Could it really be true we had arrived to the other side of the Atlantic and were now enjoying being on anchor in Antigua? It seemed it had taken forever to get here, but here we now were and sat still, as much as is possible on anchor, in the huge bay at Falmouth! How nice and what a wonderful feeling knowing we had made it across without any major damage to either the boat or us. We had heard that one boat in the ARC rally, had encountered major steering problems half way across, which escalated into damage to the bow, and eventually they had to abandon their boat and scupper it. That meant they opened all the through-hulls and flooded the boat with water, so it would sink and not pose a problem to other seagoing vessels! Anyway, we were happy to be in the Caribbean and much closer to home!

Once we were secured on the anchor, it was time to abandon our UTC time and change our clocks to the local time, which was four hours after UTC. We only had one hour difference before we could change back to Eastern Standard Time again, but that would probably not occur until we reached Florida! After a good breakfast, Tom came by to pick us up in his dinghy, and so we made our way into the marina and located a dinghy-dock, where we tied up. We soon had gotten directions to the Customs, and that meant a short walk across a strip of land to English Harbor, where the Customs were located. The necessary papers were soon filled in and our passports stamped, before we were told to continue two doors farther down, to get the needed cruising permit for Antigua and Barbuda. We ended up paying $33 for two people and one week's stay! We didn't intend to stay that long, but you never know what can happen to delay you on the water! After we had checked in, we tasted some local beer, bought a few groceries and fresh produce. We were reminded that we no longer were in southern Europe with its abundance of fresh vegetables and fruits, besides the prices on everything in Antigua were quite high! No longer did we pay $1.00 for one hour of Internet usage; now they wanted about 10-12 dollars depending on which Internet Cafe' we chose! A phone call to Chris in RI cost $13.35 for 5 minutes using my credit card, as nothing else would work. I shudder to think what that first call ended up costing, but I guess it was worth every penny just to hear our son's voice again and let him know we had arrived to The Caribbean.

The marinas in Falmouth Bay obviously catered to the mega yachts, with their hired crews in their matching outfits, and it was several of these gorgeous power and sailboats tied up to the pontoons or anchored out. It wasn't a place that was exactly friendly to us ordinary folks with our meager boats and income, but for the duration we were there, it was nice to see quite a few smaller yachts leaving and arriving. In English Harbor anchorage, I believe most of the smaller boats had made their stay, long or short term, as that spot also was considered to be a "hurricane hole".

It was much more wind blowing in the Falmouth Bay area where we were then in English Harbor, and that was needed, as the sun could get unbearably hot during the day. I could stand the heat if I kept out of the sun and in the shade under our cockpit roof with the wind blowing through the opened windows. Once I couldn't stand the heat any longer, it was time to take a dip in the water behind the boat, which was not as hot as the air and consequently refreshing! Both Dan and Duke also came in several times to cool of, besides Dan had to scrape some snail-like creatures off the bottom of our boat. They had attached themselves with the "foot", so the shell stuck straight out from the sides of the boat, and it looked quite funny. Of course the snails slowed the boat down and that was a no-no, so they had to go. Tom had the same job to do on his boat, and we don't know if these snails attached themselves to the bottom of our boats once we arrived to Antigua, or if we had brought them across the Atlantic?

The major job that Dan did while in Antigua, was to repair the grounding wire and antenna tuner wire for the SSB. Once that was done, Dan tried to connect with Southbound II one night, and finally Herb said we boomed right in louder than most other boats. We were happy to hear that, and I think Herb also was happy to hear we had arrived and had fixed our problem. Dan also re-tightened all the stays for the mast, plus minor smaller jobs got completed, and once again we were ready to continue our journey.

Sunday morning, January 12, 2003, Dan and Tom went ashore to check us out of Antigua. We had been there six days, and we were now ready to get through an over-night sail to Saint Barthelemy, which was approximately 80 miles northwest from Antigua! Since that island had once belonged to Sweden, I thought it would be fun to stop there and see if anything was left from that period?

By the time we left Antigua, it was around noon, so we figured we wouldn't arrive to St. Bart until after daybreak. Of course it didn't work out that way! Since we had stronger than expected southeasterly winds the entire afternoon, evening and into the night, we started closing in on St. Bart before it got light. Reducing sail helped slow us down, and as daybreak arrived to St. Bart, so did we! A cruise into the harbor at Gustavia, the main city and port on the island, to check out the mega yachts tied up there, before we went outside the port and anchored among many other moored and anchored boats. Even though this island once had belonged to Sweden, it now was a French island, and so we had to check in all over again. Since we only had planned on staying a couple of nights, we paid 8 euros for anchoring in the designated anchoring spots; guess we brought garbage ashore, which cost to haul away and we had to contribute our share!

