Wow........it's been quite some time since I updated this blog......something I plan to work on while we travel up the ICW. We are here in Bradenton at Twin Dolphin Marina visiting with Bob's brother and his wife, who just bought a huge 52 feet cabin cruiser.......we call them the Howells. :). It's been great catching up with MSA friends and seeing our daughter Dana. As usual, a lot of partying and some boat work thrown in. We bought a used watermaker in St Marten, in December, and it finally is doing its job! Various friends and finally Freundship Marine assisted with the installation and I am so excited! Topside cushions are being recovered and we are making some modifications to the new bimini that was installed in Grenada.

The plan is to head down to the Keys in a week or so and then up the ICW, however far we get. Hope to catch up with friends made along the way and make new ones! Fair Winds.

Culebra to Ensenada Honda..an islolated bay which is a great hurricane hole. Not much to see, but the water is a bit bioluminescent, and no boats other than the Jseppis and Adastra were anchored. Bob, Leo and I wnet fishing off the dinghy, whcih meant I drove and Bob fished. Oh, and Leo jumped off the dinghy. I killed to motor and caught him by his ear, but I'm certain he hasn't leaned any lessons. When we take him to the beach, he rides on the front of the dink and jumps out when we are close. Good thing he stays in the cockpit when we sail.

From Ensenada Honda, we sailed to Ensenada Sun Bay, a beautiful anchorage with a great beach. Of course, when we came in we had not brought in our dinghy and the dinghy line fouled the prop. I'm sure that's never happened to anyone else. ;) Bob donned his snorkeling gear and went at it...with success. I am now the official dinghy captain whcih means it's my responsibility to tell Bob what to do, and I have to admit, I am pretty good at that. On to Esperanza, a tiny coastal town still on the south side of Vieques. Bob and I were here on a charter boat in 2006, and not much has changed. Altough i very nice local woman did say that all the real estate is being scooped up by Americans, and most of the businesses are now American owned. It's a shame because this a a great little place. We had drinks and appetizers at Bananas while we played dominoes, the best way to waste an afternoon.

Hello Again! We are back in Culebra for a few days....had some problems getting here but all is good now, just needed to scrape a few pounds of barnacles off the prop. We are now anchored right by the government dock, very close by dinghy to go ashore and do laundry and shop. This town is so easy going and we really enjoy spending time here. Yesterday afternoon we walked to the ferry dock to do laundry. There is a little bar there where we sat and people watched and drank beer while the washers were doing the laundry. A little black dog was running around, off leash (most of them are) and made friends with Leo. His owner, Carol, turned out to be quite an interesting lady who had lived everywhere, originated in New York and wandered the islands most of her life. She was what you would call a local character, full of info about Vieques, St Croix, Culebra, St Thomas. She smoked an electronic cigarette and her cough told of a lifetime of smoking. I estimate her age to be about 70, she lives on SS in senior housing (CHEAP!) and makes her way down to the little bar every day with her dog. She's considering moving back to Vieques because Culebra has no nightlife!

We met someone else as well, a friend of ours from Hoofers Sailing in Madison has a roommate who is here and he and his daughter and her cousin kayaked over to the boat and shared some information about the town, rest and other necessities. Thanks Jo and Steve!

Notable: If you travel here with a dog, the sea Breeze resort will allow you to walk your dog on the premises, presuming you clean up after him. Just buy a drink at the outside bar! El Batey restaurant has good, inexpensive PR food and allows dogs. Definitely not fancy, but the beer is cheap! Free water at the DNRA dock, where you can also take your dog ashore and let him run.

El Yunque, the only rain forest in the United States and territories. Jose, Char, Bob, Leo and I drove to El Yunque to hike, walk and enjoy the scenery. Well, the walk was just a little togher than I had imagined! Steep trails and over an hour to the observation tower, but worth every ache and pain. I had never been in a rain forest, the greenery and flowers were amazing, and the much lower temperature was welcome. The view from the tower was incredible.......and the waterfalls were a short hike, in comparison, and also just as beautiful. Check the gallery for more pictures........

6/30......Sailed back to Jost Van Dyke to check out of the BVI.....next day set sail for Puerto Rico. Silvio and Verena headed to St Johns but we had a reservation in a marina for the month of July, get some boat work done and provision. July 1, we we here and had dinner to celebrate our 34th anniversary at a place called La Ola.....tapas and sangria! Our marina is very nice but no green space for Leo, we throw his ball along the breakwall. We rented a car and saw a couple of movies, shopped for groceries and generally explored. Jose and Char came in next to us for a few days to get ready to put their boat on the hard and back to Key West until October. They then decided to rent a car and we drove to San Juan to the Bacardi Factory for a tour. YUMRUM!

Bob and Jose at the Bacardi Factory

6/27.....From Anegada, we sailed back to the Baths for Char and Jose, who had not yet been there. Another gorgeous day of snorkeling and climbing through the boulders.......we then sailed to Savannah Bay, just a bit north, and anchored for the night......snorkeled in the bay the next morning. Very nice reefs and anchorage!