Ceiling And Visibility Unlimited

5-6 After a very rough beginning the first several hours, things smoothed out and it was a pretty uneventful passage. We left around 5:30pm and got to Samana around 8:30am. We tried to stay about 5 knots so we didn’t get to the channel to early. I took the 12 -3:30 shift. When I went up, there had been lightning in Samana, so we were keeping a close watch. Thankfully, it moved north of Samana and dissipated before we got to it. Not fun to see lightening on a passage. I also had a lot of smoke on my shift. I think it’s from land fires that were blowing off shore. It was weird though because it came out of no where and we were pretty far of shore.
I rested again until 7am after my shift. Cole and Cale saw dolphins at around sunrise. It was just a couple of them and they took off pretty quickly.
We had breakfast underway. The coast line of the Samana peninsula is so lush and tropical. It’s beautiful. The slip was very small, but Cale did great maneuvering and it went awesome. They were very helpful at Marina Puerta Bahia grabbing lines and securing fenders.
We had to stay on the boat until Cale checked us in with the Armada and the marina. It took over an hour. By this time, it was miserably hot. Once he got back we walked around all the fun amenities this place has, showers, salon, game room, pool table, pong pong, and several pools. The kids are in heaven. We ended up at the eternity pool, which is right by the beach with a jumping dock and a floating dock out in the middle. It was awesome. We got lunch there and just relaxed. We came back and we (mostly Cade) finally got to watch the first part of the Deathly Hallows movie. We finally finished the book 2 days ago. We had dinner while we finished it and then went to the hotel for showers. We can’t put the water from the marina in our tanks so we’ll have to be conservative on what we use the boat water for. The shower was luke warm, which is better then cold and it felt amazing.

5-7 Sunday. It was tough to get going. It always is the morning after an overnight. We left about 7:45 for church at 9. We went to the first location and couldn’t find it, but there was another address so we went to that. The missionaries said there actually is a building at the first place we tried you just have to know the exact little ally way to take to find it. They also told us there is a small group that meet in Samana. I wish we had known since it wa a long drive. They are actually a group, not a branch so that’s why it wasn’t listed on-line. We will do that next week if we are still here.
The drive was an hour and 20 minutes and highly entertaining. There were so many people out and about. We couldn’t believe the amount of motorbikes everywhere sometimes with 3 or even 4 people on them. It was pretty wild.
The church was in a very nice building. The people were warm and friendly. They seem to speak a little slower here then in PR. It was Sunday school. There was one guy that seemed to dominate the conversation. Since it’s hard to follow content it’s interesting to just sit back and read body language. On the drive back we came upon a group of people in the street stopping traffic. We realized pretty quickly they were doing motorcycle street races. After waiting a few minutes all the people quickly dispersed and zoomed away and let traffic through. There were people quite a ways down the road watching.
We came back and watched some Chosen and I did some laundry- 1 load, and the kids played some pool. We did scripture study then went to check out Samana. We chatted with some people on a troller from Florida for a bit. They were very nice and had some good tips for Bahamas.
Samana is a great town. We saw the missionaries there. They were on a walk to make phone calls. We chatted with them for a while. I’m excited to come back and hike the pedestrian bridge. It’s crazy 2 me that they are the only missionaries for an hour and a half.
We came back and Kira, Cade and I went for a walk. Cole, Kelsey and Cale played some pool. We went by to get them and they were chatting with the Aussies whose boat lost power on their way from Usvi to Bahamas so they had to come in here to fix it.
We watched the first part of the last Harry Potter movie a couple days ago. Cade was so excited to see it (I was too). All he wanted to do was watch the second one, so we did that today.

