And so it goes on..

After the success of the previous day with the electronics, we were feeling good about getting the fuel leak fixed and being able to do a test run. While I’d been in Florida, I’d pick up some plumbing parts to hope to be able to replace the leaking valve on the tank but as it turned out none of the parts would fit as the fuel pipe has a crimped connector which of course is metric and we don’t really want to start hacking it apart, so the only option was to just connect the pipe directly to the tank outlet. At least it seals and works. We ran the engine for a good half hour to make sure it had fixed the problem. Finally, no air in the fuel.

As this vibration hadn’t been there before we had the drive shafts pulled to work on the transmissions, it appeared that this would be a good place to start looking for any problem. After a bit of a search, we finally managed to track down a dial gauge, which we need to check the alignment of the shafts.

After a bit of hit and miss, we finally managed to fix the dial gauge so we could check the drive shaft alignment. The starboard shaft looks fairly good but the port shaft is quiet a bit out so now we’ll have to get Arturo to come back and split the coupling so we can try and realign it, then another sea trial and keep our fingers crossed.

Over the last couple of weeks we started to notice that our bilges keep filling with water and no matter how much we drain them and dry them out, the next morning there’s several gallons of water back in the bottom. So, after several days of cleaning and drying the bilges we decided we really needed to find out what on earth was going on. We thought that it maybe water leaking from our showers, so after pulling up half the floors and side panels to get access we found that the drain on John’s shower was broke and needed repairing and resealing. So after we’d fixed it and drained the bilge, we had to leave it for 24 hours to set, so imagine out surprise when the next morning we lifted the floor to find water again. In the mean time, I’d had all my floor up as well to get under the shower tray and check all the plumbing in the bathrooms. Everything was dry and yet my bilge was also still slowly filling with water. What is happening here? Later that night, while trying to sleep and listening to the aircon cutting in and out I had a flash of inspiration. Where does the condenser drain go to? It must go overboard.. Mustn’t it? The next morning after breakfast, I decided to find out just where the drain went. Well, it didn’t take long. I think I’ve said before that this is a French built boat, and the build quality is at best poor. It looks nice in the surface but once you start digging all the horrors are uncovered. Well, here’s yet another bit of “WE COULDN’T BE ARSED TO DO IT PROPERLY”. We have 3 AC units on the boat, 2 have their condenser drains plumbed together and piped overboard throw a hull fitting. But, the third unit hasn’t been connected into the drain system at all and the pipes have just been tucked down behind the fuel tanks straight into the bilges. So just out of interest, John put the drain pipe from his unit into a gallon bottle, 5 hours later it was full. It’s no wonder we’ve been chasing in circles. So, next weeks project is to fit 2 new overboard drains and do the job correctly.

Well, I woke up the other morning to hear a lot of shouting. Wondering what was going on, I got up and went out onto the rear deck. OMG, someone’s got problems. There was a load of guys standing on the dock opposite looking down at the top of a very expensive sport fishing boat that had sunk during the night. 80% of the boat was underwater with just the superstructure visible. They had divers in the water putting a fuel boom out to try and stop the diesel from spreading everywhere but they weren’t really quick enough. For the rest of the day we watched as the divers got air bags under the boat and very slowly started to lift it. Unfortunately, as it came up it started to list, as all the water inside shifted. A lot more shouting and they got some pumps to empty the boat and get it stable. Finally, after about 12 hours they had the boat back up and secured but now the heart breaking part. All the next day they had a couple of lads pulling everything out, chairs, carpets, beds everything, and a couple more starting to clear up, they were at it for days. Also the engines and fuel systems all had to be cleaned out before they could run it. All the electronics had to come out and be sent for testing. What a mess! I hate to think what that cost to recover everything. Still after about 6 weeks it was almost all fixed and they left a couple of days ago. I hope they got to the Cayman’s without any more troubles.

Well, three weeks on and the weather hasn’t let up. In fact it got a lot worse for several days with gusts of 40 knots. The sea is so rough that even the very large boats are coming in to get out of it. We’re still waiting on Arturo as he’s got tied up fixing an engine on another boat, so we’ll wait our turn.  

In the mean time, I’ve got a little project of my own. One of the Dominican Navy lads asked if I’d help him with his English. We for any of you who know me, this is a bit like the blind leading the blind. It’s a good job he really only want’s to practice his pronunciation, as I’m good at talking. He’s actually very good and a quick study, and he’s even teaching me a bit of Spanish, but I’m rubbish. 

A friend Mark, who has his boat moored here, popped down from the States for a few days, and while he was here, we all went out to have dinner and drinks at a local cassata which his friends own. It’s a lovely little place on the south end of the Malecon, it’s  at the rear of the Tropical Bar and is called La Masson’s.  After a  lovely meal and a couple of beers we decided to move on to another bar  and then it all went wrong. Drank far too much and there was singing  too, god knows what time we left but it didn’t stop us dropping into  another bar on the way back. The following morning was a bit of a right  off. Still, we done do it every day. 

