We couldn’t wait to see more of the town of Luperon the next morning so we set off in search of breakfast. It was actually harder to find than we expected. It was hard to tell what many of the shops have to offer and we don’t have enough skills to ask a lot of questions. We finally came across a tiny shop with little tiny tables in it and we asked if they served breakfast. The gentleman waved us in and from there we have no idea what he said or what we ordered. His wife brought us out two ham and cheese tostadas-and they were perfect. He helped us work out our Spanish for the items and gave us tastes of his fresh squeezed juices. It was so good and he was so nice we ended up going back there the next day too. By then we were able to place our order using complete sentences. Woohoo! Two tostadas and two fresh juices is less than $2.50 so why not. Plus, the owner is so patient and we had fun sharing our Spanish/English book to have a basic conversation. He liked looking up words in it too. I think we will become regulars.
Even though we had just eaten breakfast the smell of the pork and chicken being cooked over a fire drew us to these street vendors. They gave us samples and Keith bought a 100 pesos worth of pork. It comes in a plastic bag and no napkin. (I’ve already learned to go no where without hand sanitizer!)
^^ This lucky pup got some pork too.
We were standing on some corner, with our still greasy hands, Spanish book, and a piece of paper with notes when a motorcycle stopped and asked if we were finding everything alright. Might we have looked too obvious? We started talking to him and it was a fellow cruiser anchored two boats away from ours. He came here seven years ago and fell in love with the place and never left. He was pointing out where everything was and what to see when he said to just jump on and he would give us a tour- it would be easier. So we did. I know, you probably think we are crazy or stupid, but it really felt fine to do. (And, spoiler, it absolutely was) He gave us a tour of the town then drove us out to the beach where there is a cute little beach bar. We pull up to find Ingrid and Ben (Blabber) had already found the beach bar!
^^Photo credit to Ingrid (thanks!)
We stayed and shared a beer with Bruce (the guy driving us around) and absorbed as much info as we could. He also gave Keith the details on where and how to buy a motorcycle here if we are going to stay for any period of time. Oh boy. While we were there Hedda, Walewijn, and Quiryijn (Antares) wandered up. Funny, with no planning we all found the same place! After our beer we hopped back on the bike with Bruce to finish our tour and went next to the marina. We met some more cruisers and Bruce’s wife and hung out for a while. Bruce was staying for lunch and we were still full from our pork so we decided to walk back to town. Half way up the hill we started second guessing our choice, these hills are steep. Just then the boat boy, Handy Andy, drove up on his motorcycle and offered to call us a motoconcho but before he could he flagged down a friend of his in a yellow jeep and we had a ride back to town. It turned out it was another cruiser who also owned land here, we had even met him before in the Abacos!
^^We finished up the day on our boat with Blabber and Antares eating Mahi tacos from the fish we got on our sail here.
^^ I love how the “slips” are made using branches stuck in a line.
^^We did a little exploring with all the boats we sailed in with one day. At any one time we would have one conversation going on in English, Dutch, French and Spanish. I have come home mentally exhausted every night! Even with out trying our brains are working overtime trying to pick out the familiar and put context to the unfamiliar. More Advil please! Really, it is SO much fun.
We introduced Blabber and Antares to our new breakfast spot, the owner, whose name I still don’t quite have, was sharing a fruit that he juices. None of us had seen or tasted it before. He calls it Jauga. It is very sweet and makes a nice juice.
^^ Vendors like this are common. We see them selling everything from bananas to shoes. We haven’t been approached by any of them wanting us to buy something.
Wright Away Sails Away 