Ken and Katie's Voyages Aboard Sand Dollar: 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.