20 February 2011
February 19, 2011
Saturday
Hi All,
Yesterday we spent sailing around Vieques, Puerto Rico. There are many incredibly beautiful beaches with crystal white sand; unfortunately the U.S. Navy occupies much of this as they have for the last hundred or so years. There were many signs and areas that were well marked as No Trespassing/dangerous/unexploded ordinance/keep out. At one point, we were sailing inside an area we were not supposed to be. The coast guard hailed us on the radio and politely informed us of this. Then a short time later on land one of their bombs went off!
During our sail around Vieques we saw a whale making it’s way north. She was several hundred yards away and bobbing up and down in the water. It was nothing short of incredible.
Tom set out two fishing poles yesterday and had one big hit from a Barracuda. His pole was completely bent over, but Tom managed to get him on the boat and remove the hook from his mouth full of sharp teeth. He was a big boy; looked to be well over two feet long. Anyway, back in the water he went. No eating Barracuda.
We spent the night in Sun Bay. This bay can be reached by road and boat. There were quite a few people cooking out and swimming on the beach. It is about a half mile long, full of palm trees, white sand and a swimming area. The Puerto Ricans know how to party. We heard them far into the night playing music, laughing and having a good time.
Last night and this morning after some rain showers we saw the most beautiful rainbows. They sometimes look so close it seems as if you could reach out and touch it. I tried to get some decent pictures but I’m not sure my camera was really able to capture it very well.
For our travel to the Bahamas we are looking for someone with some sailing experience to assist us in getting there. There will be at least one overnight of sailing depending on if we stop in Puerto Rico. If anyone reading this is interested or just interested in coming along to be apart of this journey, let us know.
Savannah is hanging in with us and adjusting pretty well. There are more moments of happiness and fun for her than she willingly admits though. Homeschool is challenging at times; mostly dependant upon the mood of my beautiful blonde student. Yesterday she started multiplication and did well grasping the concept. I’m sure she did not get the math gene from me!
It is now Sunday morning about 9:00 a.m. We sailed around Vieques more yesterday and then returned to Culebra and spent the night. This morning we are sailing back to Water Island. Slugger says he wants to pass out under the bar some more and have all the locals comment about what a pretty dog he is.
All for now,
Rhonda