican restaurant again with the heavenly ribs and delicious fried ice cream… last time, Bernd could only eat soup…

On Monday morning, after just over a month, we leave the Dominican Republic. We check out and set sail for Turks & Caicos. The Atlantic lies before us, calm as a duck pond... and so we begin our crossing with relaxed conditions...