According to the history of St. Barthelemy, it ended up becoming a Swedish possession by mistake. The head of a Spanish squadron, that had confiscated some Swedish boats, landed on St. Bart in 1633 by mistake, thinking it was Saint Martin. Negotiations between the Spanish and Swedish kings finally ended up with St. Bart belonging to Sweden for 92 years, before it was returned once more, by popular vote, to France. In our exploration of Gustavia, I noticed several streets that bore Swedish names. Also Fort Karl had been located on top of a hill south of the town, but there was hardly any evidence left of it, only a few foundation stones here and there. Fort Oscar, at the entrance to the harbor, surely looked new, or maybe newly renovated, and it was still in use. Numerous antennas and huge satellite dishes were attached to the buildings! We also made it up to a "bell tower of a Swedish belfry", but it was hardly anything to look at. A more interesting sight was the huge banana flower, which grew on a banana tree in the vicinity! High up behind the town, we had a beautiful view over Gustavia and the harbor, but more of the island we didn't see or plan to visit, as we wanted to continue over to Saint Martin next!

We could see Saint Martin/Sint Maarten from Saint Barthelemy and it was only about 13 miles from the anchorage on St. Bart to Great Bay on the Dutch side on Sint Maarten! The island is divided between French and Dutch; the north side is French and the southern side, where we choose to visit, is Dutch. Even so most people speak English and US dollars are widely used and accepted. That is because of the huge amounts of American tourist that arrive to the island daily on cruise ships, otherwise they have their own Netherlands Antilles guilders. The Great Bay is quite shallow, so the cruise ships could not make it all the way up close to shore. Instead, they tied up by the quay made for that purpose or anchored out. Consequently, numerous smaller ferries shuttled the tourists back and forth between the ships and a landing dock in the town of Philipsburg. The ones that wanted to could walk into town, as it was not that far. Since our boat, XTC and a few other boats were anchored out, it got a bit lumpy during the day when the ferries went by, but it was not that bad.

The street in Philipsburg that was closest to the shore was for the tourists! All the items for sale in the stores beckoned to the tourists to come in and see and buy. One street farther over was for the local people and there we found a huge grocery store, where we bought some needed items. By then our fresh water maker had started acting up. While under way from St. Bart we had run the water maker, but it didn't seem to make much water. When Dan checked it, he noticed that only dribbles went into the tank. Once he tested the water quality, he found out it was too salty to drink. Since it had been dumping the little water it was making into the tank, it had already contaminated the water that was in it. We had to buy fresh water bottles from the store, and that was a first since we left RI in June of 2000. Since then we had made our own water and had not needed to take on local water from anywhere! Dan called the Spectra factory in California, where our water maker is made, to ask the technician for advise of what could be wrong? The first time Dan spoke to Glen, the tech, Dan was asked numerous questions he didn't have answers to. When we returned to the boat, Dan ran the water maker again and now he got answers. The next day Dan called Spectra again with the new information. The tech said it was the pump; they would ship us a new pump as soon as we gave them an address where to mail it, and once we received the new pump, we would ship our old one back. The pump was still under warranty, so the only thing we had to pay for was the shipping. It sounded great to us, but we could not give him an address right away; we wanted to wait until we reached St. Thomas, as we would be there much longer than in Sint Maarten!

Since we now were in kind of a hurry to reach St. Thomas and get a mailing address, on Friday, January 17 we went ashore in Philipsburg for the last time to check out and to get some more groceries. It didn't cost anything to check into Sint Maarten, but to check out it cost 13 euros. As soon as we had sent some emails and bought groceries, we returned to our boats, prepared them for going to sea again, and by 1400 we had pulled our anchor and were on the way! Once we had reached open water the wind blew a comfortable 12-18 knots from the southeast with following sea, but increased some towards evening. A full moon lit our way across the 98 miles that separated Sint Maarten and St. Thomas, even though at times it was hidden by dark clouds. On three different occasions during the night, very dark clouds scurried by and some dumped rain on us. As it started getting lighter towards morning, we could see the islands to the east of St. Thomas, and not until almost 11 o'clock local time, did we arrive to Charlotte Amalie in a downpour and strong gusts of wind. Once again we soon sat secured on our anchor in Long Bay, close to where the cruise ships come in to tie up to the quay! We did not use the marina for more than tying up our dinghies, but for that it was a charge. By paying for the dinghy dock, we also got to use the marina's address, and that was most important to us at the moment.

One of the first things we did was to call Spectra with our address, and so we waited and waited for the water maker pump to arrive. After two weeks had gone by and we still hadn't seen it, Dan called Spectra again and talked to a secretary, as the tech, Glen was in a meeting and could not come to the phone. We then found out that the pump hadn't been shipped, as Glen claimed he knew nothing about it! The tempers flared at our end, but what good did that do. The secretary promised that a pump would go out that same day, and her word was good, as the next day the pump arrived; thank goodness for secretaries! We had really gotten spoiled with our water maker working all the time, so we didn't have to be concerned over water, like most other boats. Now, when it didn't work, it was a royal pain in you know what! We had to buy drinking water in the store, Tom was kind enough to help us out also, and we even went to the fuel dock and filled our water tank once, before our water maker was up and running again.

