We made it to Puerto Rico yesterday in the dark, wee hours of the morning. We had our anchor down in Bahia Mayagüez (Mayagüez Bay) by about 3:00 local time.
The weather was as forecast, so there were no surprises, but we still felt like we had the stuffin’ knocked out of us. “That’s just how the Mona passage is…” is what we’re told.
A very nice lady, who has cruised the Caribbean with her husband for the past thirteen years (and has taken us under her wing here in Puerto Real), described it as the Moan passage.
I’d have to agree, and I’ll tell you all about it later.
We’re now in Puerto Real, a nice quiet, calm fishing village on the southwest coast of Puerto Rico. Quiet and calm suits us very well right now, so we’ll probably stay a few days.
Here’s a pic of the sunrise that greeted us this morning…
And I’d like you to meet one of our very close neighbours (I’ve never gotten so close to a pelican as I have here in Puerto Real).
We’re going to rest up a bit here in Puerto Real, do some laundry, get some groceries. Maybe a cell phone. The Wifi has been frustratingly bad in our recent travels, so we haven’t been able to Skype. Also there’s a sailing regatta here this weekend, so maybe we’ll stick around for the festivities.
So…I’ll tell you about the Mona passage and our visit to Santa Barbara de Samaná (our last adventure in the DR where we TRIPLED on a motorbike and rode in the back of a pick-up truck. Twice!), next time.
‘Til then…
(By the way…sorry about the ads on the blog. 🙁 We just thought they might kick a few nickles into the coffers. I was hoping they wouldn’t be of the hoochy-girl-click-to-chat-with-me variety, but that is what I’m seeing right now. Sigh. So sorry.)
Hi. I must tell you that I read your posts religiously, so all your efforts of creative writing, education and the odd “spot the bird” pictures are very much appreciated. I love to hear about your adventures so keep them coming. By the way we are moaning here also because we’ve had -20 weather for a while and today we expect 20 to 30cms of snow, so I’d trade your moan for mine, although I’m not certain about the sea sickness; maybe I’ll stick to shovelling. Take care. Miss you terribly.
Hi Susie – thanks for reading! I miss you too! Writing our adventures down seems to help us appreciate it ourselves a little more. I was sooooo seasick in the Mona passage, but it was only a couple of days of misery. 20-30 cm of snow and -20!!! That’s gotta hurt for longer than a couple of days. Aside from the crap weather, hope all’s well back home. Say hi to everyone at the office for me?
Hey Folks , enjoying your adventure vicariously very much . Nice writing Beryl !
Phil wed love to know some technical details … Hows your refrigeration working and what type is it , How much fuel have you needed for the longest stretches .. Did you install solar panels and are they keeping up to demand .. If not hows your alternator holding up !! ? whats your water capacity and have you had to carry extra ( fuel too for that matter ) … Are you towing the inflatable or hoisting on deck ? and any other Technical challenges you want to share !
Gene at NSC
Hi Gene – thanks for reading! Great idea – we’ll definitely do a technical post soon. We’ve had our share of challenges and we look forward to sharing our lessons learned with everyone back at NSC. Hope all’s well in Ottawa!
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