Puerto Rico

 

Sand Dollar arrived  on the south coast of Puerto Rico after a dark and gloomy 33 mile sail from the vacation hot-spot of Sun Bay on Vieques island. We anchored in the quiet bay at Puerto Patillas, where the thumping bass of onshore music and the wasp-buzz of water taxis was blessedly absent.  The following morning, after a huge 0700 downpour gave us a much-needed boat-wash, we set sail for Bahia Salinas, 20 miles west. We had 4-5 foot following seas for the first 15 miles, and then tucked in behind the big reef via the pass at Boca de Infierno (“the Mouth of Hell”!). Once we’d passed between the foaming breakers on the reef, we had lake-smooth water for our final few miles.

We anchored near Marina de Salinas, where a dinghy dock provided easy access to fuel, water, and the little village with its handful of restaurants. One of these restaurants, “Sal Pa’ Dentro”, is owned by a SSCA (Seven Seas Cruising Assn.) cruising station host, a local named Jean Lassus.  He had agreed, via e-mail, to accept some boat parts we’d had shipped from the USA, and he ended up being not just a wealth of local knowledge and info, but also a friend. (And his restaurant has great food!  We recommend the grouper!)

We had planned to rent a car to drive up to Old San Juan, and by the time we got around to doing that, one of our 3-year-old house batteries had decided to call it quits, and our West Marine shopping list was reaching critical mass. So Jean and his wife Anna gave us directions and printed up a map for a terrific battery store enroute to San Juan, phoned the store to be sure they had our battery in stock, arranged a discount for us, and finally threw in some tips for a special restaurant and some not-to-be-missed sights in the old city.

Thus armed, off we went one sunny morning, successfully making our intended stops, and only going in the wrong direction two or three times. (We plead “not guilty” to poor navigational skills; the fault lay in the lack of signage on the big highways.)

Missions accomplished, we checked into a little “boutique hotel” in Condado, a quaint beach resort town just east of Old San Juan. The charming hotel was conveniently located just a short walk from Jean’s recommended restaurant. After dinner and a stroll that evening, we bought a pint of rum and retired to our room to wallow in the unaccustomed decadence (for us) of A/C, TV (NCIS re-runs), and unlimited ice for our rum-and-Cokes.  In the morning, following the best complimentary breakfast we’ve ever had, we drove into the old city, parked near a shady square, and wandered along the lovely and unusual blue cobblestones of the narrow streets. 

La Plazuela las Monjas (Plaza of the Nuns) 

Blue cobblestones and colorful facades in old San Juan 

Restaurant interior, old San Juan 

The main and most imposing feature of Old San Juan is El Morro, the huge fort that dominates the headland, towering over the Atlantic. Its 140-foot walls, some up to 15 feet thick, date back to 1539. In the adjacent cemetery, imposing marble angels and stone statuary stand guard over an impressive crowd of old tombs. 

The lighthouse in the distance has been in operation since 1846. Old cemetery lower right.  

At Parque de las Palomas (Park of the Pigeons), we waded ankle-deep in a sea of pigeons all hoping for a treat, which, from team Sand Dollar, was not forthcoming. (Sorry, guys.)   

Iglesia San Francisco de Asis (church of St. Francis of Assisi), dating back to 1756, had an eerily beautiful crypt chamber under the church. 

 Above: interior of Iglesia San Francisco de Asis.    Below: the crypt

In every guide book, the old city is billed as a must-see, and the colorful old buildings, narrow streets, blue cobbles, shady squares, and cluster of historic sites did not disappoint. 

On our way home from San Juan, what DID disappoint was Arecibo, the site of the largest radio-telescope in the world.  A long drive up a steep, winding, narrow mountain road ended at the gates, where a guard informed us that the site was closed for renovation. Mega-bummer, as we’d really looked forward to seeing what Lonely Planet describes as looking like a huge “extraterrestrial spaceship”.

Back in Salinas, we shared a final evening with friends Steve and Pat, who sail aboard Steve’s Panda 40 sailboat, “Oz”.  We’d met Steve back in Culebra – he’s a truly colorful character who hails from Georgia, and has travelled the oceans of the world, with the adventures and stories that come with such a past.  (He once had a boat literally sink from under him, a tale we’ve had yet to hear in detail.)  “Oz” and her crew set sail a day later, bound for Boqueron on the west coast of PR, but our paths are sure to cross again, especially since our boats will both be berthing in the city marina in Titusville, FL.

