Culebra

Monday 11 April – Friday 15 April

We were stuck in the marina over the weekend since the shop where we got the windlass only worked a ½ day on Saturday, they needed to finish up on Monday. Even though Steve did most of the work, they helped with the fiberglass work. The marina had a “boat show” that weekend that we got in free to by each showing a bottle of Coppertone sunscreen, we have plenty of that. Glad we did not pay as it was a pretty small show but it helped pass the time. Monday the work was completed on the windlass so we were finally ready to get out of the marina come Tuesday after 2 weeks.

Tuesday after checking out there were some threatening thunder clouds so we waited around for a little while. The trip over to Culebra is only 15 miles so we had plenty of time to get there. We finally made a break for it after one storm passed and it felt SO good to be on the move again, we ran into another small 30 min shower on the way over but it cleared up quickly and we were able to sail, tacking our way over for most of the way. As we are turning into Ensenada Honda (deep cove / bay) it was strange seeing St. Thomas on the horizon 20 miles away. Tuesday night we pick up a mooring at Dakity Bay right off the entrance channel to Ensenada Honda. Known for it's clear waters, it is behind a sand bar so you get to listen to the waves crashing on shore (love that sound). Wednesday we move further into Ensenada Honda anchoring closer to town. Go in by dinghy and walk around town, which does not take long as it's pretty small and most of the places are restaurants or bars which are not open yet. A little out of town by the airport as we walk by a jeep & golf cart rental place we decide to rent a golf cart to tour the Island, even though it is only 7 miles long & 4 wide it's very steep hills and baby mountains makes walking or biking a little challenging. 1^st stop is to drive to northwest end of Island to Flamenco Beach, known to be one of the prettiest in the Caribbean. And it is very beautiful with the added attraction of some old navy tanks on the beach, not your typical beach sight. They make good use of their beaches here in PR, having nearby picnic & camping grounds right next to the beach in the shade of the trees. Back to the Dinghy Dock restaurant, where we left our dinghy, have lunch then to the boat to get our snorkel gear to head to Tamarindo Beach to go snorkeling. The snorkeling was great in water with just a few inches to clear the reef to 10-15 feet. A good variety of fish amongst the coral ridges, a ray and a LOT of sea urchins. They should call this place sea urchin beach ! NOT one of the favorite things to see while snorkeling. Since the Navy used this Island as a gunnery range and practice bomb site, they have signs up warning you to beware of unexploded ammunition, good way to insure you don't touch things while you are snorkeling. Dry off and away in the golf cart to see the northeast side of the island. We were trying to get to Zion Beach but they were doing some construction on the road and it was getting late. We did get a great scenic view overlooking Culebrita Island and watched two cruise ships sailing west. Driving around you can see the growth of beautiful vacation and retirement homes on the island even though much of the island is part of the National Wildlife Refuge . On the way back to town stopped by Sharks Bar & Grill that is on the grounds of the Costa Bonita Villas we could see from our 1st anchorage and in the harbor. They have a lot of signs up but since they are a good distance from town they are not open on a regular basis, coming out of bankruptcy trying to get things rolling again. Hope they do as it is a great place with a great view. Back to town to the dinghy and to the boat by sunset. Thursday we go to anchor off Luis Pena Cay one of 23 off shore cay's that are part of the Culebra National Wildlife Refuge. Nice small anchorage where we were able to get one of the 3 mooring balls. Spent the afternoon snorkeling, another beautiful sunset and a nice breeze to sleep by. Friday we make the short hop back to Puerto Del Rey Marina, get a car rental go to the store to provision, stopping by a blockbuster store closing to get some DVD's since we do not have TV when we are anchored out. Get things put away and the boat ready for Sean's visit. He has a late flight in, but we are grateful he is able to make it. He had called 2 days before saying his back went out and he could hardly move. A few visits to the Chiropractor for re-alignment, a visit to his regular doctor for pain meds, muscle relaxers and a back brace and he is feeling much better and able to make the trip. Stop to get him something to eat, back to the boat and settled in. Saturday we head over to the US Virgin Islands for a week of fun !

link to pictures; https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/Cuelebra?authkey=Gv1sRgCOO-mOnw6pu-ygE&feat=directlink