We moved the boat today in preparation to head to Punta Macao.  The island is really pretty and we got to anchor next to the cruise ship. 

It just won’t stop raining here.  I am so tired of it.  I am tired of looking at the dirty water. The flies are unbelievably bad here.  I can’t keep them out or kill them fast enough.  Today was the worse.

We haven’t been able to bring our trash up to the dock because of the rain, so three bags have been sitting on the back transom.  Today there was a break in the rain so we decided to take them in.  I wasn’t feeling well to begin with, and it didn’t help when I looked at the dirty water outside our boat and how it was making a brown stain on the transom.  I watched logs, coconuts, plastic bags float pass our boat, and then…. a huge dead frog.  For some reason this just grossed me out. 

“You’re lucky you didn’t see the maggots on the garbage bags!” said Tristan.  Seeing my horrified face he quickly added, “Dad washed them all off.” 

I looked at the bags of garbage that were now in the dingy, waiting for me to sit next to them.   My glamorous life!

We made it to the dock and Dan took the garbage to the trash can.  We needed to find a grocery store to pick up just a few things.  We also went to the internet cafe to check the weather.  I had hoped we would be leaving the next day, but no.  We were trapped here  one more day.   The grocery store we went into had a good supply, but it was dirt floors, and no lights inside.  I just knew a rat was waiting behind a box of cereal.  But no.  We made it out of there unscathed.  Dan wanted to get lunch but I really wasn’t into it.  I was tired of walking in the mud, the heat and the flies. This is really unusual for me.  Normally I have no problem dealing with the worse conditions, taking it in stride, but today I just couldn’t do it.  I was acting like a princess. 

There was a small local cafe Dan wanted to go into, but I just couldn’t.  I wanted to go into the nice cafe in the new area the cruise line had built.  Dan really wanted to eat local.  Here comes the meltdown.  I informed him I was not walking through any more mud, nor sitting outside a dirty street waving off flies.  I was going to the nice cafe with the white tablecloths!!

We went to the nice cafe with the white tablecloths.  It really wasn’t much more expensive than the local place, and it was clean and bright.  I was happy!  Sadly it didn’t last.  I noticed Dan doing something with his foot.  He looked at me sheepishly.

“There’s a maggot in my sandal,” he said in a low voice.  I gasped as it fell out of his shoe and onto  the floor.  The maggot was huge and was making a beeline for my purse.  Could it get worse???  It did.

 “Kill it!”  I hissed.

He stepped on it and it made a big splat on the floor.  I was going to throw up.

“I need to get that picture out of my head!” I said holding my hands over my face.

“Think of ponies!  Think of ponies!” cried Tristan.

We need to get out of here!

Rain.  We can’t escape it.  We got a break and headed into the Chinese restaurant for lunch and a quick walk around the town.  Samana is a stopping point for cruise ships and I am not sure why.  There is not alot to do here, the water is a scary brown color, with all kinds of debris in it, but they do have some waterfalls on the outside of town.  The cruise ships have built their own “mini town” within the town itself.  It has a casino and a few souvenir shops.  The nighttime is hopping though.  From the park you can hear the sounds of merengue music all night.  Street vendors pull their vans up to the light posts, illegally tap into the power, pull out tables and chairs, and blast the music, all while selling hamburgers and chickens.  One night, the music just started and we heard a really loud boom!  The lights went out in town, and stayed out for about an hour.  I really hope no one was hurt stealing electricity!

This rain has to end soon.  We are so desperate for white sandy beaches and jumping off the back of the boat for a swim.   The last time we saw white sand was Turks and Caicos in early September.  The last time we swam in the ocean was Mayaguana!!!!  We are all a little stir crazy!