After three weeks in Isla Vieques and relative isolation Don decided it was time to head to our haul out appointment. We can't put it off any longer! Between the picturesque town of Esperanza and the deserted beach of Sun Bay, Isla Vieques is a hard place to leave. On our last day, we finally took the bioluminescent nighttime kayak trip into Mosquito Bay. It is an almost completely enclosed mangrove bay on the south shore where tiny dynoflagellates give off phosphorescent light when disturbed, and on a moonless night we had twinkling lights above us and below us, with glowing water dripping off our paddles and eerily lit fish and rays swimming under us. We had experienced this beautiful phosphorescence on many offshore night passages in the Pacific, but never so close to shore. This is one of three such bays in Puerto Rico, all currently being actively protected and preserved, this one by the Vieques Conservation and Historic Trust. Eco tours are prevalent and diesel engines forbidden so you can take a guided kayak tour or a glass-bottomed electric boat.

So now after a fantastic three hour sail we are in Islet Marina on a small islet on the east coast of Puerto Rico, accessible only by ferry. Hauled out by a synchro-lift that was once part of an extensive rail system, now only the lift is operational. We waited two days for the actual hauling out as the lift is operated and overseen by only one man, Felix, who has been doing this for forty-five years. Felix has difficulty getting around now and brought his own wheelchair to supervise from, a deserved king on his throne with all the other workers doing his bidding unquestioned. All throughout the hauling, many people came to see Felix and say hello, I got the impression he only comes when there is a synchro-lift haul out to be done, and all were very glad to see him.

This is our new home for the next two or three weeks, a bottom job, sanding and painting the sides of the hulls, and whatever other projects Don can squeeze into our time here. My jobs? Multiple trips to Wal-Mart and Home Depot for supplies, cleaning, mold duty, and getting rid of all the extra weight on the boat, gotta bring that water-line up!