Welcome Back to the Caribbean

Sorry for not keeping you updated lately, dear fans. That happens when the Internet is something quite illusive and we are trying our best to hide away from civilisation.

After our rather terrible encounter with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency we felt like we needed to get away from it all for a while. Therefore, in Ponce, we stacked up on a lot of provisions and anchored in what on the map seemed like somewhere that nobody would be. We were right! Among the mangroves on the southern coast of Puerto Rico we found calm water and a seabed that excellently clung to our anchor. Fortune smiled upon us ever so sweetly… We even caught some fish on the way there, which enables us to hide away for two more days than expected.

This anchorage proved an apt opportunity to explore the mangroves. Mangroves are a strange kind of trees or shrubbery that appear to be getting by on saline water. That is very interesting! Saline water usually kills everything… They actually have these long tendrils hanging down from the tops of their foliage which suck the sea water up, cleaning it on the way. On the down side, mangroves tend to leave a lot of plant material in the sea, which makes the water a bit filthy. The crew of S/Y CoCo set out on an expedition to learn more about the mangrove. Regrettably, of the three of us that embarked on this expedition, only three made it back.

Hardcore exploration

The rest of us also wore hats.

After spending some of our most relaxing days at this place, we eventually decided that it was time to head back to a place inhabited by something more than plants. Or perhaps we were running out of beer. I don’t really remember. Whatever the reason, we sooner or later set sail for the island of Vieques. Here we have been able to do some long overdue maintenance, like put new strings on the guitar.

Dinghy dock in Vieques.

Tourists

Victim of a Hurricane?

Esperanza, Vieques.

Captain Peter on a typical Viequan street corner.