Westward Ho!

Thursday, February 23, 2017 continued...

As I mentioned last time, we needed to clear out at Customs and refill our propane tanks, then it was off to Honeymoon Bay on Water Island for the night.  Okay, that was the plan, but the best laid plans...

When we arrived in the Charlotte Amalie harbour, we went looking for the Customs Office.  It wasn't where it showed on the charts, so we went for a long walk one way and then a long walk the other way.  In the rain.  We cleared out of the USVI and then motored over to where we were told we could refill our propane tanks.  Nope, that has moved, too. After hovering in place for about a half hour, while Jo called around, we found out a place that we could fill our tanks in the next bay over.  It was 4:45 and they closed at 5:00. Just the kind of day we were having.  We motored to Honeymoon Bay and it was packed.  No place to anchor, so we went to Lindbergh Bay which is right by the airport.  It's a beautiful bay, so as long as the jets don't take off all night, we'll be fine.  We'll do a propane run in the morning.   Time for some relaxation and supper!


Friday, February 24, 2017

Craig made us French Toast for breakfast.  Delish!  Then, we had to buy propane at St Thomas Gas.  This meant that we had to sail into Krum Bay, a purely industrial area, where the St Thomas power plant is.  Really, it should have been called Krummy Bay, because it was pretty ugly and there was a big boat half sunk in the middle of it.  Jo and I hovered in the bay in the big boat while Carey and Craig dinghied in to a broken down dock with a bunch of sunken and broken down boats.  Yikes!  However, they were successful in getting our propane tank filled. Yahoo!

Unfortunately, as they were dinghying back to the boat, DNR guys with machine guns and Kevlar vests stopped Carey and Craig in the dinghy and asked them what they were doing there.  Apparently, we were not allowed in this area and they wanted us to leave pronto.  Well, okay.

We got under way quickly, and sailed all the way to Culebra in beautiful winds on our stern quarter.  We are heading west now, on the first leg of our journey home.

Culebra has a long entrance into the bay called Ensenada Honda (translated, this means Deep Cove).

We dropped anchor at Culebra at 2:30.  Customs check in took a while, but the officer found our US cruising permit (purchased in Buffalo, New York) which saved us $37!  Woohoo!

For supper, I made my gourmet spaghetti with sweet Italian sausage and grilled mushrooms and topped with asparagus and spinach. Craig said it was 'So delish!'


Saturday, February 25, 2017

We left Culebra around 10:15 and headed for Isla de Vieques, another island in the Spanish Virgin Islands. Esperanza, the main town on the south side of Vieques is about 20 miles away.  We sailed south toward the east end of Vieques, and then turned west and sailed downwind.  After a while, the wind died down and we were going too slow, so we turned on the engine for the last 9 miles.

When we arrived at Esperanza, we picked up a mooring ball. A volunteer, Chase, came around in a sombrero and a dinghy to give us an orientation talk about the local restaurants and bars, and to collect a $25 mooring fee.  He suggested El Bloc to see the sunset and take advantage of Happy Hour, Duffy's for the fresh catch of the day, and Lazy Jacks for evening drinks.  Sounds good to me!

We had drinks at El Bloc, overlooking the bay, then walked down the street to El Quenepo. OMG!   What a fabulous surprise!  This restaurant had gourmet food and a lovely ambiance--open air, with white tablecloths and candles.  Jo and I had the lobster (so delish), Carey loved his Pork Carnitas (a rice, black beans, and pork dish) and Craig loved his scallops.  Carey and Craig splurged on dessert, too. Everything was delicious and beautifully presented.  Such a surprise after the places we've been in the past few months. We would definitely recommend El Quenepo.

 

We dinghied back in the dark and relaxed for a while before bed, listening to the music onshore and counting the stars.




Sunday, February 26, 2017

The music was still playing up to 3 am.  As you can guess, we didn't get much sleep. Ugh.  We had breakfast and then got underway to Palmas Del Mar on the mainland of Puerto Rico.  We were able to sail most of the way, but turned on the motor to motorsail for about the last hour so that we didn't have to tack too far out of our way.

We arrived at 1:30, checked in, and had some lunch onboard.  We have now travelled over 3500 nautical miles!  Woohoo!  Only 1800 to go. Haha.

Carey and I wanted to explore the area a bit, because we stayed at this resort 27 years ago!  We loved it here, so we were happy to get back here. We wandered around looking for the restaurants that we had been to.  We walked to the mercado (market) and bought a few things, while Craig and Jo went off to find the beach. Later, we met back on the boat for dinner.



Monday, February 27, 2017

Oh, my, this is a beautiful resort and marina. Jo and I threw our laundry in the washers and then sat by the pool while Carey and Craig got a few jobs done on the boat.  The pool is stunning, with the waves pounding in on the shore just beyond.  We are having high winds and big swells today, so the crashing waves on the rocks are spectacular.

For lunch, we dinghied to La Pescatoria.  We tried some traditional Puerto Rican dishes and judged them to be scrumptious. The hair salon around the corner was closed on Mondays, so no hair cut for me today.  Later, we walked down the beach to find the unit where we had stayed 27 years ago.  We stopped and had drinks at the beach bar and to watch the pounding surf, and then walked back up the beach, wading through the waves that were creeping higher and higher.

After much studying of the forecasted weather, winds and waves for the next while, we've decided to stay here until everything settles out.  Pretty nice place to be stuck in.

While we were relaxing after dinner, Carey's foot slipped off the second last step and he fell, hitting the corner of the nav station with his back and landing on the floor.  Scared the heck out of all of us!  He said he was okay, but this is a reminder that we have to be extra careful, because we don't have easy access to health care.  Good thing we have a nurse onboard. (She was ready to call 911!)



Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Happy birthday, Jeanie!

Carey is stiff and sore this morning, so we gave him some pain meds for his back.  He'll be hobbling for a couple of days.

After breakfast, we called a taxi that didn't come to go to Walmart for provisions. Instead, Juanjo (pronounced Wonn Ho), the yacht master here, gave us a ride.  That was a nice perk!  They really try to pamper their guests here. Gotta like that!

We had lunch at Chilis, then went to Walmart. I got my big hair all cut off, and Jo picked up everything on our list.  When we were finished, we called Glenda at the marina and she called a taxi to pick us up. Luigii arrived in the pouring rain, in a van thank goodness, so we packed our many bags in the back and climbed aboard.  When we arrived at the marina, Juanjo appeared in his golf cart, towing a utility wagon.  Talk about a full service marina!  He helped us fill the wagon with our purchases, drove Carey and I to the boat, and passed the many bags to us onboard.  Later, while Jo and I stowed our provisions, Carey and Craig met with Juanjo again to arrange to have our boat bottom cleaned by a diver in the next day or so.  This is an awesome place!

I made a seven-layer supper and Jo made her rice pudding for dessert so we were well fed tonight.