Culebra

I’ve overcome some of my sailing fears

but by no means all of them!

On the passage to Culebra

in unfamiliar waters

when the swells got up to 6 feet

and our sailing companions were

too far ahead of us to see,

my adrenalin was kicking into anxiety.

And that was on a sunny day

with only light to moderate winds!

What was scary was knowing

we were hours away from help or relief

should conditions get suddenly worse,

or something break,

or someone get hurt.

The sea is a big and powerful thing!

On the other hand, Culebra is beautiful.

We spent two calm nights

and a rainy day in between

moored behind a double reef

in a quiet bay ringed with mangrove trees –

Bahia Amodovar.

Today we motored around the corner

to the main harbor of Ensenada Honda

and spent the day ashore

exploring the town of Dewey.

We rented a golf cart

and had lunch in town.

We saw the iconic walking bridge

and followed the canal out to the ocean side.

We walked the 6th most beautiful beach in the world

(according to tripadvisor)

and discovered a rusted army tank at the end of it

colorfully painted with peace signs.

It was fun

being tourists for a day!

Going back tomorrow will be an upwind slog

and likely a bouncing 5-hour motor ride.

Not a lot of fun,

but not frightening either --

unless of course, the weather turns bad.

friday 4 march

lent 2016
Bahia Amodovar, Culebra (Puerto Rico)