Culabrita, Puerto Rico

Wow!!! Today is 2 months since we left our home in Boca Rotan, FL to start this adventure.  Did it go fast?  Well, in some ways it feels like it was just yesterday that we said goodbye to family and friends and sailed off into the sunset.  In other ways, it seems like a lifetime ago.  We have seen and done so much in these two months.  Our experience level and knowledge base has grown.  We can read a thousand books and study all the do’s and don’ts but nothing compares to actually living this life and experiencing it to the fullest.  It’s amazing!

I was hoping we would be in the USVI by today and marking our two month anniversary in the tropical waters of St. Thomas.  After all, it is less than 20 miles from here.  But, there is more to explore in the Spanish Virgin Islands and we just couldn’t justify rushing past such an amazing place.  Today, we left Dakity Bay, sailing around the south east end of Culebra and on to it’s smaller companion “Culebrita”.  This place is picture perfect.  Large rocky cliffs extend from each end of the cove and have shallow reefs extending towards the center of the bay from there.  In the very center, the reefs split and a nice deep channel leads into the bay.  As we approached, Larry was up on the bow, watching for shallows.  He was amazed at the clarity of the waters.  He kept asking me “how deep” because he couldn’t believe he could see starfish on the bottom, 25 feet below!  We haven’t seen waters this clear in a VERY long time!

Like most of the places in the Spanish Virgins, Culebrita had moorings and they encouraged you to use them instead of anchoring.  A lot of this area is coral reefs and anchoring can do irreversible damage to the fragile systems.  We gladly took a mooring ball. 

We were settled and secure before 7:30am.  Amazing … we had the whole day to explore/enjoy!

We started by snorkeling the rocky coastline.  There was an abundance of sea life.  It’s like this place is a sea turtle haven because there were dozens of turtles swimming around the bay.  The water towards the inner bay was wonderfully clear but as you worked your way to shore (into the shallows), the motion of the waves causes the shallows to be mirky.  But … we still saw amazing things.  Larry saw a flounder that was about a foot across.  There was even a gross eel hidden in the seagrass.  When Larry pointed it out to me, I involuntarily began to hyperventilate and swam away as quickly as possible.  It’s funny … when scuba diving, I was thrilled each time I’d see a moray eel.  They didn’t startle or scare me in the least.  But this tiny little (snake like) eel just gave me the creeps.  I was in water so shallow that my tummy almost hit the reef when the waves would pass and there was this eel, only inches away.  YUCK!!!

After snorkeling, we got on our boards in search of an area they call the “Jacuzzi”.  It was just a short distance beyond where we’d been snorkeling.  We pulled the boards ashore and began the short walk.  It may have been a “short” walk but boy, it wasn’t easy!

The water came almost all the way from one side of the island to the other.  The only thing preventing the two sides from meeting was the huge boulders you had to climb over to get to the other side.  These were sharp, slippery and damn … we forgot to bring our water shoes.  We were in bare feet!

Once we conquered the short distance, it was undeniable that we’d found the “Jacuzzi”.  It was a pool, nestled within the rocks, and almost open to the other side.  I say “almost” open because there were rocks that, during some wind/wave conditions, prevent the water from flowing thru.  However, today, there were large swells coming from the north coast and breaking in amongst the rocks.  The description we’d read said it gave a “bubbling effect” but in reality, it was just surf.  Still, it was cool.  The water was crystal clear and warm.  We lounged there for a bit before the hike back over the rocks to our protected cove.

Today is Friday, I can imagine, on the weekend, this place is probably very much like the Pallominos back off the coast of Fajardo.  Even with it not being the weekend, several power boats came in and did their typical anchoring … ass ends to shore, rafted with several other boats.  It was nice to be moored away from all the activity.  We’d found a nice spot at the far end of the beach all by ourselves!

In the afternoon, we snorkeled some more.  Today was turning out to be such a perfect day and an awesome way to cross the two month threshold!

For dinner, we had a nice fresh salad (with the veggies we’d gotten in Culebra), the last of our Mahi (made into picatta that I love so much) and a nice bottle of our homemade wine.  It was awesome!