Caribbean – Diary – Volume II – No. 5
12.12. – 14.12.2024
Music smog…
After a relaxing day trip—albeit with rain showers—we reach the shallow bay of Boca Chica. The small marina is mostly occupied by large motorboats. We moor at the outer dock and stay there for the next few days, as the berths are too small for our catamaran.
The sheltered, shallow bay is perfect for snorkeling, but the seabed, covered in sand and seaweed, offers little to see – at least I see my first lionfish.
The marina and the bay look relaxed and holiday-like – but the locals here run a very strange business.
The motorboats can apparently be rented by the hour. They then take their guests about 100 meters from the marina into the bay, anchor on the sandbank, and party. You can stand in the water, eat, drink, and dance. The whole experience is rounded out by local jet skiers who circle the boats, performing a show, looking for guests to rent them.
Even bigger than the motorboats, however, are the mounted boom boxes, and every ride is accompanied by deafening music. Often, several boats play simultaneously...
Even while cleaning and loading the boats in the marina, the crew plays the music at full volume…
I think when children are born in Boca Chica, they're given a boombox in their crib so they don't get used to silence...
We imagined a Caribbean paradise, but with less noise…
After the first night of constant noise, we intervene the next day and receive support from the local navy. After that, the noise pollution decreases significantly and is – mostly – at a tolerable level – sometimes even with pleasant music…
On Saturday, Yvonne and Sascha leave the boat for the nearby airport in Santo Domingo – for them the journey is over and they head back to Germany.
We're setting sail again. In three days, we have to reach Cape Cana, where Jonah and Toni will come aboard to celebrate the holidays, the New Year, and their birthdays with us.
So we set off at lunchtime, this time without saying goodbye to the locals... they're surely glad that the noise-sensitive... or not-so-music-minded... Germans are leaving the bay again. There's sure to be another mega-party tonight... after all, what are boom boxes for that use more power than the ship's engines?
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