We spent a fabulous four weeks in Puerto Rico filled with street food, lighthouses, sandy beaches, and amazing snorkeling. Puerto Rico really has it all and we are looking forward to returning in a month for hurricane season. After our weekend get-a-way in San Juan, we were ready to leave Salinas behind and sail to Culebra, PR. However, mother nature had a different plan for us. The trade winds were blowing strong, creating the choppiest seas we’ve seen yet. So instead of a 75 mile sail to Culebra, we broke the journey up into three legs, stopping in Puerto Patillas and Palmas Del Mar.
Puerto Patillas
Our first leg was the roughest. The wind was once again blowing fiercely on the nose of our boat. Kairos’s bow smacked hard into each wave. For the first time ever, she couldn’t exceed 4 knots. We had the wind, the waves, and a dirty boat bottom all working against us. Our 20 mile sail turned into a 5 hour slog. We were all relieved to take refuge in the well protected Puerto Patillas anchorage.
The town at the anchorage is cute with a handful of restaurants and a cute park development along the waterfront. However, we arrived on a Monday and like all the other coastal Puerto Rico town’s we’ve visited, Puerto Patillas is dead during the week. We stayed 3 nights and spent our time playing on the beach with the pups or panicking in the park.
Palmas Del Mar
On Thursday, May 19th we pulled up our anchor and set sail for Palmas Del Mar. The trade winds were still up, so we opted for another short leg. The wind chop was less than our previous sail, but the swell was greater. Baxter, Jaela, and I felt pretty nauseous the entire trip. But luckily, Rob was able to clean the bottom of the boat while we were anchored and Kairos was cruising through the waves at 5+ kts. We made it to the marina in just four hours.
We spent two nights at the marina cleaning Kairos and prepping for our time in the Spanish Virgin Islands. After knocking out some boat work, we rewarded ourselves with frozen drinks, a soak in the fresh water pool, and hot showers. After two rough sailing legs, it was just what we needed.
Culebra
We set sail for Culebra on Saturday. Once again the trade winds were blowing, but the seas weren’t nearly as choppy as what we saw on the south side of Puerto Rico. Five and a half hours later, we arrived at Carlos Rosarion Beach in Culebra. I’ve been looking forward to visiting Culebra ever since we started this journey. Fabulous snorkeling, Bahamas-like water, and pristine beaches—Culebra is known to be the Bee’s Knees and Carlos Rosarion Beach did not disappoint.
We grabbed a mooring ball just a stone’s throw away from the reef. No need to take the dinghy out searching for a snorkeling spot; we jumped in right off our boat. The reef was huge and in great shape. The DRNA (Department of Natural Resources and Environmental) added mooring balls to protect the reef from boats anchoring and it was obviously working. We loved exploring all of the beautiful coral and spotting eagle rays. Even the pups spent their free time in the water, swimming to and from shore.
On the south side of the beach, you’ll find a trail that leads to Flamenco Beach. We hiked the trail on Sunday and 20 minutes later we were squeezing through a chain linked fence that leads to the most pristine beach we’ve seen since the Bahamas. The beach was a little crowded (more people than what we are used to), but it is gorgeous and well worth the hike.
On Monday, we moved to the Ensenada Honda anchorage in order to visit the town. We stocked up on groceries, had a nice dinner, and celebrated our arrival to the Spanish Virgin Islands at the Dinghy Dock Bar. We final received our pet permit for the BVI’s and needed to print it, so we even got to check out the Culebra library. This is a very nice anchorage and a cute town, but we were too excited about exploring our next anchorage to stay more than a night.
Culebrita
Culebrita was our last stop in Puerto Rico and what a magical place it is! The white sandy beach is even more beautiful than Flamenco Beach. There’s a reef that surrounds the anchorage full of sea life. You can’t look out from your boat for more than 10 minutes without seeing a turtle head pop up on the surface of the water. The “Jacuzzi” on the north side of the beach is the perfect place for an afternoon swim. The hike to the lighthouse provides jaw dropping views. And if a pristine beach, great snorkeling, sea turtles, swimming holes, and lighthouses aren’t charming enough, wild goats roam on the island and graze on the hillside in the evenings. Even after dark, we could hear their “bahhhhs” from our boat. We loved this island!
We anchored in Culebrita for two nights and enjoyed everything the uninhabited island had to offer. Our last stop in Puerto Rico turned out to be a true paradise.
Robbie & Crystal,you don’t know this, but I have been vacationing right behind you. I have so enjoyed ( from the comfort of my sofa) your descriptive narratives,beautiful photos and… Especially your pups! What an amazing adventure. Thanks for taking the time to share. Enjoy your time with Kim and Rob.
Safe travels, Kristin
Hi Kristin. I’m glad you are enjoying following along. It’s certainly been an adventure. The pups make everything a little more difficult, but we can’t imagine not sharing this experience with them. We are looking forward to Rob and Kim’s visit as well as our trip back to PA in July to see Melissa, Jonas, and Reid. Thank you for following!