Ceiling And Visibility Unlimited

4-26 We left around 2 for Gilligan’s island, about a 3 hour ride (ha ha 3 hour tour). There wasn’t much wind so we had to motor. It’s a big mangrove here. We tried to go to shore and eat but it was closed so we played volleyball on the beach. There were tons of bugs! After, we came back for tacos and scriptures and talking about old memories.

4-27 Cale loaded up the dive tanks in the dinghy to fill and was getting ready to take them when I spotted dolphins at the back of the boat. Everyone but Cale and I piled in the dinghy to try and get close. They were able to get pretty close and then they’d swim away. At one point, they swam under everyone, but it was pretty mirky so hard to see. We finished up breakfast and Cale took the tanks then we snorkeled. We started in the mangroves which was really cool. It was clear and you could see lots of fish if you looked deep into the mangroves, including a barracuda. We headed out to the reef from the mangroves. It was a long shallow swim with mostly grassy bottom, so we all got in the dinghy when it was deep enough, and went to the farthest out ball in the bay. We snorkeled there for probably close to an hour. The water temperature was nice and it was so much fun. We saw some really pretty little fish that were black with bright blue spots. Cale saw a big tarpon. It was cool rocks and reef. I spent about 30 minutes free diving with Cade and Kira. They taught me how to go upside down and a do a double back flip. I’m pretty proud of myself. A year ago I could barely dive under water at all.
We came back and went to town for lunch. We went to Guilligans Island restaurant. It was really cute, but had been hammered by hurricanes so looked a little rough. We had a lunch of empanadillas, a big iguana hung out on the beach. The kids really wanted to play volleyball, but we had to get going so we went back to the boat and left for bio bay. It was super still heading out of Gilliagan’s and stayed that way most of the way. We saw all kinds of stuff jumping and swimming around; flying fish and rays. At one point Aiden saw a dolphin and we had a fish on at the same time. Aiden reeled it in the fish. It was a big barracuda. Cale had a hard time getting the hook out. We anchored outside of bio bay about 6. We played the sign game on the trampoline until it was dark enough to go. It was about a 20 min dinghy ride. Cade jumped in first and had something on his leg. He picked it off and threw it in the dinghy. Not sure what it was but I got one later and so did Cole and Aiden. It felt like it was biting me. I just grabbed it off and didn’t get more. Besides that weirdness swimming there was so cool. It was better when the moon went behind clouds. There wasn’t quite as much bioluminescence as last time in Vieques Mosquito Bay, but it was much cooler to swim in it. We especially loved it when you swam under water. When your arms were in front of you it looked like hyperspace. It was also really bright and sparkly under the dinghy. The ride back was wavy, wet and cold. We were also low on fuel so that added to the drama. The kids were happy to make it back and get warm showers. We have been learning about the Savior this week and how he is our light. I thought of that as we were getting blasted with cold water and keeping our eyes on the anchor light. It was are only reference point and the only way we could make it safely back to our boat.

4-28 We got an early start and ended up at Boqueron. It’s a very cute little town. It feels local and touristy at the same time. It’s pretty removed. There aren’t rental cars or many taxis. Ryan went to pick up the car and the kids swam and tried to wing foil some.
We all met for lunch in town. There was the cutest little iguana sitting on a bike while we ate. We checked out some stores and walked with them to their car. There were a bunch of VW vans, maybe some kind of car show. There were also iguana everywhere. There were huge palm trees and there was at least one iguana in almost every tree. There were also bright green birds flying around like we saw in St. Martin. We came back a little sad from saying goodbye to the Carlsons. We took it easy, swam and got dingy fuel. Working on game planning for the coming week.

4-29
We cleaned and did school most of the morning. Cale went to pick up the rental car. We didn’t actually make it out to get groceries until 1. We first went to firehouse subs, which the kids have been dying to go to since they knew there was one on the island. It was super tasty. We then went to Walmart. We got new bin for our back bench stuff and a lot of other household stuff. The Walmart didn’t have a ton of food which was sad, so we went to a store called Mr. Special Supermercado. It had pretty good selection and pretty good prices, especially on apples, oranges, and bananas. Some canned food stuff was high, things like chili and fruit were 3 dollars per can. Crackers seemed about in line with US prices.
Driving back we had the realization that it would be tough to park and unload our stuff. There were two big events going on. The first was at a park nearby. It was the VW gathering and they were all camping in the parking lot. There was also a big musical stage set up right by the dinghy dock. There was a celebrity impersonator. Because of all this there was no parking. The kids and I got bags of the perishable stuff and brought it back to the boat while Cale drove around for 3 hours!!! It was crazy. On top of that loading onto the very sketchy dinghy dock was rough. I was grateful Cale was on shore flashing his light so I could see him.