Since our outboard motor and tank had been stolen in La Linea, Spain in June 2002, Dan had only used our dinghy when he absolutely had to. Since he wasn't fond of rowing, especially against the wind, we got a ride with Tom in his rubber dinghy as often as possible. Once we had been in St. Thomas for awhile, Dan found out he could buy another Tohatsu outboard, 18 horsepower this time, for much less money than home in the states. Soon the outboard was ordered, and while we were waiting for it to arrive from Sint Maarten, the dinghy had to be repaired. It had taken a beating during the last two years and was leaking from several places. Dan and Tom dragged the dinghy up on the bow of Stress Relief, and there Dan repaired the dinghy with more fiberglass. Once that was done, Dan painted more paint on the bottom and the dinghy was re-launched just in time to receive the new motor. The motor looked so big against our little dinghy, and I thought it might flip the dinghy over, but of course it didn't. Again we had our own transportation and didn't have to bother Tom; now he could ride with us instead! Dan had gotten a new "toy" and wanted to try it out, so several times he and Duke went for a ride, which made Duke ecstatic; he really enjoys going for a ride in the dinghy, so he can bite the waves!

While Dan was hard at work on his projects, I spent most of my time in front of my computer trying to catch up on my stories about our adventures. Slowly I caught up and could up-load the stories and new pictures to our web-page. The boat also had to be cleaned up and prepared for our guests, who would be arriving on February 13 to spend some time with us on our boat. That meant that my room had to be emptied, which was easier said than done. Along one side of my bed, I had piles and stacks of my treasures; enough room was left for me to sleep on! These treasures had to be moved, and once I found a big cardboard box, I could fit most in it. Some stuff went under my bed in the lockers and some un-read books I stacked in a compartment at the very back; my cabin was now ready to receive our guests!

On Thursday, February 13, we rode in a dollar-taxi out to the beginning of the airport runway and walked into the buildings from there, to be on hand when our very dear friends, Tom and Maria arrived from home. How good it was to see them again and how nice it would be to have them with us for one week! Since they came from snow and cold weather, they were bundled up in heavy clothes, but as soon as we reached our boat, the heavy clothes came off and bathing suits and shorts came on! In no time Maria had gotten a dark suntan, and she looked like she had been here forever. Tom was not as lucky, as he got burned and peeled quite a bit. Of course we had lots of things to catch up on, and I was eager to hear about everything from home. Maria had brought some pictures from their daughter's wedding last fall, which we enjoyed looking at, but of course the ones of our grandson Tyler became my favorites. Seems Tyler likes to go over to their house, and he knows where the toy box is and heads straight for it. I must admit I felt a bit jealous, as Tom and Maria get to see and baby-sit our grandson more than I. I have lots of things to catch up on once I am home, and to get to know our grandson is high on the priority!

Besides all the catching up we had to do, we also managed to take a "fast" ferry over to Saint Croix one day. Dan decided that he didn't want to go, so it was only Tom, Maria and I that went. We had a fast, but very bumpy and wet ride over, as we stayed outdoors in the back. The ferry crossed the 55-60 miles in one hour and fifteen minutes, before it zig-sagged through the reef outside Christiansted on the north coast of the island. Immediately we could see that this island was not as tourist oriented as St. Thomas, as there were more local people then tourists. We walked into town and looked around some, before we sat down at a bar along the boardwalk. There we enjoyed a Cruzan coconut rum and coke drink, which went down too smooth! We also found out that an agricultural fair was in full swing on the island, but to reach it, we would have to take a dollar-taxi. From directions by the bartender, we made our way up to one street, where we caught a taxi and soon were on our way. The Fair was out on the western side of the island, so between the ride out and the ride back, we got to see quite a bit of the island. The island didn't seem to be very high, more rolling hills than mountains. It was very green, with blooming flowers along the road, sheep grazing in the fields, small houses nestled in the bushes, and an absence of huge hotels were evident! Most of the island people, and people from St. Thomas, were at the fair, and after we had paid the entrance fee, we walked around and looked at everything. Tom and Maria tried some local food, we listened to bands playing Caribbean music, and watched young children do some local line dances. The young girls wore colorful skirts and white tops, while the young boys wore dark slacks with white shirts. They were very good and most had a natural rhythm. One young boy did seem to be just shuffling along! After we had looked at the wares selling at the individual stands, we walked through a big building where vegetables were sold, and there I bought some "star fruit". We had never tasted star fruit before, and later on, when we had returned to our boat we did. When you sliced the fruit it looked like a star, hence the name. The meat of the fruit tasted sort of like a kiwi fruit, and it was quite good!

Well, towards afternoon we had to start thinking about our return to St. Thomas, and caught a dollar-taxi back to Christiansted. From there we walked out to the ferry and got on. It was much more people returning to St. Thomas then had arrived in the morning. Some people had probably gone over on Saturday to make it to the Fair for two days, and we saw quite a few people carrying small palm trees or other vegetation back with them. On the return trip, the ferry didn't go fast; they had engine trouble! It took two and a half hours before we finally arrived to St. Thomas, and by then lots of people had drank too much beer or booze and were staggering about being obnoxious. Even though it was quite calm on the water, some people were getting sick, and I sure sympathized with the crew, who had to clean up the mess! Dan and Duke came in our dinghy to pick us up, and it felt good to be back onboard our big boat again.

