The trade winds are generally from the East in this region but on January 28th, the winds were predicted to come from the Northeast which made it for a nice sail from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico across the infamous Mona Passage. The Mona Passage is a strait that separates the islands of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. The Mona Passage connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea, and is an important shipping route between the Atlantic and the Panama Canal.
The 80 mi (130 km) stretch of sea between the two islands is one of the most difficult passages in the Caribbean. It is fraught with variable tidal currents created by the large islands on either side of it, and by sand banks that extend out for many miles from both coasts.
While crossing Samaná bay, we saw about 25 to 30 Humpback whales. It was quite amazing to watch them spout and lift their tails out of the sea to dive down. We were very alert just in case one of them or a pod of them would pass near us.
 |
| S/V PINNACLE IN SAMANA BAY |
BOQUERON: We arrived in Boquerón after a 24 hour passage. We were with our buddy boat 'Pinnacle'. They don't have AIS so it was nice for them to know that we would hail them in case some other boat would come near.
 |
| BOB BBQ'ING ON THE BEACH |
We have very good memories with Gigi and Bob of s/v 'Pinnacle'. They invited us for a beach BBQ. As soon as we were all set up, it just rained and rained and rained. We took shelter in a life guard cabin and just laughed. It finally ended and we had a feast. There were so many mosquitoes, we had to leave but this was a good thing. We walked to town and there was music in the street.
 |
| SUSAN & GIGI. WE HAD SO MUCH FUN TOGETHER |
We danced the salsa and meringue and sang to karaoke music until very late. We were awful singers but we didn't care. I think we were the only visitors there. It was packed with locals & they loved to dance with us.
 |
| CLAMS FOR SALE |
 |
| $2.00 EMPANADAS |
GILLIGAN'S ISLAND: This uninhabited island is quite small with very shallow waters. On week-ends, the locals sit in the shallow pools with drinks and have laughs with their family and friends. It can be quite busy. We went during the week and had the place to ourselves...well almost.
OLD SAN JUAN: We left our boat at the Ponce Yacht Club and rented a car to drive to Old San Juan city. My Aunt and Uncle from New Brunswick, Canada were arriving on a cruise ship in San Juan so we were able to visit with them.
 |
| CENTER OF OLD SAN JUAN FROM OUR HOTEL ROOM |
 |
| THE WALLS AT SAN JUAN |
 |
| SUSAN BUYING CIGARS FOR A FRIEND |
 | ||
| SUSAN ATTENDED BACARDI RUM SCHOOL, THE ART OF MAKING RUM DRINKS. TIM DID A RUM TASTING
 
Mofongo is a fried plantain-based dish. It is typically made with fried green plantains mashed together in a pilón (wooden mortar and pestle) with broth, garlic, olive oil, and Chicharron (pork cracklings) or bits of bacon. It can be filled with vegetables, chicken, crab, shrimp, or beef and is often served with fried meat and chicken broth soup. Mofongo relleno is mofongo served with braised meat or seafood poured over it.
|
PONCE: Ponce is Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the great-grandson of Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León. The city serves as the governmental seat of the autonomous municipality as well as the regional hub for various Government of Puerto Rico entities, such as the Judiciary of Puerto Rico. It is also the regional center for various other commonwealth and federal government agencies.
The municipality of Ponce is the second largest in Puerto Rico by land area, and it was the first in Puerto Rico to obtain its autonomy, becoming the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce in 1992.
 |
Parque de Bombas ("Park of Pumps") is a historic firehouse building in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is one of Puerto Rico's most notable buildings, with some considering it "by far the most easily recognized landmark in the Island." It is located at the Plaza Las Delicias town square, directly behind the Ponce Cathedral. The building housed the city's main fire station for many years, and it is now a museum. Its name comes from the mobile hand-pumped fire fighting units the building once housed. It has been heralded both for its historical and architectural roles in Puerto Rican society. It was Puerto Rico's first ever fire station. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on July 12, 1984.
|
At a market in Ponce, a vendor gave me a
soursop to taste. It's really yummy ! You
can even make soursop ice cream.
I like to fry the soursop to make soursop chips.
Parque de la Ceiba (Ceiba Tree Park) is a passive park in barrio San Antón, Ponce, Puerto Rico. Its centerpiece is the historic Ceiba tree, a tree associated with the founding of the city. Now surrounded by the park with the same name, the emblematic 500-year old Ceiba tree stands on the edge of the Ponce Historic Zone. The park opened in 1984.
 |
| THE TOWN OF PONCE |
CAJA DES MUERTOS ISLAND: Means Coffin Island. It is an uninhabited island off the southern coast of Puerto Rico, in the municipality of Ponce. The island is protected by the Reserva Natural Caja de Muertos natural reserve, because of its native turtle traffic.
 |
| PICTURE TAKEN FROM THE LIGHTHOUSE |
 |
| TALL CACTUS ON OUR HIKE TO THE LIGHTHOUSE |
 |
| LIGHTHOUSE AT 'COFFIN ISLAND' |
BAHIA JOBOS: We anchored here behind the mangroves. A fun thing to do here is to dinghy around to see all the manatees.
FAJARDO: We stayed at the Sunbay marina since we wanted to rent a car to visit the El Yunque rain forest.
At the marina we met some very interesting people, or shall I say, a very interesting boat named CAT'S MEOW. This catamaran was designed by Derek Kelsall and built by Mananan Yachts in 1988 on the Isle of Man. Described as “the quintessence of luxury and performance”. She is 78' long and 35' wide. Don & Lavonne are the owners now.
The previous owner, lived the good life for years was sentenced for running a marijuana smuggling operation in which he sank tons of pot to the ocean floor and later brought it to the surface using smaller boats, global-positioning units and scuba gear.
It was the biggest marijuana importation scheme in coastal South Carolina since the late 1970s, when "Operation Jackpot" caught people smuggling drugs to barrier islands throughout the state, according to Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner. Read more here : http://www.beaufortgazette.com/local/story/198473.html
Don went to an auction, not expecting to purchase this boat but he did. We had the pleasure of visiting with Don and Lavonne on their very impressive, large Cat.
EL YUNQUE RAIN FOREST: This Rain Forest is a cool, mountainous, sub tropical rainforest. The Eastern side of the Luquillo Mountains, which has the El Yunque rainforest at the top elevations, gets most of the rain. This tropical 'Rain forest' occupies very little area in Puerto Rico, only a single, crescent shaped, band on the windward side of the El Yunque mountains. It lies wholly within the El Yunque National Forest Reserve.
 |
| THE ENDANGERED PUERTO RICAN PARROT |
 |
| WE WERE ABLE TO SWIM AT TWO WATERFALL HOLES |
No comments:
Post a Comment