4-30
After our late night we were slow to get going. We left the boat around 9:30 for church at 10:20. From the dinghy dock it was about a 10 minute walk to the car and then a 20 minute ride. The building was really nice, very colorful. There are 2 wards. We met with the Cabo Rojo 2nd ward. It was hard to follow the first speaker because she had a mask on. The counselor spoke 2nd. He spoke slower and I was able to follow a little bit better. All the songs were acapella, which I am realizing I prefer. Sunday School was 5th hour all together. We met Delia Lopez Graniela. She was the primary teacher and was sad she couldn’t teach Kelsey. She was a very neat lady. She knew the Sosas. She spoke highly of Daphne. When I told Daphne I’d met her she said she is the reason I stayed active in the church. We also met the Dixons. He was a nice man who spoke very slow and really thought about his English words. He said his father had come and met a Puerto Rican and never left. The bishop taught the lesson about the good Samaritan and loving your neighbor.
After church, we came back and had lunch and finished unpacking all our stuff. The Seaplicity kids wanted us to go to the beach so we did for a bit and the kids swam. Kira and I walked by the VW bug/ bus gathering. I’ve never seen so many in my life.
We all swam at the beach because it was soo hot. The water felt really warm. We came back and Cade and I made pizza and everyone else tried to wing foil. We had a good discussion from church about how to try and help everyone get a long better. One was to remember to treat everyone with love and from Pres. Nelson’s talk that you don’t have to put someone else down to make yourself feel good and not to fault find. And, Kelsey lost her 2nd front top tooth.

5-1 We left about 8:30 to drive to Rincon, the surf capital of the Caribbean. It was about an hour and a half to our destination, Sandy Beach. We stopped and got a huge box of pastries on our way. We dropped by Maria Beach. It’s rockier and bigger waves. Sandy beach was full of waves. All kinds of waves. They were breaking all over. There were some rip current signs so we talked through that with the kids. The girls and I set up at the beach. Cole, Cale and Cade went out. They got beat up. They were super steep so they kept diving down too fast. After about 45 min, I went and tried. I just rode the waves in after they had broke and was flying super fast on the long board. It was really fun. Everyone eventually moved to that and tried. My surf goal was to stand up and I did it 3 times! I was pretty excited. It took a while to load up and de-sand ourselves. I drove so Cale could work on getting forms filled out. We needed to send info to the Cap Cana Marina in Punta Cana, as well as US customs, so we can get the paperwork to checkout. We stopped by Econo for a little more food I didn’t get last trip and headed back to the boat. We had to quickly unload so Cale could get the car back by 5. He made it with 10 minutes to spare. The kids and I juggled getting the groceries and boards all back to the boat. Cale had a tough time getting a ride back to the marina. Cabs are hard to come by. The kids swam and I worked on the paperwork for the marina. We also found out we aren’t supposed to take fruit and veggies to Dominican Republic so we are trying to eat up our fruit. It’s, of course, a dream come true for my kids. After having to ration fruit lately, they are all going to have upset stomachs after tonight. The apples I got weren’t very good so I made applesauce. Our new friends on Seaplicity- Bastian, Kristen, Dexter and ? their 7 year old girl whose name I didn’t catch came over. They also have a Leopard so it was fun to swap stories. They got their boat in Greece from Sun Sail and sailed it across the Atlantic with pretty minimal experience. They sold their house in Phoenix and are not sure where, but are going to try and find a place to keep their boat, find jobs and buy a house somewhere on the East Coast.

5-2 We decided to wait one more day for our trip to DR. The weather looks good either way, but we just didn’t want to feel rushed. That gave us the whole day to do school, do some cleaning, and wing foil. It was a nice relaxing day. We are all getting better with the wing. The kids especially. Cole is getting close to getting up on the foil. He was also really sweet and let Kelsey ride on the board with him and gave her a great ride. Cale was cleaning the engine filters and cracked a lid on one trying to get it off. Thankfully, he was able to epoxy it. We got to bed pretty early. We have to leave at 2 in the morning for the Mona Passage East to West.