As we’ve been here for nearly a year and haven’t had much opportunity to get out and about we decided to rent a car and take a drive to Samana. After all, we where meant to be there back in February until the transmission packed up. So we booked a couple of room in the Bannister’s Hotel at the marina in Samana and set off on a little adventure. It was only a drive of about 110 miles but you need nerves of steel to drive around here. The moto Conchos (motor cycle taxi’s) come at you from all directions. It’s like driving while being attacked by angry hornets. The best way to deal with it is to put your foot down and close your eyes... LOL... No not really. Anyway, after ageing 10 years in 20 miles we finally got out of the bigger towns and the traffic was a bit better but the roads weren’t. The local government is trying to get the roads fixed up and while they’re making a good job of most of it there are still bits that can take you by surprise and rip a wheel off if you’re not paying attention. Well, we made good time and managed to do the 110 miles in 4 hours. The scenery on the drive was quiet amazing. The road follows the north coast for a long way and at times your only yards from the water, all bit it below you. The island is very green and they grow a large variety of crops, from bananas and plantains to corn and rice along with a lot more too. Rolling hills and mountains fill the middle of the island with the flatter lands being near the coast. The road sweeps through the country side and you pass small villages made up of only a few houses at times. Most of the houses are brightly painted and in some cases they seem to try and out do each other. As we got closer to Samana the road starts to climb up and up as we had to cross a range of hills that give the Samana inlet protection from the Atlantic winds. Thanks to the GPS we found the entrance the marina complex and turned into the ground. We now had to drive down a steep and winding hill to get back to sea level and the hotel. The grounds of the complex are amazing and very beautifully kept. The Bannister’s hotel is a lovely place, hidden away, right on the coast of the inlet with the marina directly in front of it. We checked in and found our rooms and then went to explore. Well, as you can guess it didn’t take us long to find the bar at the entrance of the marina and get a couple of well earned beers down our necks. It was very quiet.... NO it was VERY QUIET!!!! The hotel has about 200 rooms but as it was low season there was only about 8 people staying there and 2 of them were on there boat. So service wasn’t a problem at all. The hotel has a couple of nice restaurants, including an Italian with a wood fired pizza oven. The food was beautiful, and although a little pricey it was well worth it. The sea food risotto and the pizza’s were magnificent.  

The following morning we had breakfast on the terrace, and after having a chat which the harbour master, we took a drive out and went for a look at Samana town. Chaos, would probably be the best description. To be fair, they’re resurfacing all the main roads and with it being off season a lot seemed closed. So we decided to carry on driving and see if we could get to the end of the peninsular. After more up and down and missing pot holes we finally ran out of road. There was a lovely beach and a couple of hotel resorts, with the usual tourist shops selling loft insulation (gift shops for the uninitiated). We drove back to the hotel and sat by the pool with a beer watching the thunderstorms on the far side of the inlet. Finally it all cleared and there was a lovely sunset over the hills. After more pizza and red wine we called it a night.  

The following morning, we again went for breakfast before settling up and taking a stead drive back. As we had the car we made a quick stop at the Jumbo supermarket in Puerto Plata to stock up. After dropping everything back at the boat we had one last errand. A couple of friends from Canada were getting ready to return home for the summer and had asked if we would help them move a few bits from the flat where they were staying to there boat in the marina. Irene and Bob have been coming here for about 4 or 5 years to get away from the Canadian winters and to fix up their boat. So we loaded up the car and helped them with the last few bits and pieces as they were leaving the next morning. After we finished I returned the car as Bob was renting it for the next morning to get to the airport. But there was a problem! The chap who runs the car rental was supposed to be driving them to the airport, but when I returned the car he wasn’t there. His mum then explained that he’d been a bad boy and the police had arrested him and he was being held in prison for drug dealing so he couldn’t take Irene and Bob to the airport. Bob asked if I’d run them up to the airport in the morning, well of course I would. So Bob paid for the car for another day and we were sorted. The following morning they picked me up and we drove to the airport and I dropped them off. We said our good byes and they’ll be back in 12 weeks. 

Well, as we now had the car again for an extra day we decided to make the most of it and finally do something we’d been promising ourselves for month, that was to go to the top of Isabel de Torres, this is the 2650 foot high mountain that forms the back drop to Puerto Plata. Well, normally you’d take the cable car to the top but as it’s under repair we decided to drive up... Actually that’s not strictly true... I decided we were going to drive up.. LOL... Now remember, John fell off the boat only a couple of weeks before and was still suffering with broken ribs... So a bit of off roading wouldn’t be too bad? Half way up I was really feeling sorry for him as we hit pot hole after pot hole.. The road got steeper and steeper, it was a good job we had 4 wheel drive or I’d have had to turn around and go back. Finally we got to the top and had to park up at the gate as the workmen replacing the cable car cables had everything laying out in the carpark. John was pleased to just get out. We walked the last couple of hundred yards to the monument at the top. WOW, what a view, you see all of Puerto Plata, Costambar and Cofresi laying out  below and we could even just make out our boat in the marina. One of the guides took some photos for us and we had a quick look in the gift shops, well you have too.. We took a little walk around the ground before getting back to the car for the drive back down. John was really looking forward to this.. NOT... 

Now, it’s at this point I should probably mention something quiet important. Over the last couple of days we’ve had this car, we’ve noticed it had a few issues. After all, it’s not a new car and could have done with a good overhaul. For a start it needs a new exhaust, the hood and tail gate latches need to be fixed so they close properly, the hand brake doesn’t work at all and right at this point is the important bit.... NEITHER DO THE FRONT BRAKES.... this is due to the small fact that metal on metal isn’t the best way to stop a car ever... This in mind we set off back down the mountain.. good game, good game... Half an hour later, in first gear all the way and the stink of red hot metal, we finally got to the bottom in one piece... It was all down to my driving skills... Yeh right!!!...Anyway, we needed a drink after that, so we took a drive along the Malecon and went to see our friend Chris at her little Casseta bar. We felt better after a beer and made our way back the marina as we had a new duty to start. 

We’ve had so much going on with getting the boat fixed that although we’ve been here for nearly a year we haven’t been very far. A friend of ours who also has his boat here in the marina is Mark. Although he lives and works in the states, he’s British. He comes down to check on his boat and have a long weekend about once a month and when he does he like to get out and see places. As he’s been doing this for a couple of years he knows of a lots of fun places to visit.  

