On Friday morning we managed to leave Salinas. The boat had been there for just over a week, us not quite that long. We left fully fueled and with no dirty laundry! Actually we had more fuel than we have ever had before because we bought two more diesel cans while we were in San Juan. The fuel dock at the marina we were anchored next to was not very large sailboat friendly so we made a couple of trips with our, now, four diesel cans. We wanted to take care of the fuel on Thursday afternoon but the wind was so strong it would have been impossible.

Once we were finished our fueling operation we headed east along the south coast for just an hour. We had a great anchorage, Cayo Puerco, completely to ourselves. There wasn't much to see, we were surrounded by mangrove trees and a factory in the distance but it was very still and very quiet. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and watching a movie.

This morning we got up early so we would be underway as soon as it was light enough to see. That is when the winds are lightest. We had to go through a cut called Boca de Infierno which translates to the Mouth of Hell. We totally understand how it got its name! There were reefs on both sides with only a small place to cross and while we were crossing it huge waves were coming at us. The trip continued on the rough side but luckily we only had three hours to go this time.

Now we are anchored in Puerto Patillas. You can see our view in the picture above. This morning when we got here it seemed like a great place, calm and quiet. As the day went on though it got a bit noisier. Now that it is officially Saturday night it is quite loud out there. We are a little worried about when the loud music will stop. We are anchored not far from a resort or public beach. There were people playing in the water and on all kinds of watercraft. Almost all of them have ignored us, two guys on an electric powered kayak stopped by to say hello though. They were each enjoying a beer and I thought here was an opportunity to make some points and get rid of more of the Bahamian beer we bought for the officials in the Dominican Republic. I offered them each a Bahamian beer and they happily accepted. An hour or so later they stopped back to bring us some of their beer. Since we don’t drink beer we declined. Then the one guy asked if he could have another bottle of the Bahamian beer because he had a beer collection from all different places. Bonus!! I got rid of two more bottles!!

Tomorrow we start heading up the east coast of Puerto Rico. Our next destination is an island that is populated by monkeys. We are looking forward to some good pictures!