A Soak In the Jacuzzi
04 April 2014 | Culebrita, Puerto Rico
Donna
Yesterday we decided to go visiting a cruising couple we had met the day before and ended up spending enough time with them that it was too late to leave for Culebrita, our next destination. I'm sure that was a good thing because the wind really kicked up later in the day and it rained very hard all night. We probably should have gone visiting again this morning because we did go to Culebrita today. It's a small island not far from Culebra. It only took about an hour to get there but it was a pretty rough hour. The wind and waves were fairly strong and we had to push through the waves to get into the anchorage which was just as bad as we expected it would be. We are on a schedule now though, we want to have enough time in the British Virgin Islands to really enjoy them. We were told Culebrita was one of those not to be missed places.
We knew as soon as we anchored that there was no way we were spending the night there, it was way too rough and rolly from the swells. However, we wanted to get to shore, hike to the lighthouse, and possibly find the natural Jacuzzi that we read about on one of the cruising guides. It was an incredibly beautiful beach even though the waves were pounding up on the shore. We found the easiest place to take the dinghy into the beach and we pulled it up high enough to not worry about it.
The hike to the lighthouse was great. There were a lot of hermit crabs sharing the trail with us, some of them pretty huge. When we got up the hill to the lighthouse it was inundated with goats. There were a number of baby goats there too. We had a good time checking out the lighthouse which is abandoned and really falling apart but really enjoyed the view from up there.
We weren't quite sure how to find the Jacuzzi though. We knew it was on the north side of the harbor we were anchored in so we walked along the beach and over the rocks until we found a path that looked possible. When we got to the other side of the island we found a place that looked likely. Bill decided he wanted to climb over some big rocks and that is when he found, what he was sure was the Jacuzzi. It's a nice pool of water that when a wave hits it gets all foamy. We had hiked to one in the Bahamas and it was much better than this one, but we decided to go in anyhow. There were some pretty major waves coming at the rocks, as you can see in the picture above, but the water was never too out of control to make us want to get out. We were very glad we had come and found this natural beauty.
As soon as we got back to the boat though we were ready to leave. It was so rough that we pulled the anchor up, turned around, and headed to a place not too far away back on Culebra that we knew would be much calmer. The wind is very strong and it is raining off and on but we are fairly certain we will have a calm night tonight.
For Cruisers: How To Find The Jacuzzi
It's not obvious from the anchorage where it is located. Dinghy in and walk to the north end of the beach. From there it’s an easy walk along the water on the rocks. At one point you need to walk in the water to get around a tree. Just before the end of the point you will see a trail going away from the water. Follow that and you will come to an open area with the ocean visible through a few gaps and an area where the water connects via a shallow rocky area to the anchorage side. In the middle towards the ocean is a very large rock with a big boulder to it’s left. Climb up between them. It’s an easy climb. Once you come over the crest you will see the Jacuzzi. You can’t miss it.