So when he asked if we’d like to have a day out to a little beach bar come restaurant we jumped at the chance. Frank our taxi driver and drinking buddy picked us all up at about 10.00 and we set off. We picked Chris up from her flat, as it was her day off from the casseta and she was looking forward to a day out. Off we go, we drove out of Puerto Plata and headed East. We drove through Sosua and on to Cabarete. It was a beautiful day, we stopped for a quick coffee before getting back in the car and heading on. After a few more miles we turned off the main road and headed towards an old holiday resort. It was quiet odd to drive through the abandoned resort. It looked like everyone only left yesterday. Not a soul in sight, bit of a ghost town and a terrible shame as it’s in such a lovely spot. Finally, we turned off the road and onto a dirt track to the beach. After about a mile we came to a river and couldn’t drive any further.  

We were starting to wonder where we were. Mark got out of the car and started shouting and waving across to the far side of the river where there was the bar we were heading for. A couple of minutes later, a young chap from the bar turned up in a small boat and we all piled in for the short trip to the bar.  

This was La Boca. You can only get there by boat. What a fantastic little place, made mostly of drift wood, as it gets washed away a couple of times a year but is rebuilt within days as a rule. Well we ordered beers and then went to the kitchen to order our food. You have to see it, all wood fires, smoke and a thousand degrees. The fish was all fresh and had been caught that morning. John and I let Mark, Chris and Frank do the ordering as they knew what was what. We found a table and sat and chatted while we waited for dinner. Several beers later, this fantastic feast was put on the table. Talk about a taste of the ocean, we had three large snappers, lobsters, giant prawns, clams and salad and rice to feed an army. We all dived in and after about an hour and several more beers, all that was left was a pile of bones and shells. We were all stuffed. As we were getting ready to leave, some kite surfers turned up and put on a bit of a show on the river. It’s quiet something watch up close. We took the boat back across the river and drove back down the dirt track and out through the ghost resort to the main road. Mark wanted to show us a could of other little bar on the way back. So it wasn’t long before we arrived back in Cabarete and Frank parked up. We piled out and headed to the beach and another bar.  

Cabarete is a lovely place, with a beautiful beach and a lot of bars, restaurants and clubs. Although it was a Tuesday the beach was packed and there was a kite surfing competition going on. We found the bar and had a couple more beers, well we did. Chris had decided it was cocktail time and set off down the slippery slope. As we were leaving Frank said we should go to a couple of other bars in Sosua as we were passing. So after another short drive it was all out again and walk to the beach and the bar.  

Sosua, is also a nice place but not to the standard of Cabarete. Well, after more beer and cocktails for Chris and another of Frank’s bars for good measure it was getting dark. So back in the car and off we go again. We’d only been going for about 10 miles when we pulled off the main road and headed towards a local resort. Where are we going now? Well we were heading to Chris’s brothers bar just to say hello. As you can imagine, we were all made very welcome. More beers and cocktails. We’d lost count of just hat we’d had by now but it didn’t matter. Finally we said good bye and headed off again. 

As we got back to Puerto Plata, Chris asked if we would go to a new club/bar that she’d wanted to visit but didn’t want to go on her own. Well, we couldn’t let the lady down now. So we drove down the Malecon and stopped outside a bar called SWANK. It’s brand new and very smart. We sat at the bar and got more beers and cocktails. The owner was also sitting at the bar and we had a bit of a chat with him and found out he was a Frank Sinatra fan. He showed us his signed photo with him and Frank, along with a gold record Frank had given him. He’s defiantly from the old country if you get my drift. 

After more beers and being dragged up to dance by Chris, the cocktails were starting to really take effect on her. As the responsibly adults, Yeh right... We decided it was time that Chris went home before she passed out. We dropped her off at her flat and waited until she’d got inside.  

We headed back to the marina but not until we stop at a little stall outside the hospital for more beer and then at a club for a final rum and coke. Frank finally dropped us off at the Terrace at about midnight. Mark, John and I said thanks and good night. The Terrace was still open, Oh well just one more. 

The following morning, I should have felt a lot worse than I did. But after a nice bacon and egg butty and a couple of mugs of tea everything was back to normal... ish... 

As time passes we’re taking the opportunity to get little jobs done as they pop up, which is almost every day. The one thing with owning a boat is that you always have something to do. It may be filling the water tank or washing salt of the deck and rails to checking and running the engines and generator. We’ve also taken the opportunity to try and strengthen the dingy davit and get a new mounting frame made to fit the new winch. We found a very good welder who has done a lovely job, not like the bunch of cowboy we had to do the welding in Grand Bahama. Enough said about that.. So over the next week or so we’ll get the winch mounted and connected, wish us luck! 

As the day’s and week’s pass and the weather is starting to get a bit hotter, we occupied our time cleaning salt off the boat. Just in passing, if you ever think about owning a boat here’s a bit of information for you. You’ll spend way more time cleaning the damn thing than you ever will cruising. So if you don’t like the idea of all that cleaning, buy a small boat. 

