Taking our house with us...Full time cruising is fun :)

peace and tranquility

We are truly enjoying ourselves in our new life as full time cruisers :) It is so nice to be able to take our house with us (!)...ORION is always ready to go and so are we :) This "no schedule thing" is working out pretty nicely and we are in the full swing of it. My captain is slowly but steadily learning to relax...not so easy for him after having been "on the go" for so many years, but giant progress has been made...instead of trying to work like a maniac to get something done he now actually takes a break or goodness gracious postpones it until later or even the next day! Unless there is an emergency our life is full of procrastination...how many folks can actually say that?...and we love it that way! There is no rush...no crazy appointments...no stress...especially now that our refrigeration issues have been solved satisfactorily! From time to time we are still pinching ourselves to make sure it's all real, hahahaha! Right now we totally enjoy our peace and tranquility away from everybody. We thank our friends for understanding...when we are ready we'll join the big party again...right now mother nature is all we need.

Dinghy ride

Of course once in a while we have to join the real world again...like we did on Monday when we dinghied into Dewey to do the laundry and some grocery shopping. This time of year is a festive one and people take pride in decorating the streets and their homes...in Puerto Rico it is traditional to put a fresh coat of paint on your house and make everything look pretty in honor of the Christ Child...it is a tradition that has become very dear to us after having lived here for over 15 years, a special time of year amongst a special kind of people :) Even the poorest and littlest place is transformed into a beautiful sparkling one with a little paint and a lot of Christmas lights! Everybody gathers, plays music, sings, dances, and is merry...it is a happy time of year...and celebrated accordingly. Yes...Christmas in the Caribbean is quite different to Christmas anywhere else!

Vibra Verde

So we went into Dewey and whilst we were waiting for our laundry to finish had a bite to eat at one of our favorite places Vibra Verde Health Food. They make magnificent sandwiches with home made bread and we each had one for lunch :) By the time I remembered to take a picture we had already devoured our sandwiches! Next time for sure :)

Then it was off to Milka's, the grocery store, where we stocked up on fresh vegetables and some other stuff. We like Milka's a lot...it's a small store but it's air conditioned and we usually find everything we need there...and the prices are very reasonable considering that they have to buy everything from the mainland Puerto Rico. This time we saw potable water there in 1 gallon jugs...the clear ones that can be kept for years without breaking! Rick went back the next day to buy 10 of them (we like to store spare drinking water on ORION just in case) and the friendly staff even delivered them to the dinghy dock for him! How cool is that?

ORION

Anyways...we had a successful laundry and shopping trip on Monday and of course enjoyed the rest of the day relaxing on ORION at Melones beach. Tuesday we moved ORION (our house) to the next beach up, which is Tamarindo. Melones is a nice place to stay, but it is the next bay up from the main ferry dock in Dewey and therefore has quite a bit of rolling action when the ferries arrive and depart...on Monday night ORION was almost at a 60 degree angle from one of the ferry wakes (!)...must have been a new ferry captain or something, because we never experienced anything like it before! Luckily we always have things secure in the galley and everywhere else...but I still had two cups "flying" and the boat felt as if she was going to turn over...no joke! So no more Melones for us for a while! Tamarindo as you may remember has some day time activities with kayak and snorkeling tours on certain days...apart from that it is pretty serene here, and we love it. We could have moved to Tamarindo Grande, but decided against it, because last time we were there a million and one flies invaded us during the day time...no joke either!

So Tamarindo it is until we decide to move on again. Tuesday we did some cooking and went snorkeling. We took a different mooring ball this time that is a little further away from the beach, but nearer to the reef. To our amazement we encountered a completely unexpected underwater world this time! Maybe you remember from my last post that the coral reefs here are in the process of coming back after being struck by coral bleaching some years ago?...and maybe you also remember that I mentioned that they are "growing" corals here successfully? Well...we found the "coral growing place" for lack of a better description...it is amazing! There are iron fence structures on the bottom of the sea (tops are open, so nothing gets trapped in there) and each quadrant "grows" stag horn corals...it looks as if hundreds of stags came down there, scratched their heads and left their antlers (!)...it seems to be working...it is totally amazing! Even more amazing: a spotted eagle ray glided through the water right next to us and then disappeared slowly into the distance...(insert pinch here)...And yes...we will get the new underwater camera out of its packaging and use it soon!

Because of the unfortunate lack of underwater pictures I will...this time only...enclose pictures of various food dishes that we prepare and enjoy on ORION...can you feel the yum? :)

 

breakfast on ORION

 

Carlos Rosario beach, Culebra and a tiny circumnavigation!

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!

Melones Beach, Culebra...and a new portable freezer (!)

We are secured to a mooring ball...

Hurray hurray...we pulled the anchor today, left Dewey harbor and sailed to Melones Beach. Melones Beach is located on the west coast of Culebra in a little bay just past the main ferry dock...the next bay up is Tamarindo. Melones Is known for great snorkeling...it belongs to protected waters, no fishing is allowed! There are a few mooring balls in the pristine turquoise waters...we took one and had no problem securing it to ORION...practice makes perfect and we are having a lot of practice these days :) There was only one other boat moored next to us, a catamaran, making this a nice private little bay...just what the doctor ordered, hahaha.

fast speed passenger ferry Fajardo-Culebra

Tracking back a little bit I am happy to report that we took the ferry again and picked up our new 33 quart freezer, a Dometic CF35, at West Marine in Fajardo last Thursday...we want to thank the staff there, especially Estella, one of the managers, who accommodated our request to exchange the previously ordered CF25 for the CF35...all went well and we returned on the fast speed passenger ferry to Culebra and ORION. The new CF35 Dometic works great :) We are running it as a freezer, and we already enjoy home made ice cubes in our drinks! The meat is frozen solid, the unit turns on and off and maintains a temperature of 13 degrees Fahrenheit (we set it to that temperature)...best of all...all this under wind and solar power only! We are ecstatic about it :)

Okay...now that we no longer have refrigeration issues we are able to really get going...we stocked up on some fresh supplies of meat and veggies and even went to have a hair cut at the local Barber! As already reported above we are now moored at Melones Beach...went snorkeling this afternoon and are still pinching ourselves about the wow factor of this stunningly beautiful little beach area...there is a coral reef right by the beach...we swam with a turtle, a sting ray, and lots and lots of blue tang, saw hundreds of small colorful fishes and a reef full of healthy corals and sea fans swaying in the underwater current! God's creations at their best! Oh and all of this in crystal clear water with white sand on the bottom! This is what it's all about...this is what we enjoy the most...and we are so thankful to be able to live our dream in all its glory! Next step is to get the underwater camera out, so we can share the glory with all of you :) God bless!