On Sunday we moved ORION one bay up to yet another beach in Culebra named Carlos Rosario beach. Carlos Rosario is surrounded by a big reef that can actually be reached from shore! We had the pleasure of doing this about 10 years ago whilst vacationing in Culebra with our kids Jessica, Julia, and Michael. So now Rick and I are back here on our own sailboat! We took one of the mooring balls provided by the DRNA and jumped right into the turquoise water thereafter. It was an amazing feeling...there were hundreds of fishes right there with us. It was like being in a 3D movie all of a sudden...and we were part of it! The water was so clear that we could see silhouettes of fishes dancing way in the distance...the reef was right next to us and we snorkeled almost the whole length of it. Ten years ago this reef was a lot different...there used to be magnificent elk horn corals, stag horn corals and many other species of coral...but now they are all gone! A phenomen called coral bleaching took place here some years ago and almost wiped out the corals...left are whitish structures that bare little semblence to the abundance of coral life that used to live here.
 |
| day use only mooring ball |
Still...there is life everywhere in this underwater world...the brain corals are on the come back, there are quite a few sea mushrooms and sponges, which I have not seen on the other reefs, and there are hundreds of sea fern swaying rhythmically with the underwater current. The abundance of fishes mentioned earlier is also a sign that the reef is becoming healthy again...there are schools of blue tang and sergeant majors, yellow tail snappers, blue chromis, and even parrot fish! We saw big blooming anemones and a huge trumpet fish also. The reef will survive and rebuild itself...it will take many years, but time is of minimal importance to the reef. In the meantime it is good to know that the area is a protected one where no fishing is allowed and even the mooring balls there are for day use only, giving the sea life a chance to be mostly undisturbed in its efforts to regain its original strength. Well done DRNA...we salute you for nature preservation at its best!
At this point I also thank my wonderful captain and husband for educating our whole family on everything to do with the sea...he studied marine biology in his early years and knows the names and characteristics of almost any creature down below the surface of the water! Our children and I owe him a lot of gratitude for patiently teaching us and never getting tired of answering our repeated questions without fail...as a reward we love the sea as much as he does :)
 |
| Father and sons |
Of course Rick and his two brothers developed a love for the water and the sea from their father (Harvey), who has been boating all his life and at the young age of 93 still goes out fishing with one of his sons whenever he can!Way to go Dad! We love you!
 |
| Luis Pena island Culebra |
Okay...zooming back to Culebra...since the mooring balls at Carlos Rosario are for daytime use only we waved good bye to find another anchorage for the night. Whilst passing Luis Pena island to our left my captain exclaimed "we just did our first circumnavigation"...and chuckling he explained that we had actually circumnavigated Luis Pena island :)
So there you have it...we did it...our first mini circumnavigation on ORION :)
We ended up mooring at Melones beach, the place where we had started our journey the previous Sunday...exactly seven days ago! There were no other boats there, so our much needed solitude is continuing at a wonderful pace :)
Another beautiful sunset rounded up the day perfectly!
