Casa de Campo: a Playground for Wealthy Americans

After two days of some of the roughest sailing yet, northwards across the Caribbean Sea from Aruba to The Dominican Republic, we arrived in Casa de Campo Marina. We first thought we might have taken a wrong turn at some point, because on approach the marina looked more like something you might expect to see on the French Riviera. Upon further investigation, the marina turned out to be part of a much larger complex; in fact one of the largest resorts in the world.

Piazza Portofino, Casa de Campo Marina.

Caso de Campo used to be the site of a sugar mill owned by the Gulf+Western conglomerate, a company perhaps best known for it’s movie studio subsidiary known as Paramount Pictures today. In 1975 Gulf+Western founder and CEO, Charles Bluhdorn a.k.a. The Mad Austrian of Wall Street, developed this 7000 acre (28 sq. km) La Romana lot into the Casa de Campo (country house) resort. Famous golf course architect Pete Dye was hired to design the now well-renowned “Teeth of the Dog” golf course, while famous designer and close friend of Bluhdorn, Oscar de la Renta, did the interior of the first hotel. Today the complex includes more than 1700 private villas, four (!) 18-hole golf courses, a shooting range, several tennis courts, three polo fields and it’s own international airport.

A Casa de Campo villa of average size.

The marina, where S/Y CoCo is currently berthed, has been designed by Italian architects to look like the Italian fishing village of Portofino. The marina has more than 400 berths and around 70 boutiques and eateries. What is more, former Paramount Pictures set designer, Robert Copa, was hired to design a medieval-style village, overlooking the Chavon river on the eastern edge of the resort. Here one can find a large amphitheatre, a school of design, several art studios, restaurants, night clubs and a monastery.

Altos de Chavon, medieval mountain village replica.

One of the most interesting aspects of Casa de Campo, and a testimony to it’s size, is that everyone drives golf carts in order to get around. From the main entrance of the resort to the marina, where I am sitting now and sipping an ice cold Presidente beer while watching the sport fishers arrive with their catch of the day, it is almost 10 km! You could (and we have!) spend a whole day just driving around in a golf cart trying to get your bearings. Along the way you will pass hundreds and hundreds of the largest and most lavish villas imaginable. Luckily, the marina office was nice enough to supply us with a map.

Speeding about in a golf cart, sipping Presidente. We are far from home, but we’re so happy.

Charles Bluhdorn is considered the inventor of tourism in the Domincan Republic. We have yet to see more of the Dominican Republic, but Casa de Campo is a world of itself; a playground for wealthy americans.

Peter brushing up on the affairs of the world after a 60 minute massage at the Casa de Campo Spa centre.

Family Reunion

A guest letter from the Hartmann family.

Norwegians have their “hyttebok”; a kind of hard copy blog for the cabin, where guests describe their stay and express their admiration of the host, the cabin and the surroundings.
For the impatient of you who are only looking for the conclusion: Peter, Sebastian and Henrik are a clever and very nice team, S/Y CoCo is a great and comfortable sailing yacht, and the Caribbean ocean and the Dutch Antilles are beautiful! For those further interested, we have made a more thorough report below.

Our trip to the ABC Islands (minus A) as guest crew aboard S/Y was our first visit to the Caribbean. Ever! We brought with us a long list of expectations gathered from dreamy pictures of this holiday destination (and some brown cheese, of course). Was it possible to meet all the high expectations?
We flew directly to Curaçao with KLM from Amsterdam, ready to spend one week finding out how it really is to live aboard a sailing boat in Caribbean sea. Arriving in the afternoon after a cab ride, we quickly embarked on S/Y CoCo, which was anchored in a bay called Spanish Water. Ten minutes later we jumped into the sea. 28 degree Celsius. Check!

The unnaturally tanned crew served chilled, colourful drinks with rum, and started preparations for a grand dinner. Having read the previous blog entries, we had high expectations, and the crew did not disappoint. In addition to perfectly grilled beef and chicken, we also got fresh tuna caught by another group of Norwegians anchored next to us. Check!

Joyful reunion of mother and son. From left: Henrik, Anne.

The crew was eager to return to Bonaire, so the next day was spent in the capitol of Curaçao, Willemstad, to carry out the paper work with the immigration and custom offices. This also also gave us a chance to do some sightseeing. The city was charming with colourful houses in Dutch style. Check! Many of the locals spoke Dutch, in addition to English, though the local language remains a mystery. We quickly learned how to order the horrendously small bottles of Polar, the local very-easy-to-drink beer. By now we were set for some real sailing.

The passage to Bonaire took seven hours with steady wind. Check! The crew demonstrated a high level of team cooperation. Upon arrival an available buoy was calling – just outside Karel’s bar and restaurant – entertainment with a Caribbean rhythm every night. Here was also the most clearest sea water we had ever seen. Check!

Outside Karel’s. From left: Anne, Carl. S/Y CoCo in the background to the right.

Sebastian and Peter went on two days of diving, while the Hartmann family made their own plans. With rented bikes we travelled swiftly across the flat landscapes containing cacti, flamingos, geckos, and parrots, towards the coolest and relaxing beach and surf club. Almost perfect, unfortunately missing the wind for windsurfing. This was the first day in three years without enough wind for windsurfing on Bonaire, according to local sources.

Andreas upon arrival in Jibe City.

The next day we went on an expedition with the S/Y CoCo tender to Klein Bonaire experiencing beautiful white beaches and amazing snorkelling with colourful fish and corals. Check!
The three days at Bonaire has been filled with much beauty. The slow pace of life and the friendly locals at the island contributed in making the days nice and relaxing. Eventually it was time for another day at sea; sailing in light breeze back to Curaçao and the Spanish Water. On the way there we caught fish, resulting in grilled barracuda for dinner the last evening. Check!!

The CoCo Tender beached on Klein Bonaire. From left: Henrik, Andreas.

In complete honesty, and in order to make our reporting trustworthy we have to mention some of the drawbacks as well: warm nights, a few Mosquitos, sunburns, seasickness, and karaoke (as bad as everywhere else). However, compared to the ups, the lows are negligible.

Anne on Klein Bonaire.

Our dreams and expectations have been fulfilled, and we feel lucky to have been invited to join CoCo for a week. Peter, Sebastian and Henrik have taken care of us and made their outmost to make our stay fantastic. You have succeeded. CHECK!!