Since St. Thomas is known for its jewelry stores, Maria and I wondered through them one day and had a look. Beautiful things of every imaginable metal and stones were for sale, and Maria found a beautiful silver bracelet she bought. We also walked up to Paradise Point, which is a look-out with restaurants and stores high above the cruise ships, and from there we had a marvelous view over the southern side of St. Thomas and the outlying islands. Another walk brought us along the shore eastward, and that's when we came upon a big iguana. The animal lay absolutely still on top of a cement-block wall, and I almost thought it was dead. I took a picture anyway! Maria clapped her hands and yelled, and the iguana moved its head ever so slightly; I guess it was used to people and didn't want to bother running away, but instead continued its rest in the sun on top of the warm stones!

The day we decided to take a slow ferry over to St. John, Dan also came along. He had wanted to take our boat over to that island, but before our friends arrived and while they were with us, it had been blowing, and was still blowing quite strong from east - not a good direction for us to beat into! It was easier to take the ferry and soon we had arrived to St. John. Like St. Croix this island also didn't seem to be geared too much for the tourist. The people on the island made their homes here, and it was day-trippers like us, who came over to have a look, besides people on the sailboats. We eventually rode a bus out to the eastern side of St. John and stopped at the "Skinny Legs" restaurant in Coral Bay, and met up with our friend Tom there. He had taken his boat over to Coral Bay before our company arrived. Good to see him again, and we all sat around talking and eating at Skinny Legs. Soon it was time for us to say good-bye to Tom and head back to the ferry. Before we got on and headed back to St. Thomas, Tom and Maria wanted to visit with a friend from back home, we had just happened to meet while we waited for the local bus! Small world! Another great day in paradise, as Dan like to say, and after a quick dollar-taxi ride back to Yacht Haven and our boat, Dan and Tom went to get pizza for supper at the Pizza Hut - yummy!

The last full day our friends had with us in St. Thomas, we decided that it was time to go swimming and snorkeling. Dan and Tom had done that before, while Maria and I had taken our discovery walks, but now even we wanted to enjoy the cool waters! Dan had found a small and protected bay on a small island outside St. Thomas, and that's where we headed for on Wednesday. After maneuvering through some reefs, we threw anchor inside where it was calm. Soon we were shuttled to the shore, where we enjoyed swimming, snorkeling and looking for shells. The water hid beautiful and very colorful fishes of every imaginable size, plus small and huge urchins, with their menacing looking spikes. I wouldn't want to end up touching one of those spikes! The sun was very hot when it peeked through the clouds, and after we had been swimming for awhile and started shivering, it felt good to be baked. Duke thoroughly enjoyed himself both swimming and exploring; it was one of the rare days he got off the boat! Towards afternoon we all started feeling crisply baked in the sun and it was time to return to our big boat, pull up anchor and head back to our anchoring spot in Long Bay. Another boat had arrived while we were away and anchored close to where we had been, but even so we squeezed in and soon sat still again. Time to wash up and get ready to head for Charlotte Amalie for our farewell dinner. We chose an Italian restaurant for that, Fagioli, where the food was excellent and the portions huge.

On Thursday, February 20 it was time for Tom and Maria to return north to the cold and snow. We saw them off at the airport, and it was sad to say good-bye. Dan and I soon returned to our boat and Duke, and so the process of getting the boat sea-going again started. The moped was laid down and covered. It had been standing up since we arrived, so it could be rinsed with lots of fresh water when it rained. The lines to the genoa Dan threaded back; he had wound them around the sail earlier, as to make it easier for Duke to run along the sides. All the stays had to be tied up so they wouldn't loosen, and so the boat was ready. Tom returned from St. John on Friday, but since he was still waiting for mail from home, we couldn't continue towards Florida until it had arrived.

As soon as Tom's mail arrived, we hurried to get the last provisions onboard. The new outboard was brought up onto the handrail in the stern, the dinghy hoisted up on the davits, and on Friday, March 7, 2003, we were ready to leave our secure anchorage in Long Bay on Saint Thomas! The last minor detail that needed attention, was our fuel-tanks, and since it seemed there was a rush on the fuel dock that morning, we had to wait about 45 minutes, before Stress Relief and XTC could make their way up to the dock. As soon as our tanks were filled, we headed west and out through the shallow opening between mainland St. Thomas and the smaller Hassle Island. As soon as we had passed the last rocky and sinister looking islands west of St. Thomas, we could set a course almost straight for Luperon. We had heard that Luperon, on the northern most tip of the Dominican Republic had a very safe harbor and that the people were very friendly, and since we wanted to put some miles under the keel, we figured that would be a good spot to aim for.

