The pilot mentioned a marina nearby that we had initially ignored, but the skipper was attracted by the promise of the beautiful beach close by, and so without further ado, we decided to call up and see if there was a be th. No answer! No answer! Ah....siesta time on Good Friday, we reason! Close to 15:00 we decided to motor towards the marina and see if that got their attention. Sure enough, our call was answered and in we went, to a rather empty marina. Maybe being Easter, all the boats had headed out. The marina staff were most welcoming and we immediately felt at ease.
Palmas del Mar Yacht Club and Marina is designed to service yachts from 50-160' (Trilogy is 54') but we only saw one super large yacht. The marina sits adjacent to Palmas del Mar real estate development, once called New American Riviera. Previously the 2750 acres was a sugar plantation but now the spacious grounds are filled with all manner of accommodation, from luxury single level villas to 3 storey complexes. There are security levels everywhere and as this is considered an 'exclusive', destination, there is security within security, to make sure all others are excluded!
The girls were on a mission to defrost the fridge freezer that had completely frosted up and after that task was done they joined the boys at the very pleasant marina pool, and they had already downed a piña colada. The girls declined the offer to attend a fashion parade at poolside, preferring to relax in the late afternoon breeze sipping on their cherry topped piña coladas. Before heading back to Trilogy, we wandered through some of the accessible parts of the resort to check out the long sweeping beach, that had signs up saying that as turtles nested there, there was no access from sunset to sunrise.
The skipper had made a reservation for Chez Daniel's Restaurant, a French cafe within the resort. As it was on one of the canals, we decided to access the restaurant by tender. It felt lovely to be on the water at night and after a bit of searching where to tie up, we settled on a pier for super yachts, right outside the restaurant, as we were able to step up onto the massive fenders and step ashore in style. The restaurant was definitely French, with a beautiful French speaking Madame welcoming us. We dined on delicious 'all things French' from a starter of du pain et le buerre to entree selections of Coquilles Saint Jaques, Crab Crepes and Brie Salade; Canard Confit, Carré d'Agneau et Vivaneau grillé et câpres hachées, followed by Creme Brûlée, Profiteroles et Chocolate Mousse. We are not accustomed to so much food, but it was all so delicious and our resistance was definitely low.
Early next morning the skipper got us all revved up for a long walk along the beautiful beach. We went in search of a coffee first and although we found a cafe open, to our disappointment the coffee never lives up to our Aussie expectations. The walk and beach did though, and we all felt better for the exercise. The beach had several signs warning of rips, but to our eyes, although there was a decent shore break in sections, there was no hint of a rip. We really enjoyed out swim with very few others on the beach, but as we walked back, we could see the locals taking up their positions in the sun for the day. We headed for the marina pool for another swim before heading back to Trilogy. The boys topped up the water tanks while the girls got a lift to the supermarket to pick up a few supplies. As it was Easter Saturday, the little shop was filled with others buying cooked food from the little cafe within the store. The supermarket was located within an outdoor plaza and it was apparent there had been a rowdy party the night before in the centre of the plaza. Broken glass was strewn across the space and overflowing garbage bins told the rest of the story. Peter had visited the local post office and the lady had been offended and refused to open her doors (except for Peter!) until the mess was cleaned up, muttering ' these are outsiders who've done this. Haven't they had sex before!'
We decided to have brunch at the fisherman's coop at the southern edge of the small harbour.  We used the tender to get there and it was well worth it. It was a lovely setting and we managed a table closest to the water under the shade of the trees. We naturally ate fish - mahi mahi and red snapper, while Peter was happy with his grilled chicken. The accompaniments were french fries, fried plantain or arepos, which was something like a potato scallop, and a small garnish of lettuce and tomato. Cold local beer washed it all down very nicely.
A short motor down the coast, we dropped anchor at Puerto Patillas, a comfortable anchorage that is well protected by a reef. There was a holiday atmosphere in the bay, with music blaring and jet skis zooming all around us as we anchored. The music didn't stop all night in fact, due to it being Easter Saturday night. It wasn't long before the music started in the opposite direction next morning, so the township of Puerto Patillas captured our curiosity. Families were gathering along the foreshore for Easter Sunday picnics and the local kayak and jet ski operator was providing the boom box music from the back of his truck. That didn't stop each family having their own music blasting forth, but nothing will stop the Puerto Ricans playing their own music and LOUDLY! Peter had read that the church was a 'must see' and so we set off on foot in search of the church, a good thing to do on Easter Sunday, we thought! We never did find the church, but we did find a wonderful roadside cafe with tables and chairs overlooking the water. The cafe sold icy cold fruit frappes and very nice hot pastelillios and salt and pepper fish on skewers to enjoy. We've come to love the meat pastelillos and these were very good. The traffic was building up on the road and the police were patrolling back and forth constantly, both in cars and on motor cycles. We've become used to see this strong arm of the law presence in Puerto Rico, both on land and at sea. The coastguard have talked to us only once and oh so politely advised the skipper that he was flying the Puerto Rican flag upside down!! Meekly the skipper apologised and they went on their way, thank goodness. We figure they know exactly what Yacht Trilogy is up to, and are leaving us alone....but maybe the real drug runners are more their target. Meanwhile along the road came two party buses, filled with very excited waving passengers, the buses all decked out with lights and horns to let everyone know it was party time....but on Easter Sunday to our amusement. It felt that no one goes to church in this part of the world.
Next stop was supposed to be a short hop away, but as with all cruising, it is very much weather dependent. The bay was too exposed to the SE wind that had now unpredictably arisen and we motored for about 20 miles before we found a suitable anchorage for the night. Alas, it was not as scenic as we had become accustomed to, and was in fact Bahia de Jobos, a mangrove lined waterway, with many nooks and crannies to tuck into. During Hurricane George, no boats in Jobos were damaged while other yachts close by were significantly damaged. We had a nuclear power plant to look at and a disused coal power facility nearby. Also adjacent was a substantial wind farm, so this picture tells the development of 20th century power generation technology. When we finally found an anchorage, the sky was looking very threatening once more and this time Trilogy got a good wash down as the rain lasted at least an hour. Snug down below, we cooked our butter chicken for dinner and ate in the air conditioned comfort of the saloon.