Off to the Spanish Virgins and Puerto Rico

San Juan Puerto Rico

We set out from Antigua to St. John, US Virgin Islands. We had not done an overnight passage in quite some time, the last one being a challenging night from Tortola to Antigua. This passage was nearly the reverse trip, but luckily it was uneventful. The winds cooperated and we found ourselves way ahead of schedule and decided to pass by St. John and head on to Culebra, in the Spanish Virgin islands. This was becoming a regular occurrence, where we head for one destination and end up at another port and even a different country.

Sleeping behind the protection of the reef in Culebra was like sleeping on land. The Spanish Virgin Islands are supposed to be wonderful, but they had to wait for another time, as we made tracks to Puerto Rico.

We sailed through the Cucaracha passage, between Puerto Rico and La Cucaracha, to find large swells and light wind, not a good thing for sailboats. Eventually the wind filled in and we had a nice, but rolly, trip to San Juan Harbor.

We went into a marina in San Juan and met up with fellow Caribbean 1500 boats Cambio and Erika, along with Sea Schell. Although everyone was working on their boats, provisioning and getting ready for the long passage to come, we found plenty of time for impromptu happy hours, dinners out to sample the local Puerto Rican food, and sightseeing.

Aside from the pleasure of once again dealing in US currency, we found San Juan to be a beautiful, interesting and fun city. A visit to Old San Juan gave us a glimpse into the country’s colorful history. The fortress city was originally surrounded by walls built by the Spanish in the early 1500’s, a magnificent feet of engineering.

Fourte San Cristabal protected the city from land attacks.

While Forte del Moro protected the city from the sea.

Old San Juan and the forts have been renovated since we visited over 10 years ago and it was great to see a vibrant and clean city. We enjoyed walking through the streets and alleys and had great meals at the local restaurants.

We were also fortunate to be there during the Artesania music and arts festival and were able to see several artists perform. Although we did not understand the words, as they sang everything in Spanish, the music was beautiful and the quality of performers, outstanding.

With the weather clearing we headed off for the Turks and Caicos.