Four days, three nights and 355 nautical miles later we arrived to Luperon, after a very comfortable sail with the prevailing easterly to southeasterly winds and following sea. We had encountered some rain squalls underway, but all in all it had been a pretty easy crossing. Since we didn't have very good charts of the entrance to Luperon, we were happy to see another big catamaran proceed us into the anchorage. From our position farther out to sea, it didn't look like there was any opening between the reefs, since the waves rolled up and broke constantly on top of them. After watching the big catamaran make its way between the breaking waves, we followed in his path and arrived safely inside to one of the big open bays in Luperon. All along the shore the mangrove trees stretched its branches far out and into the water, and closer to the town quay, we could see that the local people had cut away lots of those trees to open the area. The harbor was loaded with sailboats from lots of different countries, but the United States flag was most visible. We found a spot in the middle of the bay, very close to a sandbar which was hidden, and which numerous boats got stuck on, and there we cast over our anchor. XTC found anchorage closer to the town quay!

A short while after we sat on anchor, we were visited by the commandant, the drug agent and two other men, who just tagged along! So the paperwork and the inspection of our boat began! The drug agent and the commandant looked in every cabin, but didn't do a thorough search. Neither of those men, or the other two, spoke any English, and since our Spanish is nonexistent, we couldn't communicate very much, and consequently I thought the men looked kind of stern and unfriendly. The next boatload of officials brought the Health and Agriculture men, and since both those men could speak some English, immediately laughing and joking was going on. The first time we didn't have to pay, but we had to contribute ten dollars to each department the second time. The following morning the Immigration men arrived, five of them, and now it cost! Forty-three dollars for the boat and ten dollars for each passport! We couldn't help but wondering into whose pocket the money would find its way? That was not the end of paperwork or paying, as we still needed to get the required paperwork and pay for anchoring in the Bay; that was another eleven dollars. It seems the poorer the country the more they charge for visiting, so maybe they think sailors are wealthy and can pay! A Dominican courtesy flag was also bought for ten dollars, and so we were free to stay!

When we went ashore to explore the town and meet its people, we met nothing but smiling faces and a friendly "Hola". What a stark contrast to Saint Thomas, where most of the female natives looked at us as a big nuisance and definitely didn't show any friendliness! Of course this was a much poorer country, which was evident as soon as we walked along the main street, which went inland from the quay. The houses on either side were nothing but shacks, held together with wooden boards and had corrugated roofs. Some of the houses were painted in bright pastel colors, and that helped to cheer up the town. Not all houses were shacks of course; others were made of cement-blocks, some painted, others had just a coating of cement on the outside. Small shops hid inside some of the shacks along the main street, which we couldn't see until we stared straight into them, as most didn't have signs advertising their specialty. We found the necessities in Luperon, as there were telephone and Internet stores, so we could call home and send emails to family and friends. A marine store, where Dan was able to sell two sets of our wind-generator blades, and where we could exchange books, several small grocery stores, fruit-stands, and restaurants of every size; some nothing more than a few tables and chairs set up on the sidewalk! Since we came from Saint Thomas, where prices for everything were quite high, it was a nice surprise to find everything very cheap here. When we arrived, the exchange rate between pesos and the dollar was 22 pesos to one dollar, and for a little over one dollar we could spend one hour on the Internet. A Presidente Grande (huge beer) was 35 pesos. We spent about 12 dollars for a sit-down meal in a nice restaurant, where the food was plentiful and delicious. 250 pesos per day for renting a motorcycle, so we decided to rent one and go exploring inland before we would continue!

Our motorcycle tour went out to Isabela Park, which is a national park along the shore farther west towards Haiti. That's where one of Columbus ships went ashore on a reef, and consequently the people onboard made it to shore and started a colony. It wasn't much to see from that time, a few ruins after some buildings and supposedly Columbus's house, crosses showing graves for the Spaniards and the local Indians, and an open grave with a skeleton of a Spaniard who, according to our guide, had died of malaria. The small museum had some artifacts from that era and it was interesting to have a look. We returned to Luperon the way we had arrived, on the asphalt road that twisted and turned along the shape of the countryside. Very simple shacks, where people lived, sat along the road, cattle grazed in some fields, while others were filled by sugar cane. Skinny and ragged looking donkeys grazed along the edge of the road, and over everything the tall, majestic looking Royal Palm swayed its big, beautiful branches. The Royal Palm is the national tree for Dominican Republic! Sugar cane is the biggest export product, and to harvest the canes, Haitian people are brought in to do the dirty and heavy work. They harvest the sugar cane twice a year, and maybe the harvest will begin soon, as we have seen fields after fields with tall sugar cane, some leaves beginning to wilt at the lowest branches.

Our motorcycle tour brought us back through Luperon and out on the other side, where we eventually arrived to a busy and dangerous intersection in the town of Imbert. To the right, the road continued towards Santiago and to the left to Puerto Plata, and through this intersection huge, loaded down trucks blasted their horns and zoomed through. Busses, vans, smaller trucks, cars and mopeds also criss-crossed this intersection, and why no one got hurt I don't know. It was a harrowing experience to sit on the bike and cross this dangerous spot, and I was glad when we were back on the road towards Luperon again.

