Spanish Virgins Vacation

As Mary mentioned in her last post, we had settled in at Palmas del Mar and were plugging away at projects.  Everyone needs a little time off, so we headed out on a 2 week circumnavigation of the Spanish Virgin Islands.

First we headed north up the coast towards the corner of Puerto Rico where the archipeligo starts to march off to the east.  First stop was the islands of Palominos and Palominito.

Beach at Isla Palominto

Palominito beach

Our glass bottom bucket.

At anchor at Palominos.

Isla Palominito

View of big island from Palominos

Puerto Rico Wind Power

Next a crossing to Caya Luis Pena.  We started off with a pretty good rainstorm, but the day turned into a fine sail.  Although I’m having very limited success, I continue to work at fishing.  This time we hooked a barracuda.  I guess some people eat them, the teeth scared me enough to throw him back.

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Isla Luis Pena is an island just to the east of Culebra.  It is wildlife sanctuary park with snorkeling and beaches.  We spent the night here and saw a great sunset.

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Next stop: Culebra.  It was a short hop from Isla Luis Pena across to the main island of Culebra.  There is a very well protected large harbor in the middle of the island called Ensenada Honda where we spent our first night.  The town on the island is called Dewey.  We stopped in for some shopping.  We also rented a jeep to see the sights including the incredible Playa Flamemco.

Water Spouts over Culebra

The town of Dewey

Morning Rainbow over Culebra

Playa Flemenco

Playa Flemenco

Playa Flemenco

Playa Flemenco

Playa Flemenco

Playa Flamenco

Tank on beech with Michigan connection

Playa Flemenco

Many areas of these islands are still contaminated from the Navy days

Anchorage on the south coast of Culebra

Just around to the east from Culebra is the island of Culebrita.  This island is also an uninhabited nature with a beautiful bay and beach.  We spent 3 peaceful days here.

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We took a hike to the top of the island to see the lighthouse.  Saw some wild deer on the trail on the way.  Great view from the trail and summit.

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After pulling up our anchor we sailed 8 miles south to the island of Vieques.

Until recently, the 2/3 island was controlled by the US Navy and large parts were used for bombing practice.  Although the Navy left in 2003, much of the island is still uninhabited.  Unfortunately, the navy left massive hazardous waste and untold numbers of unexploded ordinance so large areas are closed and unsafe.  The island is very pretty with outstanding bays and beaches.  Apparently clean up is ongoing and we hope all of the island will be safe and open some day.

Although we have no photos, one of the highlights of our stay was a visit to Mosquito Bay which is strongly bio luminescent.  Large boats are not allowed in the bay so we went with an outfitter in Esperanza for a kayak trip to the bay.  It was a jet black night and the luminescence was incredible.  Every time the water was disturbed by a paddle, a swimming fish, a wavelet, or a kayak, the water lit up like a neon sign.  Very beautiful.

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Heading back home to Palmas del Mar completed our circumnavigation and we capped off the trip landing a black fin tuna.  Nice way to finish up a vacation!

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