Anyway, half way through July, our friend Mark came back down from the States for a couple of day’s R&R. So as usual we met up and popped to Christina’s cassette for a few beers and something to eat. As the following day was Chris’s day off, we made plans to go and have a look around Monte Cristi, which is right up on the boarder with Haiti. The following morning Frank, our driver, picked Chris up and then came to fetch us and all five of us set off. Now, although is not that far to Monte Cristi from Puerto Plata, it’s not the best road and it’s defiantly not the most direct route. Well, after stopping a couple of times on route for beers, we finally came to Monte Cristi. It’s a very old town, with a lot of character and although we didn’t have much time to look around we got the feel of the place. We made another refreshment stop in the town at a lovely little bar as we all needed to loo and Chris wanted food. So we did the gentlemanly thing and had a beer or two while we waited for her. Refilled, we set off to the beach for a walk. On the way out of town we were stopped by a load of local lads who had set fire to a road block in protest that the authorities had taken their fishing nets for illegal fishing, they weren’t happy and surrounded the car, shouting and waving sticks and bricks. Well we hadn’t planned for this. But Frank was on it, and after he had a little chat with them and we gave them a hundred Pesos (two dollars) they pulled the road block back and let us pass. Who said we don’t have a bit of excitement here. We got to the car park for the beach and parked. It was a little walk to the beach itself but it was down quiet a steep track. It was a lovely day, with a nice breeze. The beach was amazing, and almost completely empty and it was clean, not a bit of rubbish or plastic bottle in sight. We’ll while the rest of us made our way down the track, Frank decided he’d seen enough beaches and sat under a tree at the top and waited for us. After about half an hour and twenty thousand photos for Chris, we got back to the car park and headed off for some dinner. But we had only driven about a mile when old habits kicked in. BAR!!!!! Well, it’s just rude to drive passed if they’ve made the effort to open and it was on another lovely little beach, so after an emergency stop we went for a swift one and another thousand photos for Chris. Finally, we made it back to the outskirts of Monte Cristi and found a lovely restaurant right on the water’s edge. We had a mixed seafood plate and the food was beautiful and the beers we’re good too. 

Once finished we started back but there was another beach Mark had been to and wanted to go and have a look at, so we turned off the main road and headed for Buen Hombre. It’s not a town or even a village, just a collection of huts and shacks along a bay with another lovely beach. There were a lot of people kite surfing and swimming. We stopped and got a beer, just for a change, and walked along to the headland. There were quiet a few cassette’s selling wonderful sea food, so we found one that had fresh lobsters and snappers and ordered enough food for an army. It was amazing, and we were stuffed. Now it was getting dark and we headed to the main road but as there are no road signs we were having to rely on the GPS on my phone. You can see this coming, can’t you? So I entered Ocean World in and the GPS calculated the route. Know, if I hadn’t had quiet so much beer I would have noticed it was saying it was only 32 miles back. We’d done a 100 miles and four hours to get there. Anyway we set off and before long the road started to get a bit rough. Frank asked where we were and it looked like we were only a mile from the main road. The road got worse, a lot worse. We were on the right road but unknown to us the whole road was under construction. This wasn’t the way we came in to Buen Hombre? It was about now, with Franks car being shaken to bits, that I realised what had happened. Google GPS only puts you on the shortest route, yes, we were literally going cross country. After a stop and a revise of the route and stopping some chap on a motor bike in the middle of no where, we found we just needed to keep on the track and we’d get to the main road. Four miles later, and no fillings left, we got to the main road. 60 miles later we got back to Ocean World. The three of us got out and left Frank to drop Chris off home. We were still laughing and wondering if Frank’s car would ever be the same again and as the Terrace bar was still open we had a quick beer and called it a night. What a day... Mark, had to fly back to the States the following day but we’d had another good laugh. 

 A couple of days later we were back into the normal routine and we had a few chores to do. First was to take the Harvey and Ninja to the vet for a check up as Harvey had been scrapping and had been bitten, and Ninja had to have her stitches removed after her operation. The vet told us we would have to leave them for the day and collect them later. They weren’t very happy to say the least. So, we left them and went to the supermarket to get more supplies, which these days seem to be mostly dog food and treats. Later in the afternoon we got the call that the dogs were ready to be picked up. We made our way back to town, to the vets. We were met by two very clean and happy to see us puppies, although you can’t really call Harvey a puppy... He was the cleanest we’d ever seen him, and his bite had been seen to. It turned out it wasn’t as bad as we thought. Little Ninja just looked cute as hell, they’d washed and trimmed her, which she probably hated, and they’d put little red ribbons bows behind her ears, how sweet was she looking.... So, we took them back to the park and fed them, the other dogs weren’t sure what to make of them, but it only took a couple of days before they were both back the rolling in the crap and sand. Ninja’s bows didn’t last long either. Bless them..  

Now as I’ve said before, a lot of the locals are not fond of dogs, but most just put up with the odd bit of barking and chasing motorbikes. A lot of the dogs have been abandoned and are just looking for someone to take them in, the barking is their way of saying ME, ME, ME, take ME home and I’ll guard your house and love you. The problem is the locals speak Spanish I it seems to translate into, I’m going to bite you and rip your eyes out, so they try to hit and kick and even throw rocks at the dogs, this doesn’t help but it generally ends there.  

Now one of our little friends, Lucy, just wanted to be loved. She’s a sweet natured little thing who loves nothing more than cuddles. She was always so pleased to see us and play with the other dogs. I’m writing this next bit with a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye. 

A few days ago Lucy never turned up for dinner, we weren’t too concerned as sometimes she’d be off playing or being fed by some of the guards, but when she wasn’t there for three evenings on the trot and no one had seen here we were getting worried that she’d had an accident.  