And so our trouble with Duke started! When we had gone on our bike-tour and returned to the boat, we noticed that Duke had been naughty and left a puddle on the kitchen floor. That was not like Duke, but we figured he got mad at us for leaving him alone and showed us! On Thursday we noticed Duke out front trying to pee; he squatted and lifted his leg several times, but nothing happened! We also noticed that his belly started getting harder and harder, and we thought he was getting constipated! When Friday morning arrived and Duke was worse, with his head hanging pretty limp, Dan got on the VHF and inquired about a veterinarian ? The Agricultural man, Carlos, was a vet we found out, so Dan hurried ashore to locate him and enlist his services for Duke. Carlos gave Duke a shot of anti-inflammatory and a shot of antibiotics in his hind end, because Carlos thought Duke might have a bladder infection. We were also supposed to give Duke some laxative, just in case! We kept up his care all day Friday, but Saturday arrived and Duke wasn't any better. In fact we now noticed a few drops of blood escaping from his penis, and his belly was rock hard! Not a good sign! Carlos arrived later that morning and tried to put a catheter into Dukes urethra, but was unsuccessful. He then stabbed a needle straight through Dukes belly and into his bladder and withdrew it full of blood. That's when Carlos knew he couldn't do anything more, so Dan and Duke hurried to Puerto Plata in a taxi. The veterinarian in Puerto Plata felt he couldn't help either, so on to an animal hospital in Santiago they went, where Dan was forced to leave Duke and return back to Luperon. At the animal hospital Duke's blood was taken, and it was determined that his kidneys had shut down, and his bladder was on the verge of exploding. An emergency operation was performed, and a drain was inserted straight through Duke's belly and into his bladder. After all the blood drained away from his bladder, the kidneys started working normally again, thank goodness! By that time Duke was weak and had an infection in his system, so by Wednesday the vet wanted us to return to Santiago and make some decisions about Duke's care. They had us believing that Duke was critical and might need to be brought to the United States, where there would be newer and better equipment to take care of Duke! When we went to Santiago on Wednesday, I had my backpack packed, just in case, but I am thankful that didn't need to happen. Instead, after a report from an English speaking cardiologist, whose sister worked at the animal hospital, it was agreed all around that Duke would be better off staying where he was and be given antibiotics to clear up his infection. Once that was done, they needed to operate again and remove one big kidney stone that was blocking his urethra and smaller ones inside his bladder! This they had seen on X-rays taken of Dukes belly! We returned to Luperon to wait for good news about Duke, and on Friday we found out Duke had been operated on and was recuperating. The drain through his belly into the bladder had been removed also, as well as all the kidney stones, but now Duke had a catheter inserted through his urethra. The catheter with the drainage bag had to stay in place for at least 15 days, but the following Wednesday we could pick him up and bring him back to the boat, where we could care for him. I think we all were happy to get Duke back to the boat, where we fed him his daily dosage of medicine, made sure he drank plenty of water, which we squirted into his mouth with a syringe, and fed him new dog food low in phosphate! According to the vet, the kidney stones might have formed because of Duke not getting enough water! When we are sailing and underway, it is true that Duke doesn't drink or eat very much, and since we have been under way almost constantly the last year, maybe that is true!

The day before we were supposed to return to the veterinarian in Santiago with Duke, we had trouble with Duke's catheter. It wouldn't drain any more, even after numerous tries to unplug it! When Duke started whining and his bladder was getting full and hard, Dan deflated the end of Duke's catheter and soon the catheter almost fell out by itself. Duke was now free from his confinement and could run out front to do his business when the urge arose! We were somewhat concerned about the catheter falling out, and wondered if everything was healed up good in his urethra? When it looked like Duke had no problem urinating, we felt better! The next day, Thursday April 3, we returned to Santiago and the vet, and then we were reassured everything was just fine with Duke. The vet removed the stitches from Duke's cuts, at which time Duke cried like a baby. Once the stitches were removed, he was himself again and didn't mind at all, when he got a quick grooming to even out his hair. At the time of Duke's operations, his long hair had been cut pretty short from his chest back, and now the rest was cut to match. Duke looked almost like a new dog! We also got confirmation that Duke was well enough to travel, so as soon as the weather now permitted, we could continue our journey towards Florida!

The Saturday, when Duke ended up in the animal hospital, we had reserved seats in a van to go on a sightseeing tour to a waterfall and a botanical garden! Since we couldn't leave Duke alone, Dan decided to stay behind, as he said he wasn't that interested in the sightseeing tour to begin with. Four other people were supposed to go also, but since they had water problems on their boat, it finally ended up being just Tom and I, along with the driver and the guide, Jose'. Jose' spoke very good English, and since he was an official tour guide, his knowledge about his country was very good, and he could answer most of our questions. That's when we found out that after the tourism, the sugar cane is the biggest industry on the island. They also grow most of their own food and vegetables, plus tobacco, which is exported to Cuba and made into Cuban cigars. Here in the Dominican Republic we saw houses made out of wood, which had been a rare sight since we left United States. The wood comes from the Royal Palm and is cut into boards. I must say that most of the buildings definitely were made of cement-blocks with a skim-coat of cement, some painted others not! The major roads we traveled on were made with asphalt, but minor roads out in the country was just gravel paths. They reminded me of the roads back home in Sweden when I was growing up, and on which I had learnt how to drive!

