Getting it on in Luperon

Raw sewage flowing through the dirty filthy unpaved roads, poor people living in decrepit little huts amidst the squalor and garbage, an anchorage so dirty that you have to wash your hands when you touch the dinghy rope,  and MAN OH MAN DO I LOVE THIS PLACE!
As I entered the lake like anchorage surrounded by mangroves I drank in the beautiful tall green hills all around.  You can see why this is a great place to hide from a hurricane.  Hispaniola's 11,000 ft. peak is a tremendous steering force for the prevailing wind and waves coming out of the south and east.
The people are all very nice and the cruising community here is strong.  You make friends fast and easily.  They have some activity most nights like trivia games or jam sessions.  The boaters all look after one another as well.  My good pal Corey Crowley flew in from Florida on my first day here.  He may be able to accompany me for the remainder of the trip to the virgin Islands.
Our daily routine began with a dinghy trip to town and a visit to Captain Steve's family restaurant.  For 100 pesos ($2.85) you got a big plate of eggs, fried plaintains, a big smoked pork chop smothered in onions and garlic with coffee.  They offered free internet, a cold shower, and a small swimming pool, all under a spacious outdoor shaded patio.  Breakfast took a solid 3 hours once all the visiting, emailing, and relaxing was done.  Next stop, the boat for a noon beer and a game of chess or scrabble on Coreys Ipad.  Before you know it it is time to get back in the dinghy for a trip to Blanca Marina, another spacious shady hangout with 22 ounce beers for $2.  The breakfast was so big that we rarely needed any more food for the day.
The only drawback was the inability to swim or fish.  I saw some crazy europeans in the water on the first day and when I saw them in town I mentioned that swimming may not be such a good idea.  I don't think they had seen the stuff flowing out of town yet.
We shared a taxi ride with a very nice couple, Mike and Rebecca on Zero to Cruising, into Santiago, about a 2 hour drive.  I'm glad we had a driver as it is the wild west on the roads people driving in whatever lane that suits them, cars passing trucks that were passing other trucks at the same time.  Motorcycles everywhere going both directions on both sides of the roads.  Santiago has considerable size so Kiko, the driver, took us to an ultra giant and modern supermarket and a huge hardware store.  We stocked up on beer and food and stopped for a snack on the back, a corn and ham pizza and a giant Presidente beer of course.
Our weather window is approaching though so we are ready to leave tonight.  The boat is all fueled and watered and we are stocked up and ready for the 3 day trip to Puerto Rico.  Thank God that I have Corey to help on this difficult leg of the journey.  The north coast of DR has very few places to safely stop and the wind may be against us the whole way.