 |
| Passing whales on the way to the BVI's....WOW! |
Since leaving St. Barth’s we visited St.
Martin and spent two weeks visiting friends, restocking the boat and taking
care of a few minor boat maintenance matters.
From St. Martin, we sailed a short distance to Anguilla. This beautiful island is home to one of the
best restaurants in the Caribbean, the Barrel Stay. We enjoyed our time at Sandy Ground before
heading to the British Virgin Islands.
The BVI’s have a very high concentration of charter boats -- yachts that
are rented for a week or two. Charter
boaters are less interested in interacting with other cruisers (like us) and
they seem focused on partying as much as possible. Nevertheless, we found beautiful places to
snorkel, hike and spend time with our good friend Conrad who spent two weeks
with us.
 |
| Conrad |
Next we visited the Spanish Virgin Islands
which rank high among our most favorite places. Culebra, an island off the east
coast of Puerto Rico, is a little piece of paradise. Absent from these islands are traffic, high-rise
condos, fast-food restaurants, and malls. While anchored in Dewey, the islands’
only town, we rented a golf cart to tour the island with Tony and Anne. At 7
miles long by 4 miles wide it doesn’t take long to see the sights. Playa
Flamenco is considered one of the most beautiful beaches in the world and we thought Zoni beach was even better. We had drinks at the
Dinghy Dock while watching 3-foot tarpons swimming tableside, lunch at Zacos
Tacos where we guarded our food from taco stealing chickens, and dinner at
Mamacitas where they suggest you take a cellphone picture of the menu on a
chalkboard and then place your order.
 |
| The lighthouse on Culebrita |
We moved from Dewey to Culebrita and
anchored in one of the most lovely spots we have ever been. Tourtuga Bay was our access to this
spectacular and uninhabited island. Vieques was the next stop where we spent
the night anchored in a bioluminescent bay.
Then it was on to Puerto Rico where we tied up at the 1000-slip Puerto
Del Ray Marina in Fajardo. For the next
8 days, we explored the island in our rental a car and visited with old friends
who have made Puerto Rico their home. We
drove through the lush tropical mountains over snaking and sometimes bumpy
roads on an overnight journey to Ponce. Ponce, founded in 1692, is home to some
of the island’s most interesting architecture and a fabulous art museum, the
Museo de Art. Near our boutique hotel,
Hotel Belgica, was the Plaza las Delicias with trees, benches, and the famous
lion fountain. Murray enjoyed a
leisurely morning stroll and evening walk here.
In the morning we proceeded north in search of the Observatoria de
Arecibo. Hidden among pine-tree covered
hills, it is the world’s largest radio telescope. Remember the movie Contact?
 |
| Arecebo Radio Telescope |
Tara, Kay’s daughter, was our constant
companion in Puerto Rico and we were so sad to say goodbye as she returned to
reality. We are also departing Puerto
Rico and will make the 400-mile sail to the Bahamas. We hope the passage takes no more than three
days of nonstop sailing and are looking forward to exploring both the Exuma and
Abaco Islands.
Thanks for following.
Richard and Kay
More Pictures:
 |
El Yunque
Rainforest
Puerto, Rico |
 |
| Add caption |
 |
El Yunque
Rainforest
Puerto, Rico |
 |
Old City
Puerto Rico |
 |
| Richard and Tony |
 |
| Richard |
 |
| Tara |
 |
| Culibra |
 |
| San Juan |
 |
The Baths
BVI's |
 |
| Swimming off of San Juan |
 |
The Baths
BVI's |