The next afternoon I got a message from Crystal, she’s the wife of the owner of Ocean World and is an animal lover. She and her friend Jenny have looked after the dogs that live in and around Ocean World for years. Making sure that they were seen by the vet and taking food and water to them. John and I made our way to her apartment and she told us she had some bad news. It appeared that one of the male dancers from the Lifestyle show, who had made it known he hated dogs, had complained that Lucy had been attacking him. It was such a bad attack that he’d had time to get his phone out and film it. Now tell me this, if you’re being attacked wouldn’t the last thing you’d think of would be to get your phone out, open the camera and start filming, well unless it was a complete set up. Apparently, it was just Lucy barking and she only barked like that if someone had tried to kick or hit her. Anyway, he threatened to sue Ocean World unless that savage horrid beast was put down, what a nice piece of work he is man!. Well Crystal wasn’t going to do that, but she had to have poor little Lucy moved on. So, she had made arrangements with the vet to have Lucy taken to the dog sanctuary in Sosua. It meant to be a nice place and she’ll have other dogs to play with and she’ll be looked after. Poor Lucy, we never got a chance to say goodbye to her and give her a last cuddle. All she ever wanted was to be loved by someone who would take care of her and feed her. 

A week later one of the guards, an old boy who’s been here year, asked us if we’d seen Lucy as she would follow him everywhere, and at night she’d sleep in the guard hut with him. He was heart broken when we told him what had happened and tears rolled down his face. Poor old boy loved that little dog as we all did. Even Ninja and Harvey were wondering were she was, it’s not so easy to explain to them. 

We’ll have to take a drive out a visit her one day. I have to stop now, sorry. 

 One of the biggest bug bares at the marina is the WiFi, or should I say the lack of it.. Okay, we understand that the internet isn’t always the best it could be but it’s the WiFi and the servers here at Ocean World which are normally at fault. That and the fact that the IT department don’t seem to be able to get their act together. As a result if the system goes down it could take several day for them to reboot the server and clear the cache. And for a department who are supposed to be providing 7 day coverage, it’s almost impossible for the management to get hold of them. I was even told that if it wasn’t working, I should email them... REALLY!!! So how does that one work then. No wonder they don’t get any complaints.   

Well, as you probably see by know we’ve become the unofficial dads to the beach dogs. Every evening we pack a bag with food, biscuits and water for them and we walk up to the beach. And every day as we get close to the Ocean World gate, we’re met by a very excitable little black bundle of happiness. This is Ninja’s welcome, bless her, she’s such a little sweetie and always so pleased to see us. She whimpers and tells us everything about her day she’s so funny and we can’t go on until we’ve made a fuss of her and given her a tummy tickle. Once she’s calmed down, we can carry on to the beach with Ninja trotting alongside.  

Some evenings we have Harvey too. I have to get the lead on him quick, I say lead, it’s an old bit of mooring line from the boat with about 40 ton breaking strain, so get off that if you can. If I miss the chance, he’s off to play HIS favourite game of “CHASE THE MOTOR BIKES”. It’s not the favourite game of the people on the motor bike though. Seeing a large black and white dog coming at you full tilt, barking is a bit too much for some and they try to kick out at him. This makes him worse, as he thinks they want to play some more. The best thing for them to do is STOP, he loses interest if they don’t want to join in with this game. The faster they drive off the more he loves it. His best to date is chasing one of the Navy lads on his 988 Ducati. Harvey doesn’t stand a chance, but it doesn’t stop him trying.  

So, one we’ve rounded him up we continue the short walk to the beach and no sooner do we set foot off the road than Blondie and Olivier come racing to meet us too. It’s chaos, but as soon as I can get the water and food bowls down it all claims down, while for a short time anyway.  

This lull is useful for checking them all for cuts and scrapes and in Blondie’s case try and get her eye drops in. She had a nasty infection and could hardly see but the drops have worked and it’s clearing up nicely. It better as it’s costing us a small fortune. Lol. But they’re worth it and it wouldn’t be right just to leave her to suffer now, would it? 

Once they’ve eaten everything in sight, it’s down the beach for fun and games. Blondie follows me and chews at the bottom of my shorts, and sometimes the back of my legs too. It’s little nips but it makes me jump every time. It’s only seconds before Harvey and Olivier are play fighting, rolling and jumping all over the place, Blondie then has to go and join in. She’s getting big now and can hold her own against both of them, even if she does get bowled over all the time, she won’t give up. Little Ninja is more timid, as Olivier is very heavy handed and poor Ninja gets a bit of a hammering. But don’t be fooled, as she’ll play in the sand, digging holes until Blondie is in range, then it’s full steam ahead and Blondie gets a broadside. The two of them will roll about and play together, chasing each other up and down the sand, bowling each other over and over until they are both plastered in sand, they love it. From time to time we’re joined by Madona and Vanilla, then it’s truly chaotic. 

They’ll all play until one of them spots the bird, OMG, now mayhem starts. With Harvey and Olivier leading the chase and Blondie close behind with Ninja going at warp 5 to keep up. The birds fly out over the water and as its fairly shallow for most of the part, Harvey and Olivier will run right into chest depth, no problem. Blondie joins in with a bit of a swim, but little Ninja only has 3 inch legs and ends up well out of her depth, swimming like a mad thing to try to keep up. Harvey will help her out a bit by giving her a little push back towards the beach. He keeps an eye on her as they are best friends. Even when Olivier has a go at Ninja, Harvey is right in there to get her off. Harvey loves his Ninja. Anyway, there are still more birds to chase and this time as the big dogs wade out the little one's clamber over the rocks which make up the outer wall of Ocean World Marine Park. They love it, as there’s the odd crab to be hunted down on the way. Blondie barks her little squeaky bark at the birds before trying to jump to the rocky out crops to get closer. You can probably see what’s coming. Ninja, not to be left out also takes a flying leap to the rocks but generally misses. Splosh! She disappears under the waves but comes up paddling franticly for the rocks and as soon as she’s up and out she’ll be back in again heading for the next one to keep up with the others. They’re never going to catch any of the birds, but it doesn’t stop them trying. Needless to say, by the time Ninja gets back to the beach she looks like a drowned rat. But she’s still up for chasing Blondie. If the birds don’t want to play, then it’s stick time. It’s a good job there are plenty of sticks on the beach as they never bring them back to me but take them in to the bushes and dump them there. Anyone would think they’re trying to tell me something? Well, after a couple of hours we leave them to settle down, yeah right. John and I go for a beer to Chris and Mady’s bar and we’re followed. Luckily, they don’t mind if Harvey and Ninja come in as they sleep under the bar stools and are not trouble at all, but if the other start coming in, I have to go across the road with my beer and sit on the wall so as they don’t become a pest. We always feel guilty with them coming in because their dog Zeus, has to be chained up at the back. He’s a Pitbull puppy but he’s huge and very friendly. When we leave, we always make sure that they leave with us, even if they don’t always want to. They’ll walk part way back with us and then they nip over the low wall and back down the beach. Ninja sometimes will come a bit further, but she knows she can’t come to the Terrace bar at the marina. The security guys know her and keep an eye out for her trying to nip down the ramp behind them. She’s managed it a couple of times, but the lads are good, and they shoo her away gently. It’s quiet funny watching a 6 foot plus guard chasing a 6 inch high puppy up the road. At least we know that they’re fed and watered for the night. They all have their little sleeping spots, although we have no idea where they are. The next day it’s all the same again. Well, it keeps us out of trouble and the bar for a bit anyway. 

