CURRENT LOCATION: Anchored in Ensenada Honda, off the town of Dewey, on the island of Culebra, Puerto Rico

18 18.245' N, 065 17.867' W

Once yesterday's chore of reorganizing the storage under the v-berth was complete, I inflated my kayak to go explore a bit and enjoy some exercise. Sheryl, who was now into 'reorganization mode,' stayed behind to sort through some of her spare clothes which are stored behind the port setee. I was pleased to discover, upon my return, that there is a good sized bag of clothes which we will be donating to a charitable cause. (Making more room on the boat is always a good thing.)

Because Sheryl worked so hard yesterday and never left the boat, it was her prerogative to select our activity for today. Sheryl wanted to explore a new beach. Resaca Beach became our destination. When we walk the 2.5-miles to the more popular Flamenco Beach, the paved road goes through a valley between two hills. There is still some uphill walking, but nothing too strenuous. Looking from the cockpit of Prudence this morning in the direction of Resaca Beach, there was no valley. We would be hiking a similar distance each way, but up and over the mountain.

Armed with my broken bodyboard and a backpack full of water, paperbacks, beach mat, towel, and a few snacks, we hit the road. The road remained paved all the way up to the crest of the hill, and Sheryl and I were breathing heavily and sweating profusely by the time we reached the top. Our hiking companions (three goats who decided to follow us) were breathing heavily, as well...




At the summit, the road ended and a narrow rocky trail began. It was a steep path which took us down the other side of the hill to sea level once again. The biggest of the three goats (the father, I assume), kept bumping his head into my backpack each time we stopped for thornbushes, due to the downhill momentum (or maybe he was just an ornery goat, butting me for the fun of it). The goats refused to go on ahead of us and could not be encouraged to turn back (no matter how hard we tried). They just kept on following us.

We finally parted ways when we broke from the trees out onto the sand. Apparently, goats do not like to hang out on the beach. It was a beautiful and mostly deserted stretch of beach (two tiny ant-sized people were way over to the right, so we turned left). The waves on Resaca Beach were much bigger than those of Flamenco Beach a few days ago. We braved the water for a while and had a great time playing in the waves; however, VERY strong rip currents and undertows could be felt out among these waves and we didn't dare to go out any further than we could stand.

After tiring ourselves in the water, we walked to the edge of the beach and climbed up on some rocks, getting some spectacular views of this secluded stretch of sand (our tiny ant-sized couple had now gone). Eventually, with a steep and rocky trail ahead of us, we reluctantly put our shoes back on and faced the hike ahead.

We were breathing even heavier and sweating even more profusely when we broke through the trees back onto the paved road. The climb had been like a long workout on a stairmaster in a sauna. Now we enjoyed the sea breeze and a slow walk downhill toward Dewey. Our friends, the goats, were nowhere to be found.

If you haven't checked recently, new photos are appearing regularly on the Spanish Virgin Islands link (under RECENT PHOTOS)...near the top on the left-side menu.