A wonderful hurricane hole in Culebra would be called Ensenada Honda. We tucked in there, not because there was a hurricane coming, no, not at all, in fact the weather forecast at the moment was hot, hot, and more hot, but rather because that's the tack we happened to be on in our grand effort to minimize our fuel consumption. This bay is not cleared for swimming though, the water a slight shade of UGH.
Interestingly enough in 1493 Christopher Columbus dropped by this tropical oasis during his second voyage. In 1909 Theodore Roosevelt declared Culebra one of America's first wildlife refuges. Maybe there was an abundance of roosters crowing back then too ?? One thing we've learned, and that is that roosters crown both day and night, and boy are they loud!
Anyhow, here we were, anchored in Ensenada Honda, and what did we immediately notice but a bobbing turtle head swim by how cool is that ?
We were just a short dinghy ride from "town", and once the motor was back on dinghy,
we dinghied in and stopped and stepped up and into the "Dinghy Dock", aptly named. It's a waterside pub/restaurant that you can dinghy up to, step off your boat and immediately sit down for a "cold one". And when in Rome? So we stepped off and stepped up and sat down for a "cold one", combined with some burgers and black bean "La Sirena" wraps (and perhaps a few too many margaritas and mojitos?)
What a great atmosphere, great view and super friendly waitress. The owner stopped by to chit-chat, he himself well versed in this lifestyle having been born on a boat (in the V-berth no less) to cruising parents.
Ah, promises...
Once the hunger pangs were dealt with, we walked through the very narrow streets and into town,
the hills steep, the colors pretty and the merciless heat had us scurrying to the nearest air conditioned gift shop, the only one open during afternoon siesta hour.
And Voila, my first much anticipated, open air fruit stand !! A papaya and pineapple later, and I was grinning from ear to ear...
I know, I know; this photo op is only about a gas station, but it made me smile... "it's all about the little things".
We opted to try something different for our evening meal and chose to visit the pastel coloured Mamacita's (restaurant located alongside the canal just south of the Dewey drawbridge) for supper. My plate of cornish game hen in tamarind sauce, with rice and beans, was good, but in general, the consensus seemed to be one of disappointment. The whole experience left us feeling like something was lacking, hard to put our finger on exactly what it was...
However, all in all, another great anchorage and another great day !