Skipper had us up early to sail from Cayo de Muertos before the wind got up to more than light. It was a beautiful sail, beam reaching happily the 6 NM towards the Bahia de Ponce. We wanted to go into a private marina, the only marina for Ponce (pronounced pon-say). We were standing off about 09:00 and waited for the marina staff to respond to our request for a berth. Fortunately we were granted berth 27, and we were expected to moor without assistance. The pen was tight but the skipper and crew felt ready to manoeuvre Trilogy, especially as the wind was remained light. With the 'dock and go' engaged, the skipper edged Trilogy ever so carefully between the steel poles and once we had one stern line on, we were able to hold Trilogy off the poles and tighten her lines securely.
As usual, once in a marina, it is time to do the chores that make Trilogy a superb and comfortable vessel that we are always proud of. The laundry and shopping were the main tasks and as the marina was well out of the city of Ponce, we decided to hire a car for 2 days. Ponce is where Colin and Amelia Goodwin from the UK were to join us for a week and we needed to stock up sufficiently to live well for the next week. We filled the boot of the car with provisions and it took most of the day to get them all stowed and the laundry washed and returned fresh and folded. We prefer to use the onboard washing machine for personal clothing items but the linen is better outsourced.
We had just relaxed in the cockpit with our GNTs when we had admiring passers by stop for a chat. It was Garry, Sally, Sylvie and Anita who all live together on a 50 foot Beneteau. They joined us for a drink and they were curious to ask lots of questions about Trilogy and the journey. Likewise we were curious about their travels and as the evening progressed we were invited to join them for an evening meal on board on their yacht. Garry and his twin daughters Sally and Sylvie, along with Anita are producing 30 second film snatches for local Puerto Rican TV with a strong message of hope through living with a loving heart and acts of kindness. The productions are done onboard and in order to get high quality results, they work from midnight onwards, when the noise and distractions of Puerto Rican marina life are at their quietest. Sally and Sylvia have formed a foundation which provides help and support to the young and elderly who find themselves in difficult circumstances. This very close knit team were delightful to meet and very sincere about their work.
Next day was our opportunity to take a roadie to the small mountain municipality of Barranquitas. The trip followed winding roads up into the central region of Puerto Rico and the views were spectacular as we climbed and dipped through the valleys and peaks. Barranquitas had a lovely open civic square, bordered by a large church on one side, shops and civic buildings on the others. Lovely flower boxes surrounded a central attractive fountain. We found a lovely cafe which sold goodish coffee and pastelillos. We returned in time to visit the Museo de Art de Ponce, considered one of the finest art museums in Puerto Rico and largest in the Caribbean. It was founded in 1959 by industrialist and philanthropist Louis A. Ferré and houses a large collection of European art as well as works by Puerto Rican artists. The building was most impressive, based on a series of hexagon shaped galleries on two levels, with natural light captured into each gallery through the central open spaces. We then drove to one of the peaks that surround Ponce to visit the Castillo Serrallés Museo, a mansion built in the 1930s by a local architect, which has two large terraces, an outside fountain and symmetrical backyard garden. It's interior includes a luxurious  hall, a spacious dining room and an interior courtyard. There are four levels to the house and prominent throughout the building is the use of wooden round arches over the building's large windows and doorways. A central well with fountain on the ground level provides cooling breezes to all the rooms that open onto the surrounding internal balconies. No expense was spared in its construction and all modern appliances of the day were installed. Next stop was a massive retail shopping mall which was no different to any other major plaza, with all international brands represented.
To finish the day before Colin and Amelia arrived around 21:00, we went to a bar area adjacent to the marina that had blasted us with music the night before. There were a series of bars that all seemed to offer the same things and having checked out the menus of typical Puerto Rican fast food, we opted to go to the centre of Ponce to Lola's Restaurant, where we dined in comfort on excellent, well prepared food. For the first time on the trip there was decent wifi available and we all succumbed to catching up on all things iPhone. Back at the marina the Friday night party was in full swing at the Members Lounge and Colin and Amelia arrived shortly afterwards safely from San Juan. It was great to welcome them on board again.
Saturday dawned with a beautiful sky and after breakfast we headed back to Ponce central, to show Colin and Amelia the best part of town and grab a coffee. It was good to be there in daylight and check out the town which is steeped in history and visit the Plaza Las Delicias which has architecture of all types from centuries old buildings to buildings with rather garish facades. The Parque de Bombas has the famous red and black Firehouse Museum built in 1883 and on the opposite side the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadeloupe named after the city's patron Saint. Colin found himself some swimwear and we tasted some of the local food at the Utopian Cafe for morning tea. There was plenty of street food vendors around the plaza and quite tasteful large murals graced some of the lovely vacant walls around the plaza.
After a quick lunch it was time to depart Ponce. We eased Trilogy out of the tight berth fortunately with no damage in the stiff breeze and hoisted the sails for the 2 hour sail to our next stop, Punta Jacinto.