Customs Crazy

February 18, 2010
No wind at all this morning. We watch two men in a traditional parogue
slowly sailing downwind towards Isla Saona. We head out in the dingy
towards the mangrove lake at Punta Palmillas. You can see stingrays,
jellyfish, schools of bone fish and fan corals through the shallow,
crystal clear water. We come across the sailboat we spotted earlier
and notice one man is snorkeling ahead of the drifting boat. He dives
down, comes up, and continues swimming ahead. Coming back to our
anchorage we move along the north shore of Isla Saona. It drops off
abruptly along the iron shore coastline going from two or three feet
to fifteen feet or so. Looking down from the dingy is like snorkeling
without getting in the water. So clear and so full of life. Bright
purple fan coral, brain coral, tiny reef fish and jelly fish are
everywhere.

We still have not checked into the Dominican Republic, so we pull up
anchor and head over to Casa de Campo marina. The waves were still
pretty energetic in the channel leading to the marina, so it was a bit
of a science project getting the lines and fenders organized for the
landing. An English speaking woman answered the VHF radio call
eventually and a dingy was sent out to greet us and lead us into our
slip. Turns out our spot was along side a cement dock between a power
boat and a 60 foot catamaran. Roy did a great job bringing us in
sideways between the two. We were met by the dock master who told us
the authorities were on their way and we should just wait for them
aboard our boat. Later we could check into the marina.

Before too long a golf cart pulled up with three people. The young
Dominican who spoke a smattering of English explained that he was from
the tax department and needed to collect ten dollars US per person as
a tourist tax. Accompanying him were the agriculture and sanitation
representatives who also needed ten bucks each. They dutifully filled
out receipts and handed them to Roy. Next golf cart that arrived had
four people onboard. The officer in full army fatigues walked the dock
as a much younger army officer took off his shoes and climbed onboard.
A woman who I believe was the customs officer also got into the
cockpit, along with the final team member, whose capacity remained a
mystery. After the filling in of the forms and signing of signatures
and carefully compiling receipts came the paying of the money. We paid
the army officer $63.00 for the boat entry and crew entry. He then
asked for a "propina" for the three of them. A little souvenir the
woman said. Roy pretended that he didn't understand for awhile, but I
broke first. We settled on ten dollars. They were not impressed with
our offering, but they took it and left. So our total for clearing
into the country, at Casa de Campo marina was one hundred an thirteen
dollars. Voyageur C came away with paying ten dollars more than us,
being more generous with the propina. Both amounts were much less than
the $160 dollars quoted in the cruising guide. They say this country
has a "culture of tipping" – something we haven't had to deal with
through out the Eastern Caribbean. Something we'll have to get used to
and fast.