Laura and I got up around 7 and started the day.  Nicholas needed

We got underway around 9 AM just as the wind was picking up.  A

As we were leaving, the cruise ship herd was being usured in.

It was 3 when we started and we needed to be back by 5.  So, off we

Tomorrow morning we will take the dingy and go up some of the other

David A Schramm M/V Jenny Current Location (blue pin) Jenny Journey Log -----Original Message----- From: jennyjourney@googlegroups.com [mailto:jennyjourney@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of David@Schramm-Family.net Sent: Monday, March 09, 2009 6:05 PM To: JennyJourney@googlegroups.com Subject: Report From Onboard Jenny Sunday, March 08, 2009 3:33:14 PM Location: Las Haitises National Park Latitude is 19 degrees 5.01 minutes north. Longitude is 69 degrees 27.984 minutes west. This weather observation was at Sunday, March 08, 2009 3:32:57 PM local time. Observation location: Las Haitises. Latitude is 19 degrees 5.011 minutes north. Longitude is 69 degrees 27.984 minutes west. The air temperature is 77, and water temperature is 0 degrees fahrenheit. The forecast is Sunny, Windy. The current weather is dry. The sky is scattered clouds (10 - 50% clouds). The wind is 12 knots from the northeast. The visibility is 15 nautical miles. The wave height is 1 feet with 0 foot swells. The barometer is 1023 millibars and falling. Laura and I got up around 7 and started the day. Nicholas needed his walk of course. Then we started getting Jenny ready. We were not as ready as typical for a morning departure. We had to drop the front awning, raise the dinghy and pull in the makeshift flopper stopper. Speaking of which, I've given up on my idea of a drogue style flopper stopper after more experimentation here. It turns out that the recovery time is too long. That is, the time it takes for the device to be ready to block more water on the upswing is too long. So when you get into small, quick rolling, the drogue style device does not cycle quickly enough. I asked Mary to order and bring down a pair of Magma Rock N Roll roll dampers. We got underway around 9 AM just as the wind was picking up. A cruise ship was outside the anchorage, so we got to see that bee hive of activity as we went out, then turned soutwest to get over to the National Park at Las Haitises. We didn't see any whales on the way over. We got the hook down around 11 and had lunch. Then we went into the ranger station to set up a hike for tomorrow. A boat load of people from the cruise ship had also arrived and probably just had lunch there. Nothing much was happening, so Laura and I went wandering. There are some limestone caves right where ranger station is, so we went looking. They were interesting, but not really unique. As we were leaving, the cruise ship herd was being usured in. Huffing and puffing they went into the caves, ooing and aaahing. We came out and talked to a couple of the rangers about hiking the park. You aren't alowed in the park without a guide. Well, it seams that the cruise ship traffic has them scheduled to be at the station at specific times in the morning and in the afternoon. That does not give them enough time to take anyone on the trails. So the park is now dedicated to showing heffers these caves and little more. Well, the herd came out and climbed back into their shuttle and were off. So, we spent more time talking. In the end we got one of the rangers to go in our dinghy to the trail head and take us a way up the trail and back. It was 3 when we started and we needed to be back by 5. So, off we went. Well, the ranger station was a pathetic fraction of what the park is about. And, typical of cruise ship experience, that is all the herd saw. The ranger took us up a canyon of limestone cliffs, hanging trees, vines, mangroves, true jungle to a small dinghy dock. That part was good enough, but then we started walking the trail and were immersed in a tropical jungle that was filled with caves, towers of limestone cliffs, insects, birds, etc. It was what we came here for. A really pretty hummingbird posed for us for minutes while we shot photos. Since this was spur of the moment, I was in shorts and we did not have any repellent. So, as the sun started to go lower, the mosquitos became the dominate lifeforce. We were back at the dinghy by 4:30. The ranger was very knowledgable but only spoke Spanish. Even so we got a lot of what he was saying. We gave him 400 pesos for his trouble. Tomorrow morning we will take the dingy and go up some of the other grottos, exploring. das Powered by BoatExec http://www.BoatExec.com --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JennyJourney" group. To post to this group, send email to jennyjourney@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to jennyjourney+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jennyjourney?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---