 Well the first storms of the season have been building in the mid-Atlantic with Dorian being the first major one. She started off in the Atlantic a slowly moved towards the Leeward Islands as a tropical storm. She dumped a lot of rain in and around the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. It was forecast to hit the Dominican Republic at the east end of the island, but it turned north and tracked up the Mona Passage missing the DR before it turned west again and started to rapidly build in strength to a cat 5 hurricane and knocking the hell out of the Abacos Islands and Grand Bahama. They really didn’t need to be hit again. It’s bad enough that it went right over the islands, but it was a very slow-moving hurricane and it sat on them for 48 hours, destroying everything. I’m surprised that not more people were killed. The Abacos islands look like a nuclear bomb has been dropped with nothing standing at all. I can’t see them ever recovering from this. The people have very little and most won’t have any insurance. Let’s hope that they get the aid they need and quickly.  

 Well, after the lucky miss from hurricane Dorian, we’ve been keeping a close eye on the storms as they develop. The next one was Jerry. It looked a little threatening to start with but quickly started to turn north west, passing to the north of the BVI’s and Puerto Rico and tracking north to follow the tail of Dorian. But where there’s one there’s lots more behind. As I’m writing this, I’m watching the forecast as tropical storm Karen is dumping loads of rain on Puerto Rico. The next one is Lorenzo, but that's’ a long way out mid-Atlantic and is already tracking north so should be well and truly clear of us, let’s hope it stays there.  

As storm Karen passed Puerto Rico, a new storm “Lorenzo” was building up in the Atlantic. This one looks nasty, but it also looks as if it’ll stay out in the Atlantic and just track north. Sure enough, Lorenzo turned hard north and started to track up the centre of the Atlantic keeping well away from land as it built to a cat5 hurricane. I now see its new heading is going to take in directly to the UK, it has a long way to go and with luck it’ll down grade to a tropical storm at worst by the time it reaches UK shores. 

Well, a couple of weeks have passed since Lorenzo and although it did hit the UK it wasn’t as bad as people thought. Since then we’ve not had any new storms at all, but we have had a lot of very welcome rain, and I do mean a lot. The trouble here is that the clouds start to build up at about 14.00 each afternoon and you can watch, as they quickly turn into very big, dark, monsters. So, by 17.00 it starts. No gentle little showers first, no, straight into all holy hell, with thunder and lightning all around. This generally goes on for several hours with the light show illuminating the night sky in the most spectacular way. On the plus side, it does drop the temperature a bit for a while at least. 

 As I’ve mentioned before, we have a friend Mark, who lives in the states and comes down to his boat about once a month, so if anyone needs something bringing down, he’s always happy to help out. As well as bits and pieces for us, Chris and Mady and their family he also brings bits to help Christina at the Cassetta. Over the last couple of trips, he’s bought down LED lights, large red patio umbrellas and best of all, a deep fat fryer. Well the fryer’s a hit, and we had Christina making fish and chips, so she got the hang of how long things needed to cook for and how to make beer batter. What a mess she got into on the first try. She had batter everywhere. Everything she touched got battered. Also, all the fish got stuck in the basket as the batter clogged it up. It was the next day before someone looked at the instruction only to find out you don’t use the basket for anything with batter on it.  Still, since then John and I have been down several times, just for quality control purposes you understand, as well a few beers. Christina has now cracked it, and her fish and chips are beautiful. It’s amazing the food that Christina and her sister Leanora, can produce in such a small place. Our galley on the boat is bigger than the space they have to work in, but the food is spectacular, nothing too fancy, well maybe the lobster curry, but they really take pride in what they do. You may have to wait a bit if they’re busy, but you can always have another beer while you wait and chill out. Anyone who’s reading this and finds themselves in Puerto Plata, I strongly advise you to take a drive or a walk along the Malecon until you’re almost at the eastern end and visit Le Masson’s, just behind the Tropical Bar, opposite the roundabout. But don’t go on Tuesday’s, it’s the girl's day off.  

As I’ve mentioned before, when our friend Mark gets a chance to just on a flight and get down here from the states, he likes to make the most of the few days he has and as Le Masson’s is closed on Tuesdays, we take the opportunity for a day out. As a rule, Leanora doesn’t come along as she has her baby to look after but this time, she was able to get a sitter and so she came too.  