We ourselves sailed from Salinas to Ponce, 22 miles west, dropping our hook in an anchorage near two small marinas. At the dock we met Miguel, a big-hearted local who drove us into town for some shopping and a visit to old central Ponce, with its ornate old architecture.  

Building in central Ponce.

 Plaza las Delicia, old Ponce.

Pretty quiet in the harbor, so our big entertainment one morning was the grounding of another cruiser. These two unfortunate fellows had run hard aground in a well-charted shoal area just outside the anchorage.  They were buddy-boating with another yacht that was a mile ahead of them, and who returned to lend a hand.  Despite their help, and the input and assistance of Ken and a local guy in a dinghy, it was all “no joy”. After four long hours of varied manuevers, a Sea Tow boat arrived on the scene, and with a Herculean effort, she freed the grounded vessel.  

Hard aground.

From Ponce we made a short 16-mile sail to a beautiful and serene lagoon-like anchorage bordered on three sides by reefs and mangroves. A small island among the mangroves, called “Cayo Aurora” and nick-named “Gilligan’s Island”,  has shady, sandy little picnic areas for day-trippers. In the clear, flat water, clumps of turtle grass wave lazily in the gentle current, and in the air the only sound is bird-song. The whole place feels miles away from the hum of civilization.

It appears that this big frigate bird is not as heavy as he looks! 

We tore ourselves away after a few days and continued on to La Parguera, where small waterfront homes are nestled in the mangroves, with porches overhanging the water. It’s a popular day-trip destination for locals, and we treated ourselves to an evening ashore at a tiny seafood cafe, where the grouper was tender and succulent and the mojitos were perfect.

 

 

 

Local fisherman mending his nets in La Parguera.

We continued westward, and rounded the SW “corner” of Puerto Rico to anchor in the big bay at Boqueron, where we re-united with Steve and Pat. We spent a few evenings ashore with them over happy-hour beers, before saying our good-byes and harbor-hopping a few miles north: one day up to Joyuda, and then later to Mayaguez.  The main attraction of the last two stops was the convenience of big supermarkets for provisioning – the last such stores we expect to see before America. We also ended up with a better wind angle and a slightly shorter distance for our passage to the Dominican Republic.

Lighthouse at the SW “corner” of Puerto Rico

So now we continue westward, ready to see another new-to-us country as Sand Dollar continues her voyage, homeward-bound. Hasta luego!

SandDollar_N4KS@yahoo.com

 

 

 

Kicking Back in the Spanish Virgins

 

After spending a most enjoyable 19 days in St. Kitts, we departed at first light for the 160 mile passage to Isla Culebra. We had patiently waited for a good weather window and our timing paid off. The sailing was down-wind in moderate to light air all the way, and about 20 hours into the passage, the dark of the Caribbean night was broken by the bright glow of the lights of St. Croix off to to the west , followed soon after by the glittering lights of St. Thomas to our east. The trip was pleasant and uneventful and turned out be one of our most comfortable passages in the Caribbean.

A little more than 15 miles east of the “big island”, Puerto Rico’s little islands of Culebra and Vieques are often referred to as “the Spanish Virgins”. Distinctly island-y and decidedly low-key, these charming islands have but one fast-food chain restaurant (a Subway opened on Vieques about four months ago), no high-rises, and no cruise ships. In fact, they barely have towns: Culebra has one, and Vieques has two. What they do have is stunning beaches, pristine open lands, and laid-back ambience.

We checked into the USA in Culebra, where the office of Homeland Security is located in the tiny airport. The single official on duty was friendly and helpful, with a dry sense of humor, and even asked us if we needed any information about Culebra in general. Not at all a heavy-handed humorless official, but more like a pleasant local information officer.

It takes about half an hour to walk through all the streets of Dewey, the only town, after which you can quench your thirst at one of several convenient watering holes. We had dropped our hook near the town dock in the huge bay of Ensenada Honda. It was a short dinghy row from Sand Dollar to The Dinghy Dock Restaurant, a colorful little cafe/bar whose covered dining area opens to the bay. A school of about a dozen four-foot-long tarpon prowl the dockside waters, hoping for diners to toss them a french fry or two.  One afternoon, a server stepped to the edge of the dock with a plate heaped with fish trimmings, and began flipping pieces into the water, inciting a spectacular and entertaining feeding frenzy. (Among the tarpon, not the diners.) He then extended his arm high above the water, holding a large chunk of fish, and within seconds, an enormous frigate bird swooped down to snatch the treat from his hand. This performance was repeated several times, to the obvious delight of a group of young Asian tourists, who clustered at the edge of the dock, chattering excitedly and snapping photos.

