CURRENT LOCATION: Anchored in Ensenada Honda, near town on Culebra
18 18.301' N, 065 18.007' W
Yesterday, bright and early in the morning, we dropped our mooring line in Dakity and motored
Prudence back to town. We set the anchor in a spot very close to where we were at anchor about two weeks ago. The reason for this move: we have another house/pet sitting gig. This time it is for Mark & Terrie, owners of the
Palmetto Guesthouse.
For the next several days, we will be caring for their three dogs and two cats while they are 'off island'. In return, we will be enjoying the luxury of refrigeration, ice, a microwave, fresh water showers, and a real bed. Also, there are no guests at the inn this week, so the place is all ours (nice and quiet). Just us and the pets.
Speaking of noise, the elections were held here on Culebra yesterday (same as the rest of the United States). The occasion is an event unparalleled by anything we have experienced yet on island. The locals are very engaged in their politics (~80%) voter turnout. All the businesses shut down and the atmosphere was absolutely celebratory. Unfortunately for many of our friends who live here, the current mayor was re-elected for another term. People we know were hoping to make a change away from some of the alleged corruption which has taken place with the current administration. As for us, we are simply glad that the election season is over. We hope that means no more trucks with loud speakers blaring incomprehensible dialog and music across the harbor.
Speaking of the harbor, new boats are beginning to appear daily. You can see from the photo above the surfeit of sailboats sprinkled across Ensenada Honda this morning. Cruisers are coming out of their hurricane hiding places and setting sail for new destinations. Among the new faces was a familiar one. We met Chris, aboard
s/v Christa, while in the Turks & Caicos and Dominican Republic. Chris spent his hurricane season in Salinas, and has stopped in Culebra en route to the Virgin Islands. Check out some his recent blogs for another perspective on Culebra by
Clicking Here.
Conditions have been unusually calm for the last two days. From the house on the hill where I clean the pool, I could clearly see St. Thomas today, and it was like a mirror all the way across. We could have taken our dinghy to the Virgin Islands without a problem. I would suppose that many of the boats in the harbor will just be passing through with current conditions so good for motoring to eastward. We still have several weeks of work before we will be looking for our own weather window.
No rush for us to depart Culebra, though. Several more weeks suits us just fine. We really do love it here. I would imagine that someday we will return, but I am certain that it will not be the same. Already, Culebra is starting to get noticed. Check out this five minute segment touting inexpensive beach vacations which aired on the Today Show recently. Culebra is featured in the middle of their short discussion.
Click Here to watch the Today Show segment (you may have to sit through a short commercial first).
We are fairly proud to have 'found' Culebra on our own, and can also boast a visit to another of their reasonable beach vacation destinations, Caye Caulker, in Belize.
Click Here to relive our very first cruising stop with our friends Steph and Bruno aboard their sailboat,
Artemesia.