This time we headed off in the direction of Rio San Juan, it’s about a two and a half hour drive. Well, it is when Frank wants to keep stopping for beers. Franks our driver by the way. Anyway, we were heading for a little bay called Playa Caleton. It’s a beautiful little place and they have a couple of little beach restaurants. At one of Frank’s refreshment stops, the girl got a large bottle of raspberry vodka. They thought it was vodka and raspberry juice. So, after explaining it’s not, they settled on a bottle of cranberry juice. This was going to get messy. Mark had warned us that the sisters plus vodka equals uncontrollable giggling and singing. So, by the time we got to the beach the vodka had kicked in. Now I think I’ve mentioned before somewhere that Christina like to have her photo taken everywhere, she goes, and when I say photo, I really mean PHOTOS. So, imagine what it was like with the two of them. I got dragged up and down the beach as their official photographer for the day, and I ended up taking over 130 photos of the pair of them. Still there are worse jobs. Lol. Anyway, after I’d photographed just about every inch of the bay and the girls, that sounds so wrong, but you know what I mean, we all sat down for lunch. Fish and lobster with salad and fries, bloody lovely and of course washed down with just a few beers, although the girls were hammering the vodka. Once we were all full it was time to head off again, but to Rio San Juan for a quick look around and a couple more beers. By now the girls were so giggly they danced to every song. It was getting dark and it was going to take a couple of hours and a few beers stops to get back to Puerto Plata, so we headed back. Once back in town we made our usual last stop at Bohemios. This is a very nice bar run by friends of Christina, we always have a good time there. Well, then it happened, Mark nudged me and said we need to keep an eye on Christina as the vodka and assorted other cocktails had suddenly hit her hard. You all know the feeling, and don’t deny it. The moment the floor is going to rush up and hit you in the face. Well, it didn’t quiet come to that, so we got Frank, paid the bill and helped the girls into the car. Luck they live close. Once back to their place, it took both Mark and I to help Christina up the stairs to her flat. Legs gone, speech gone, brain gone, Leanora opened the door and we managed to get her to sit on the sofa. We said good night and left. Only to be followed out by Christina who moments before couldn’t stand. She’d got all soppy and although Leanora wasn’t much better she was able to get her big sister back inside and bolt the door. Well, as Frank drove us back to the marina Mark said, we should never give them vodka again. Yeah, right. 

I did message them the following morning just to make sure they were both alright, but I could tell just from the text messages that someone was nursing a fat head. Never again???? We’ve all been there, so more than most. 

A couple of days ago we noticed that little Ninja wasn’t her usual bouncy self and was just sitting right against my legs and hiding, then I notice two big bites in her poor little back legs. They were deep and more like a tear and were the width of a big dog's canine teeth. Now as we’ve been looking after the dogs for a while now, I’ve always got a little doggy first aid bag of bits in the food bag. So, I got the antibiotic cream out and gently rolled her on her back, she was so brave and let me put lots of the cream right into the wounds, it was then I saw she also had more punctures on the inside of her little leg, so more cream and a bit of gently massage to made sure nothing was broken. She was so good, no a whimper. Then Blondie came to see what was going on and tried licking all the cream off Ninja. Blondie will truly eat anything. So, after a second try Ninja was back up and about but she wasn’t walking right. We decide to hire the car for the following morning and take her to the vet. Little did we know what the morning was going to bring. 

The next morning, we got up early, well early for us and walked to the park with Ninja’s lead ready to collect her and get the car. But as we got to the main entrance of Ocean World Ninja was nowhere in sight. Very odd, well she may have gone to the beach to play with Blondie. So, we walked on but no sign of her anywhere. We found Blondie, or rather Blondie found us but no Ninja. We walked up and down the beach and park looking in all her normal hideouts, but she’d done her ninja vanishing trick. So, John stayed in the park looking and I walked all the way back to the marina to check under the boats in the yard and look in a few old disused buildings. Still nothing, so I made my way back checking under plants and bushes as I went. This isn’t like Ninja at all. Had something happened to her during the night? As I got back to the park, I saw John standing next to Harvey.  

As I got closer, I could see the blood. OMG. He was a mess, poor boy had blood from his ears and bites to his face and neck. Well, it was Harvey that was going to the vet now. John walked back to the boat to fetch Harvey’s lead as Ninjas little cute lead won’t fit around his neck. We have an old bit of mooring rope for Harvey, it’s 40 ton breaking strain and sometimes you need every bit of it, but not today. He just laid there looking very sorry for himself. He didn’t even want a drink of water. Now this has all come about as a result of one female dog, Olivia. She’s the only female not to have been spade. People have tried but she’s a nasty thing when she wants to be and I’m sure it was her who had a go at Ninja the day before. Anyway, she’s on heat and her and Harvey normally get on well and hang out together. As Harvey’s been sorted, he just try's his luck from time to time but that’s it. But as soon as she’s on heat, other dogs, male dogs, big nasty mean street wild dogs gather for the prize. Now Harvey, is a Gent, all he thinks he’s doing is protecting her honour, what little honour she has. But Harvey was someone's pet for years before being abandoned and he's not a fighting dog. Now don’t get me wrong here, you wouldn’t want to go a couple of rounds with him, but these other dogs are real fighters and they just want to kill anything or anyone in their way. To be honest, Olivia can probably do a better job as she’s a street fighting dog too. 