  

We took the ferry for a day trip to Fajardo, on the big island, to do some boat-part shopping at West Marine, and found ourselves surrounded by the commercialism of mainland America – Walmart, CVS, Walgreen’s, Auto Zone, and others. After all this time in the small markets of the islands, it was very convenient, but a little surreal.

We rented a golf cart (a popular mode of local transport) one day to tour the island. Evidently these things are designed for the manicured fairways of golf courses, where the vehicles’ suspension need not be particularly muscular, but our little cart was no match for  the potholes of Culebra’s asphalt and dirt roads, and we had a hilarious, teeth-rattling ride. We made a stop at stunning Playa Flamenco, a mile-long beach curving around a protected bay. It is regarded as one of the finest beaches, not just in Puerto Rico, but in the world.  The pristine white sand beach is backed by low scrub, shady almond trees, seagrape, and mixed woodlands. Nestled among the trees were hundred of tents in a well-groomed camping area, packed during our visit for Easter Week and Spring Break. No motor homes, fifth-wheelers, or private vehicles of any kind marred the scene, and other than a few small concessions at the entrance, there was nothing but natural beauty.

After a week in Culebra, we sailed to her sister island of Vieques. A fast, lively, wet, ten-mile sail in heavy, washing-machine, beam seas brought us to the east end of the island, where we altered course to head 15 miles west along the south coast. Anchoring in the protected NE corner of  mile-wide Sun Bay, we were surprised to find ourselves all alone, save for a small local sailboat. We agreed this was one of the most beautiful bays we’ve ever anchored in. A thin forest of masts could be seen a mile west in the next bay, off the town of Esperanza, but except for a handful of campsites on our beach, Sun Bay was empty.

 

Local Vieques resident

For over 50 years, the US Navy used 70% of Vieques for military target practice, shelling beaches and dropping live bombs on nearby atolls. Ordnance was stored in bunkers on the west end of the island, the east end was for target practice, and the local populace was left to reside in the middle. With the military officially withdrawing in 2003, after years of international protest, environmental authorities moved in and wasted no time in claiming all former military land for the Department of the Interior, designating the east end a US Fish and Wildlife Refuge, thus insuring that the bulk of the island remains virgin territory. The Vieques Fish and Wildlife Refuge consists of 18,000 acres of mostly pristine beaches, mangrove wetlands, coastal lagoons, and dry subtropical forest. Sea grasses and coral reefs flourish offshore.

 

The tiny town of Esperanza, just west of Sun Bay, is a funky little beach town with brightly painted open-front cafes and a few shops. A small, attractively tiled malecon (esplanade) skirts the sand, where beach shacks rent bicycles and kayaks and offer local tours.

 

We opted for an island tour with Viequensa Angie Adams, who was born and raised here, and proved to be an animated and enthusiastic guide. She took us to see the natural wonders of the island, including a 400-year-old Ceiba tree, where we stopped for a photo-op, while  a dozen semi-wild horses grazed nearby. Although most have owners, horses have free rein of the island and are a common sight on the roads and fields.

 

Katie with our very excellent tour guide Angie inside the trunk of the 400 year old Ceiba tree.

 

 

On Vieques’ west end, the old military bunkers stand empty, some with doors which have been covered with professionally enlarged old Vieques photos (courtesy of 3M), blown up to life-size, creating a realistic mini-mural.

 

 

Not far from Sun Bay, we stopped at a quiet place, accessable via a dirt footpath. Here, among mammoth grey stones, an archeological dig in 1990 unearthed some human skeletal remains, determined by carbon dating to be around 4,000 years old. “He” came to be known as the Man of Puerto Ferro, and although the remains now rest in a museum, the serenity of the surroundings and the presence of the curious stones give the place a rather haunting and otherworldly feel.

Our week-long visit to each of these islands made for a refreshing departure from cruise ship ports and tourist-oriented areas. These little natural treasures were well-worth our time and we’ll remember them with smiles.

The big island of Puerto Rico lies a short sail to our west, and we’re looking forward to a month or so of touring and harbor hopping there.

Hasta luego! K&K

To see where we are now, go HERE

SandDollar_N4KS@yahoo.com