The waterfall we were driving to, tumbled down the side of the mountains south of the town of Imbert. Just before we left the main highway, we stopped to pick up another young man, who was going to help us at the waterfall! That sounded kind of strange, and I definitely wondered what we were getting into? I thought we were just going to have a look and maybe swim in one of the pools! A bumpy road full of potholes wound its way along the edge of a sugarcane field, before we eventually arrived to a big parking lot area by the river. There local people had already set up their stands, where one man was grilling meat, and which he hung up on a wire stretched between some trees. This man also fried plantains, a big banana, which is part of the Dominican peoples' staple food. Our waterfall guide and helper bought himself some breakfast, which consisted of the fried meat and some fried plantains. He offered some to Tom and me, but we politely declined! This young man was walking with us from the parking lot and up to the beginning of the waterfalls. It was about a 20-25 minute walk along a well-worn path, across the river several times, where the water level was low, up and down slippery banks, and finally we arrived to our destination. A small shack was set up there with lockers, but no keys. We had been reassured by Jose' at the parking lot, that our bags would be safe up at this shack, but not our money; the money we had left in the van! The driver was staying with the van at all times, so our wallets would be safe there. Since only one other man was at the shack, we could change into our bathing suits behind the counter, and our bags we left on a thick log by the pool's edge. Before we jumped into the pool, Jose' had also come up, and he told us that the young man would now take us up seven different levels of the falls. The entire waterfall consisted of 28 levels in all, but by the time we reached the seventh level, I was more than ready to turn back.

The water in all the pools was very deep, and not once did I hit bottom, even though I plunged in pretty deep. I asked Jose', and our other guide, if they knew how deep the pools were, but they did not know! We were told to keep our sandals and shoes on, and so we jumped in and swam across the first pool of cool, fresh water! With the help of our guide, we made it up the first level to a homemade ladder, that brought us up yet another higher level to a flat area. After walking across this area, it was time to plunge in again and swim through a narrow gorge, where the cliff walls rose vertical on either side. At the other edge of this gorge our guide was waiting for us. How would we get by the next shoot with water gushing against us continuously and the edge farther out than we were? Showing us where to grab with our right hand, and where to put our right foot, the guide would then do the rest! Boy, that young man must be very strong, as he literally pulled me up and over the edge, and Tom helping from below! Not all the levels was that hard, but hard enough, so by the time we reached the level where a thick log stuck out from the shoot, I knew I was not going any further. I was so happy when our guide said we had reached the seventh level and would start our sliding and swimming descent! After we were shown by our guide how to lean forward with our arms crossed in front, I sat down and did as I was told. The first shoot was not very high, but even so it was a surprise to slide down and hit the water below. Water splashed up into my nose, which was not so pleasant, but I soon managed to clear out the water and swam to the next level down. It was enough water in the river to slide down with, and it was both scary and exhilarating. As the shoots were getting longer and consequently higher, and one even had a bend in it, I sank deeper and deeper down into the pool below, my nose full of water and the bathing suit askew. By the time we returned to the last shoot, I was shaking from excitement and freight, I think, and I wasn't at all sure if I dared slide down this high shoot, where the pool below wasn't even visible from above! Our young guide went first to show me it was not dangerous to do this. I was hemming and hawing to begin with, but finally my courage got a boost, from where I don't know, I sat down, leaned forward, crossed my arms in front and took off. Sliding on water in the shoot, whoosh, then nothing but sailing through the air with arms and legs flailing, a huge splash and bubbles rising up as I was going down! That was enough excitement for me for one day and many more to come! To get down to the beginning pool, we could either jump from the cliff or walk down; Tom jumped and I walked down to a small shoot at the end. There I slid down, but not so comfortably, as it wasn't enough water in the shoot to prevent my bottom from scarping on the rock wall! By the time I had swam across the big pool and emerged on land again, I was really shaking on the inside. I couldn't believe I had been brave enough to have climbed up and come down all those levels of the fall, but at the same time it had been fun and an experience I will remember for a long time.

By the time we returned to our bags at the shack, more people had arrived, so it was not possible to change into my clothes. That I did down at the van later on! On our walk back down to the parking lot and the van, we met loads of new people who were going up to have a try at what we had done. We were very happy we had been the only ones at the falls earlier, otherwise it would have been a long wait at every level it seemed. All the excitement had made us hungry, so when a local man came by our van selling coconut and peanut brittle, both Tom and I bought a chunk of each. Boy was it sweet and delicious and hit the spot beautifully!

The Botanical Garden was next on our agenda, and to reach it, we had to return into Imbert and out in another direction. We soon arrived to the garden, left our van by the road and walked through the gates and up a manicured walk. There were people grooming bushes and working in the garden, and Jose' seemed to know them all. Some areas of the garden were growing wild, and there it looked like a rain forest. We saw the Royal palm again, mahogany and teak trees, a local pine tree, which grow on the island, huge bamboo trees with wines hanging down towards the forest floor, and I almost expected Tarzan to come swinging through! We saw pineapple plants growing wild, coffee and cacao bushes, ginger bushes with delicate flowers in bloom, which looked like dainty orchids and smelled like ginger, and so much more that I can't remember what!

