Friday, April 4, 2014

Mayaguez - Cabo Rojo - Gilligan's Island - Ponce - Salinas

We made it to Puerto Rico, but we were on its west coast and our friends were coming to Palmas del Mars, on its east coast. We needed to get moving! Fortunately, the weather was still settled enough to allow us to continue south and east along Puerto Rico's south coast. We 'hopped' from Mayaguez to Cabo Rojo, where we caught up to Nightwatch again. Cabo Rojo's cliff face with its' lighthouse perched on top, was picturesque. As an anchorage it was good, though a little 'rolly' from the ocean swells.
Gilligan's Island ferry

our taxi to Gilligan's Island (Ralph & Mary)

Gilligan's Island trails amongst the mangroves

the mainland across from Gilligan's Island
(Ralph, Mary & Gil)

The following day we travelled with them to Gilligan's Island, much touted in the guide books. We dinghied to it and walked its' trails among the mangroves and the lagoons. We were not alone, as several ferries bring passengers across to enjoy the picnic areas on the island. It was actually quite crowded, so our visit was short. Together with Ralph & Mary from Nightwatch, we took the dinghy over to the mainland beach - where we enjoyed some cold ones, while taking advantage of their WiFi to download the current weather forecasts. That was a turning point ... the weather was forecast to deteriorate the following day. We were all of the same mind - to get to Ponce now while the going was good. I never finished my cold one!

lots of these in the tradewinds of Puerto Rico!

'but a blimp in the tradewinds?! ... how do they get it back?

the anchorage at Ponce

Ponce was our 'home' for several days while we waited for (better) weather to move on again. It was a good reprovisioning port - time for groceries, laundry, propane, fuel, water, etc. We even made it to a mall - the El Caribe Mall, where we purchased a SIM card and data plan for the iphone, and found $2 tank tops (on sale at Old Navy) of which I bought eight! Ponce's night life around the harbour was, however, very noisy! We were more than ready to be on our way again. Even with the better weather forecast, we chose to leave Ponce at 3am, arriving in Salinas for 7am.... it was worth it for the comfortable sail.

sunrise coming into Salinas harbour

Salinas was where we left Serenada, while we visited with friends from home.... (next blog)...


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