Well, with still no sign of Ninja, we got Harvey into the car. He’s very good as long as he can see where he’s going, he’s happy enough but he doesn’t like the bumps, so John sat in the back while I drove, and Harvey sat on the front seat with the AC blowing on him. It’s only a couple of miles into town so it doesn’t take long at all, but with all the searching for Ninja time had run away from us and we arrived to find the vet closed for lunch. We couldn’t sit in the car for 2 hours with Harvey so we came back to the park and found a quiet spot so he could rest, while we took turns to keep looking for Ninja. Those 2 hours passed quickly and still with no Ninja we set off again to the vet. When we arrived, there were two ladies waiting but once they saw poor Harvey, they let him go in first. He’s a very good boy and doesn’t mind the vet at all but this was not going to be easy for any of us. I lifted him onto the vet’s table, which is no mean feat as he’s a damn great lump. Once on the table we could see the damage to his ears and face. He’d been bitten on the side of his head and teeth had gone inside his ear and into the side of his neck. His other ear, the one that was ripped apart earlier in the year the last time Olivia was on heat, was also ripped again, but only a little and wouldn’t need stitching back this time. Well, the vet cleaned him up and I just held his head, he was very brave and stood still to let her get all the muck out. Once it was cleaned up, she put some drops onto his ear, and he wasn’t too keen on that, but the worst was yet to come. Now, in the heat here in the DR, infections are a problem and so are insects, so the vet has this antiseptic bug spray. Now picture this, I’m trying to hold Harvey’s head so that the vet can spray this stuff in his ears. Now, I’m not sure what is in this stuff but when she sprayed it so went on my arm. Crying out loud is stings and I didn’t have open wounds. Poor Harvey was not happy one bit at this and it took all my strength to stop him from going out through the roof. Hell, that had to hurt. Well, she managed to do the other ear too but by now Harvey has had enough and wanted to go home, well, back to the park, his home. With him now on the floor trying to hide behind me the vet was able to give him an antibiotic injection which he didn’t seem to mind as his poor ear were still hurting. Once that was over and we’d paid up and got some meds for him, including ear drops and the dreaded spray he was happy to get back in the car. Once back at the park we let him out but just kept him on the lead. Our friend Chris came out of his bar to see how Harvey was and he let us bring him in and sit him by a table in a quiet corner so he could sleep. Well, that had taken most of the day, so while I kept an ear on Harvey and had a couple of beers, John walked back to the boat for a shower and to get changed. I’ve just had my first swig and John’s back, with Ninja in his arms. She was sitting in the middle of the road by the entrance to Ocean World, and as soon as she saw him, she ran to meet him. But she was having trouble walking. Now the vet was open until 6 and we could have taken her in, but I had a good look at it, and it was healing nicely, so I put more antiseptic cream on the cuts and massaged her little leg, she would have let me do that all night. Anyway, after about 15 minutes she was up and about and walking better, she came to see Harvey and laid down under the table next to him. By this time John got back from his shower, both of the dogs were asleep. John had bought some food back and we still had Blondie to feed. It didn’t take long for Blondie to come up to the wall opposite Chris and Mady’s, so we could feed her. She’s getting brave but still isn’t happy crossing the road and she won’t come in, which is a good thing. She knew that something was wrong, they can sense it. That evening when we finally left to head back to the boat, Chris let them both sleep under the table. I don’t think it’s the first time they’ve done it and it won’t be the last. 

The following morning, we were going shopping, so we stopped to check Harvey, he looked so sad, he was clearly hurting but he’d moved down on the beach in the shade, and Blondie was keeping an eye out for him while he slept. Ninja had gone off to hide away again for the day. I think we may have to get trackers for them. Over the next few days Harvey’s ear started to heel up. He still didn’t like having the drops put into his ear, it must sting like hell, but he’s a brave boy and after a bit of a struggle he’d give in. Ninja’s leg was also heeling nicely, and she was starting to get back to being herself. We were sitting on the wall opposite Chris and Mady’s having fed the three of them and having a beer while the sun set when in a flash Ninja spotted a cat, without thinking she darted across the road after it closely followed by Blondie, the cat shot around the corner into the side of Chris and Mady’s with Ninja gaining, then from nowhere, Olivia shot across the road, right passed Blondie and grabbed Ninja by her bad back leg, throwing her into the air like a doll and going in for the kill as she came down. I run across and as Olivia saw me, she turned and fled. Poor Ninja was screaming, the noise was terrible, she was trying to pull herself into the bushes to hide, I managed to get hold of her and pick her up, but the poor little thing was so terrified that she wet herself all over me. Her heart was doing about 500 beats a minute, and she was clearly in pain. The wounds on her leg had been opened up again and it was now clear that it had been Olivia who had attacked her before. The bite was exactly the same. We don’t know why Olivia only goes for Ninja and why she wants to clearly kill her. This is not a game. I put lots of antiseptic into it and we planned to take her to the vet the following morning. Chris let her sleep under the table in the bar again that night with Harvey to keep an eye on her. Poor little Ninja, she only wants to be friends. 

The following morning we walked up to Chris and Mady’s but again no sign of Ninja or Harvey, we were worried that something may have happened during the night, but one of the lads from the beach told us he’d seen both of them earlier walking by the sea. Well we spent about an hour looking for them with no luck and headed back to the boat. Later in the afternoon when we went to feed them, Harvey and Ninja were both sitting in the old house by the Ocean World gate waiting for us. They were pleased to see us, and we got the usual welcome. We walked them up to the park and met Blondie hare arsing across the park towards us, full of it as always. Great long gangly legs and floppy ears, running around and jumping up to say hello. She’d clearly missed the other two all day. After they’d all had some food and a bit of play together, they all settled down. Ninja sits behind my legs against the wall, I think she feels safe there. The following morning, I bumped into the vet, as she comes to Ocean World twice a week to check on the Dolphins and Seals. I told her how Harvey was getting on and what had happened to Ninja. She was happy with what we were doing and told us if it got worse to take her in. As it is Ninja has healed well, although she does have a couple of scars to show for it all.