The last stop on our guided tour was at a restaurant in Imbert, where we were treated to lunch. Dishes of pork, chicken and meat were put on the table, along with a mix of white rice and black beans, plain white rice with black beans on the side, a fresh salad with vinegar and oil, spaghetti and sauce, and fried plantains! I almost said fried plantains for desert, but they don't taste like desert at all! The bananas are quite tasteless, I think, and frying them in deep fat doesn't improve the taste! With our stomachs full, and still feeling cooled off from the fresh water, we returned to Luperon and found out that Dan and Duke had hurried to the animal hospital in Santiago! I felt quite bad I had been out enjoying myself, while Duke had gotten worse and Dan had to cope alone with him, but thank God at least one of us was with Duke!

Finally we thought we were ready to continue our journey towards the US mainland, but then the weather didn't cooperate. Bad weather was forecast for quite a few days ahead, and in hindsight that was good, as it kept us on anchor in Luperon. About one week after Duke had gotten the green light to go sailing, we noticed that he started having problems urinating again. After yet another visit to the veterinarian in Santiago and more X-rays, we found out Duke had another large stone in his bladder, and he would need another operation! That didn't sound good to us, so after much deliberation we decided that now it definitely was time for Duke and I to fly to Florida, so Duke could go through the next operation there. We bought the smallest dog-carrier Duke could fit into, hoping it would fit under the seat in the airplane, and so we hurried to Puerto Plata International Airport to see if we could get a ticket for that day. My backpack was packed and we were ready to go! Unfortunately we arrived just as the American Airline flight to Miami was taking off, so all we could do was to buy my ticket for the next day. Since everything in economy class was booked up, we had to buy a first class ticket, which was not cheap for only one way! While we still were at the airport, we also got the required papers from the officials, so Duke could leave the country and get into the US without any problems. Finally we returned to the boat for one more night, a few more belongings and Dukes food got packed, and early on the morning of Thursday, April 10, 2003 we headed back to the airport. On the way there we tried to obtain a "soft" dog carrier, but none was available. We did get some tranquilizer for Duke, which Dan injected him with in the hope of Duke being calm on the plane! It was soon time to hug Dan and Tom good-bye, as they of course were staying behind to sail their boats back to the US, and Duke and I boarded the plane. Duke's dog carrier did not fit under the seat, so he ended up having to fly in a special animal room below. I was reassured he would be all right and that nothing would happen to him! The two hours flight between the Dominican Republic and Miami went fast and I enjoyed all the luxuries first class passengers are accustomed to, but I couldn't help wondering how Duke was faring below!

In Miami I had to pick up Duke, go through customs and check us in to the connecting flight for Orlando, which went pretty easy. Duke was frazzled by then and wanted to come out of the cage, so evidently the tranquilizer Dan had given him was not enough to calm him down. Another hour in the plane and we arrived to Orlando, where Dan's uncle Doug and his wife, Sue picked us up. Finally Duke could get out of the cage and walk on his own legs, which he seemed to be very happy about. Of course he had to stop and relieve himself several times before we arrived to Doug and Sue's van. Once Duke got settled in the van, and we headed north towards Ocklawaha and their home, Duke fell asleep and slept so soundly, I had to shake him to see if he was still alive. Maybe the tranquilizer finally did its job! We ended up staying in Florida with Doug and Sue until May 3, 2003. During that time Duke had another operation, Doug and Sue took Duke and I sightseeing quite a bit, Dan and the boat arrived to Daytona, we bought a small car, visited with friends and relatives, and then the new plan was worked out! Dan would sail the boat north to RI. Sue, Duke and I would drive their pick-up and tow my car behind, and finally Doug would drive their motor-home north later on. The motor-home was going to be ours, as we are planning to use it for our Alaska adventure in 2004.

On Sunday, May 4, early in the morning, Sue, Duke and I arrived to Rhode Island after driving straight from Florida and north for almost 1200 miles. Everything had gone without any problems, and what greeted us if not only 32-degree temperature in Coventry. What a difference; we had left Florida in 90 degree weather, but arrived to a still emerging spring in RI. It felt great to actually see goose bumps on my arms and legs. I had finally gotten what I had dreamt about and longed for so long it seemed - I was home with my son, daughter-in-law and my grandson!

Dan had trouble with the weather, and even though he left Daytona the same day we drove north, he did not arrive to RI until May 28. By then we all were at Pleasure Marina in Warwick to greet him, and a happy Dan returned home after being gone just about three years. Dan's dream about sailing to Europe and back had become a reality, and it just wetted his appetite for more of the sea-going life. Before his next sailing adventure begins, Dan is planning to go through the boat and repair the damage done from three rough years of living onboard and sailing The Atlantic, The Mediterranian Sea, The North Sea, and The Caribbean. I imagine it will be a Labor Of Love!