Turks and Caicos, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico

The flights just keep getting better! Our next flight took us from Exuma, Bahamas to Turks and Caicos. Turks was rather populated and the landing fees were ridiculous but we kept on moving with a long leg over water to the Dominican Republic. I had no idea what to expect but it was absolutely stunning. There were lush mountains that came right down to white sand beaches and the water was as clear as I have ever seen. Easily the best place yet.

After some fuel, we were off to Puerto Rico. Being American citizens, we figured since we were going back into the US, everything should be easy. We were wrong. We landed on the West coast just before sunset and were exhausted. After we shut down, we were greeted by 4 border patrol agents who gave us a hard time for the next hour. Then they told us we had to go to San Juan international for clearance even though we told them we didn't have enough fuel to get there, it was night, we were tired and their was a warning for volcanic ash. All we wanted to do was go to bed, but instead we took off (luckily found fuel) and headed to San Juan where we waited and waited and waited....

Finally the officials came, cleared us and we were off. From talking to other pilots, it sounds like staying in the Domincan Republic would have been much less hassle.