5-8
It’s crazy to me how many awesome days you get to have living in a boat. It makes me wonder, is this just because it’s so new or what. I got up early and went to the gym to workout. It felt great. We left around 9 for El Limon. It was about a 25 minute drive. As soon as we got within a couple miles we had several motorcycle locals approach us. One had us follow him but we turned off and then another one had us follow him. It was a bit weird because we hadn’t planned to have a guide. We ended up at El Cafe, which we heard was the best way to hike in because you get a better view of it from a distance. We set up a guide named Paulino. Entry was $90, which was totally too high, but oh well. We also asked them to prepare lunch after for about $8 per person. The hike wasn’t too bad. A little slippery in spots. It was mostly up hill until you get to the hut with drinks where you have the most amazing views. From there, it’s a pretty short hike down to the falls. We stopped briefly at the first one, una pequena cascada, and swam around. It had a cool grotto area behind it.
The second falls is un grande. It was amazing. The face of it is bright green and it is so beautiful. We swam and went behind it and all over. Our guide was so nice to take lots of photos for us.
The hike out my legs were feeling it a bit. Our guide was a bit of a fast hiker, but I think because Cade and Cole were right behind him. Kelsey amazes me, she was pretty much with them the whole time. She slowed the last half mile or so but does such a good job of keeping up. Her toughness has allowed us to do all that we’ve wanted to do, when otherwise we’d be pretty limited.
On our way back and I realized I’d miss -counted the money and we were short. Our guide went with Cale to an atm. When we got back we shared our family style meal with him. He was a very nice guy. He laughed at my Spanish but also helped me. He has a 12 year old daughter. We also asked him about the motoconchos yesterday, he said yes they were races.
We left there and went to Los Terranas. The beaches and whole coast line were absolutely stunning. We stopped in town and got gelato and then talked to a dive operator. She said there are jelly fish that have brown heads that are deadly over near where we are staying so they don’t dive there.
We stopped at the kite surf and wing foil beach. We talked about lessons but decided we just need more practice. It was another stunning beach.
Next, we went to Samana. We stopped at a fruit stand and got a watermelon and the cutest, little pina. As we were standing there mangos were falling from the tree and the fruit stand guys gave them to the boys. They were so excited. We took them all to the bridge to walk and eat our mangos. We got hassled by a women to pay her to park. We gave her a little when we left, but it was a total scam. I also bought a bracelet.
The bridges are pretty cool. Great views and really fun to see so many people out exercising, running and walking. The motorcycles are probably my favorite part of this place. They are all over and its just so fun to people watch.
We came back and had watermelon and pizzas for dinner. At the showers, I killed 2 big cockroaches. They were pretty gross.

5-9 Kelsey had a bad dream and was in our bed during the night. I’m not sure if it was sleeping 3 in a double bed or what but I woke up early, around 5:30. I decided to get up and get going. My day mostly consisted of lots of laundry, 7 loads. It’s not too bad of a walk to the facility, just hard to remember to go back and switch it. The kids did school and cleaned the decks and sides of the boat. By the time they were done it was close to 3 so we decided instead of going to a beach to go for a swim at the pool. The kids were so much fun at the pool. They paired up and made up synchronization routines. Cole and Kelsey were one team and Cade and Kira were the other. Then they switched and Kira and Kelsey and Cole and Cade. It was fun to see them work together and how their different personalities come out.
The boys had left to go back and a new family walked up. They are 2 girls 13 and 10. We chatted for a while. They have been in a similar path as us. I’m shocked we hadn’t seen them until now. They are also headed to the US. We had dinner and then the kids invited the girls to play. They played bottle bash, then volleyball, and then played games in the pool room here. A weird thing happened. As Cale and I were walking back to the boat. All the power went out everywhere. It was weird how dark things got. It only lasted about 2 minutes, but it was strange. The kids came back to the boat and played more games with their new friends.

