Life in Luperon

When we decided to come to Luperon DR, we knew we would be here for 6 months or at least till the end of the hurricane season.

With the summer season  arriving, we thought in this heat maybe renting an apartment with A/C for a few months would be a great idea. It is very hot, with most days reaching 30 +degrees. So far we’ve managed quite well and decided to do more travelling around the island especially up in the cool mountains instead of renting a place. 

As much as we froze in Florida all the way to the Bahamas, now the sweat just drips down our backs doing mundane chores or nothing at all for that matter. Ah the cold Florida nights when we had to light
candles to take the edge off the frigid air,the piles of blankets on the bed….now even a bed sheet is too much, but then so are the mosquitoes and noseeums. You got two choices; endure the heat under the sheet or get eaten alive lol 🦟

It’s quite the life in the Luperon harbour. When we first arrived we got greeted by different people all vying for our business. You’ve got  Papo and his crew that wants to have your boat on his mooring ball for the sum of $75.00 a month. He will bring water to your boat whenever needed. Drinking water is about $1.50 for 18 litres, a bargain really and so convenient. We were use to lugging our 23 litres jerry jugs from the spigot in town to the dinghy onto the boat and into our tanks, and back again for another load. Now all we need is to pull out the wallet. He will deliver fuel, beer, pick up your dirty laundry, have it cleaned and returned to you all nicely folded. His guys will dive under your boat to scrape the barnacles off (you couldn’t pay me enough to get into this harbour water) all for a fee of course. This is our way to contribute to the local economy. 🙂

It is a lovely town, a little bit like the Wild West. Every time we go for a walk, it’s quite common to encounter  cows strolling down the streets, stopping in front of produce shops for a little nibble. Herds of goats are also present on the town sidewalks, with the occasional mama pig with her babies and no one blinks and eye except for the shop owner who’s missing some fruits and veggies 😂 

Laundry day is also a quite interesting, seeing all the clothes draped over barb wire fences drying in the sun. I must say that my whites have never been so white.😎

We are still trying to figure out the hours of business for a lot of the shops, restaurants and bars. Most shops will close from noon to 2 o’clock for siesta. Some will be closed Mondays, but the following week might be open. It’s a hit and miss. If you need something and you see it’s open, buy it now cause who knows when it will be open.

There is a curfew on at the moment. Like all countries it varies from region to region. In Luperon, the bars aren’t allowed to sell alcohol after 3 o’clock in the afternoon. If your bar also rents rooms then you may serve alcohol until 9 o’clock in the evening. And if your a crafty restaurant owner, you serve the alcohol in a styrofoam cup .🍷🤪

Since we’ve been here, we’ve met quite a lot of cruisers from different countries and have enjoyed many a happy hour, sundowners and potluck dinners. It’s great. 🍴🥃🥤🥘 

We’ve also had the opportunity to get our 2 vaccines in the DR. Unfortunately the vaccine available here is Sinovac which is not on the Canadian approved list so we won’t be able to come for a visit to family and friends this Fall because we would need to do the 3 days in a hotel and quarantine for another 11 days.

If the Pfizer does become available here, we might look into getting a 3rd and 4th jab!!!!

Cheers

Mike and Pierrette

Sunset in Luperon

Midsummer  party 

Goats strolling in town

Cow out for a stroll

Silly me

Coy Mike 

View from the old marina in Luperon

View of the harbour 

Beautiful moon

Artist at midsummer party

Beach on the ocean side 

New entrance to town (all done by hand -no machine in sight)

All organic fresh fruits and veggies and eggs

Love this piggy

New cockpit cushions

Midsummer party

Resting near the beach 

Laundry day