We made it!!!! Luperon, Dominican Republic was our destination. We have arrived and completed our main mission. From now on, where we go will be dictated by what we all agree on (that should be interesting).

Now to tell you about Luperon. The landscape here is beautiful… it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen in real life. John said he had read that the movie Jurassic Park was filmed here, so that will help you visualize it. It has both the highest and lowest points in the Carribean. There are mountains all around and there are palm trees growing on the mountains. It’s just beautiful. The other equally beautiful part of the Dominican Republic are the people. They are, on the whole, very attractive people. To top it off, they are some of the most hospitable, friendly, welcoming people. Read the rest of this entry »

This is the scenario:

Every other boat we know of: “We just saw whales breach”; “They’re all around us”; “They’re leaping just to our port side”; “We spotted them jumping out of the water at the south end of the island”; “We saw them coming out of the channel at Salt Cay”..

Cannibal:

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We arrived in Providenciales on Wed evening and cleared customs & immigration on Thursday. This is a beautiful place! Even the customs stamp in our passport is pretty. The anchorage is not too close to anything, though. It is very close to the port where the customs office is, and there is a 7-11 within walking distance, but that is about it. Actually, everything is walking distance when that is your means of transportation! We met another cruiser heading into town when we were coming back from customs and he told us it was easy to hitch rides into town. So we did. All 5 of us headed down the highway and immediately a truck stopped. Inside was the guy that had told us how easy it was to hitch…so we shared the truck with him. The driver was from Haiti. Read the rest of this entry »

That’s what the water looks like, only it’s more clear than Jello. It’s like transparent blue jello, or powerade. It’s yummy looking! The shallower water is the most beautiful shade of turquoise. It looks like a very large, very refreshing swimming pool. We can see the bottom no matter whether we’re in 6 feet of water or 60!

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“Why is it our favorite topic,” you ask? Because we have no money and we always get some from Uncle Sam!!!

Thanks to President Bush, we also get to benefit from the Economic Stimulus Plan. I don’t agree with it, but I’ll take the money! We didn’t pay any taxes, we don’t owe any taxes, and yet we get money back—(makes no sense to me) but I’ll take it.

And now it’s time for an Awards Speech moment:

I would like to thank my wonderful father-in-law for taking care of our mail, and relaying important information to us. He had to email me all of our tax filing information. We couldn’t do this without him! I would also like to thank my wonderful mother-in-law for helping as well. She has amazing organizational skills (probably better than me, if that’s possible), and she, no doubt, has had a hand in keeping our records orderly. Plus they both check our PO Box several times a week, pray for us, and encourage us when we need it.

I would also like to thank our children for being alive. Because of them, we will be getting $900 from our federal government so we can stimulate the economy of the Bahamas (grin). Not sure that’s what the gov. had in mind, but that’s what will happen. (They will consume it all in food!)

I would like to thank God for creating the beautiful islands we are enjoying, and for the wonderful ocean full of interesting life. Apparantly, God has a different opinion about what a “fair wind” is than I do, but I’m sure He’s right!

OH! And I would like to wish for world peace!

Every year, when I hit the SEND button and file our taxes, I feel like I have just accomplished an amazing feat deserving of an award. I suppose the award is our refund check!

I now know, first hand, why some people leave it all behind and move here! This place is like heaven. There is beautiful water everywhere, and beautiful beaches. I want to live here!

We are in the Exuma’s, island hopping. We stopped for a couple of days at Allan’s Cay to play with the Iguanas. They used to roam all of the Bahamas, but they’ve been almost wiped out. Allan’s Cay is one of the few islands here that they are in large numbers. When we landed on shore, a couple of dozen rushed to “greet” us. Excursion tour boats bring tourists here to feed them (which you’re not supposed to do), so the iguanas are pretty hospitable towards humans. We didn’t feed them, but we did “hang” with them. John and I lounged on the beach while Kimi made them a giant sandcastle. The boys were off exploring the island.

We spent a few days in Hawksbill Cay playing on the beaches and roasting marshmallows in the fire we made on the beach. We just arrived in Emerald Rock near Warderrick Wells. We’ll stay here a few days at least. This is home to a land and sea park, so there’s lots to see and do here. The kids already saw a nurse shark near the park office! Check out the new pictures in our gallery.