5-10 We did the Samana zipline today. Everyone was so excited! Kelsey was super nervous. We got there and went to get signed in when we realized we didn’t have enough cash so Cale had to drive back to Samana for cash. Cole went with Cale. The rest of us stayed and waited. It took about 30 minutes. The exchange rate is about 54 to 1 so its hard to keep track. We get like 10,000 pesos and think we are good but that’s only about $185 US. While we waited Kelsey had to go to the bathroom. It wasn’t flushing so I took a hint that the bucket of water next to the door was for the toilet. I took off the lid and there were 5 or 6 little frogs hanging out. It took me by surprise.
We got geared up and headed out. It was about a 15 minute hike up to the starting point. Kelsey was saying she was nervous the whole time. When we got up to the starting point it got real, super fast. It was a long, very high zipline. I think we all got a little nervous. Cole went first and we all followed. Kelsey had to go with Cale. They were all awesome. By the 2nd one, we were flipping upside down. It wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought. As soon as my feet left the ground I just felt calm and peaceful. It was great. Kelsey wanted to go by herself but she had to wait for the right ones because of her weight. She did awesome and was ready to flip up side down as soon as she took off on her own. It was a memorable, unbelievable experience. We got done and had a delicious drink. It was a small coconut. She cut off the top, dug out the middle with an ice cream scoop, added some coconut cream and ice and there is was a freshly made tasty drink.
We thought about going to Rincon Beach, but decided to get lunch at Jose’s in Samana instead. We’d heard it was good, cheap food. It wasn’t amazing but the cheapest meal we’ve had so far. 150 pecos for a plate which is 3 dollars. We told the kids to get excited to eat there again.
While we sat there and Cale was looking for an atm a fire truck pulled out from the station right next to us. There was a fire up in the hill. We could see the black smoke. Looked like it was coming from the hotel. After a few minutes the firetruck came back. They turned around and then filled up the truck with water and then took off again. It makes me so grateful for our infrastructure in the US.
The kids were sad to come back and see their new friend boat was gone, but we’re excited to find they had left a note.
We came back and the kids surprised me with a massage for Mothers Day. It was amazing. It felt very relaxing. The kids played some pool and then went to the pool. I met them over there. The kids helped me learn how to do a handstand. I wasn’t amazing, but much improved by the time they were done with me. Dinner was banana bread, left over pizza, and watermelon (we picked up from a fruit stand).

5-11 Well, it was rough. We woke up at 5:30, left the marina at 6:30 and drove 3 hours. The first 3 hours weren’t that bad, the last was heavy, crazy, stressful traffic. I’d secretly hoped to get there by 9, so the kids could do baptisms then and then Cale and I could do a session at 10. We didn’t get there until 9:30 so that didn’t work. Cale went in with the older kids and I stayed with Kelsey. I did get to walk in and see the font. It was beautiful. I also had these thoughts. It feels to good to be in the temple. It doesn’t matter if you are in Meridian Idaho or Dominican Republic in the Lord’s house there is a peaceful feeling that isn’t anywhere else. It’s a calm, yet joyful feeling and it feels so good. I also can feel the love of the Lord for the effort we made to be here. 6 hours in the car is for sure a sacrifice for all involved, but it was so worth it. I was able to go in and watch Kira do confirmations and then do them as well.
After baptisms, we fought traffic to the marine store, which proved fruitless, and then the mall where we got lunch at the food court and then some pantry type grocery items at Jumbo. I would say the prices were about 20% higher then US on most stuff. Anything American was even more then that and the selection was pretty limited.
We got back to the boat and the kids played pool, Kira did homework. The kids and I worked out. We got more laundry loads done and had omelets for dinner. Cale wasn’t feeling great so he went to bed. We are hoping to leave tomorrow for Ocean World.

5-12
I got up and worked out at the gym. I do miss working out. I met a German guy who is crew on the boat across from us. He graduated from school and decided he wanted an adventure, which is very frowned upon there. He left with just the clothes on his back and passport. No phone, no backpack. He ended up crewing a boat across the Atlantic and has worked on a few since. He’s planning to go to S. America with this boat and then when they get to Panama go on foot. Pretty crazy. I also did a couple more loads of laundry.
Once the kids woke up, they did school and then we tried to check off stuff on our to do list before we left. The kids wanted to workout so we did that first, then we went looking for a mango tree. We found lots, but not too many had ripe mangos so we picked some green ones and are hoping they’ll ripen. We then swam for about 30 min, had lunch, and then got ready to leave. Sadly, several boats came in with kids. One we didn’t even talk to because they were docking and we were leaving. They are all heading south to Grenada.
We had to get fuel on our way out. It was pretty windy but Cale’s docking was great. We got a later start then we’d hoped. We didn’t end up leaving until close to 3. The waves had picked up by then so our first 3 or 4 hours was really rough. It started to settle around 8. Cale took the first shift until 12. He was able to sail. Cole did a shift from 12-1:45. He sailed, but had to reef because they had a squall hit. The wind died about the time I came out at 1:45 so we started to motor. I did until 4. Kira did from 4- 6. I got back up for a few minutes and then Cale came up. I was pretty tired still so I tried to sleep a little more. The coast line was absolutely amazing.