Puerto Rico…The Town of Boqueron and We Visit Gilligan’s Island!

After clearing in, exploring and loading up on groceries in Mayaguez we were ready to head out and explore more of PR. Next stop for us was Bahia De Boqueron. Most just call it Boqueron. Finally were were able to sail. The winds were light but we were not in a hurry. We only had to sail about 12 miles to get there the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day.

Puerto Rico flag flying in Boqueron Harbor.

Boqueron is the harbor that lots of cruising boats coming from the Dominican Republic clear in at. We had heard that it was easier to clear in at Mayaguez because if you sail into Boqueron you still have to take a taxi to Mayaguez to speak to the customs officer unless you were prepared and had already purchased a sticker from the US making it easier to clear in. Even the sticker is no guarantee that you won’t have to visit the customs office but either way we don’t have the sticker so we kept is simple and cleared in at the city where the customs office was. (Mayaguez) We were glad that we did though because we got to explore their beautiful town and were treated to fireworks!

Beach at Boqueron.

Boqueron is a big beautiful harbor with a pretty beach and lots of cruising boats. Nice change for us because we had not seen any other cruising boats since we were in Luperon over 2 ½ weeks ago! Well, we did see one other boat that also cleared in to Mayaguez but they had just got there when we were heading out so I don’t think that really counts.

Where we pulled up in Boqueron to access town.

House out on a pier in Boqueron.

When we were scouting for the perfect place to drop anchor we recognized a boat that we knew from Luperon. Yea! We know another cruiser that is here, too cool…someone to hang out with! As we were getting settled in our friend Gary came over and we chatted a bit. Come to find out there were a few other boats from Luperon that were on there way to Boqueron too. More friends on their way! Later that night they arrived and we had a get together on one of their boats. It was great to see old friends and catch up to what they had been up to. The next night it was time to celebrate our friend Carol’s 70^th birthday, and we had a blast! We went from having no one to socialize with to having lots to do. What fun!

Shop in Boqueron

In Boqueron

Boqueron

Boqueron storefront.

Now it was time to figure out where would be the best place for us to have the boat to pick up Rachel in San Juan. San Juan is on the North Coast and we would not be able to bring the boat there. We decided to head east to be closer because we figured that we would have to rent a car. This way we would not have to drive as far. We said our good- byes to our friends knowing that we would most likely see them again as we all all heading in the same direction looking for fun and sun in the islands!

Cool banana boat painting…reminds us of home.

Sailing past Cabo Rojo

The next day we headed south and around Cabo Rojo notorious for being a bit rough as it’s a cape that sticks out as you turn to make your easting. It was a bit choppy for us but a fun sail…we had give or take about 15 knt winds and were sailing along just fine…Brian was having a blast. Finally we had some wind and Brian had a big grin stuck on his face! We anchored out for the night by some reefs for protection and then headed to PR’s famous Gilligan’s Island!

Welcome to Gilligan’s Island!

Lagoon at Gilligan’s Island.

I had dreams of coconut telegraphs and caves to explore, possibly meeting Ginger or the Maryann but no this Gilligan’s Island was not the same as the one that we all know from the famous TV show. Don’t get me wrong it was pretty but it was also small! It looked like it was more of a day escape for locals with picnic tables and grills set up everywhere and small footpaths leading to just more of the same.

A look through the mangroves at Gilligan’s island.

Small creek that we explored at Gilligan’s Island.

There was a swimming area or maybe you could call it a “lagoon” that was nice to swim in and the snorkeling was pretty good but not the type where you see corals. More like snorkeling along mangroves but the water was absolutely clear and we saw lots of tropical fish. It was nice to get out and swim and snorkel. It had been a long time since we’ve done that. The anchorage was nice and calm. We took our dink and explored the area. It was pretty! With not much to do we just spent the night and headed out to our next destination…Ponce.

Colorful dock where the ferry leaves to take people to Gilligan’s Island.

Beach near but not on Gilligan’s Island.

Local boats anchored near Gilligan’s Island.

We haven’t explored much here as of yet unless you count the mall, Walmart, TJ Max, the grocery store but we don’t suppose that these are places that you want to hear about, after all you have these things back at home 🙂

Pretty coastline as we sail to Ponce.

Us, Bob and Georgette

One exciting thing did happen since we’ve been here we got to see and say good-bye to our friends Bob and Georgette. Not sure if we already shared with you but in November Bob had to come to the VA’s Hospital here in PR to have open heart surgery. We really had become close to these two when we were in Luperon. They are truly good people. We thought that they would make it back to Luperon before we had sailed out but they did not. We were so bummed that we did not get to see them one more time. We knew that they were in PR when we got here but they were way on the other side far away and getting ready to head back to the DR. When they heard that we were in Ponce they drove all the way from San Juan to see us…what a nice surprise! We were so happy to see them again! We hung out for the day and had a wonderful time. Thank you Bob and Georgette for coming to see us and we’re really gonna miss you!! Bob, you take care of that heart of yours and take it easy and listen when Georgette gives you advice she knows what’s best for you! Love you guys!

View from our rear window every morning in Ponce… we call them the paddle board club

Night before the full moon – pretty! Ponce Harbor.

Mini hovercraft that we saw in Ponce Harbor.

We pick up Rachel in just a couple of days and then we will get back to exploring the history of this beautiful country and share with you. Right now we are in the getting the boat ready for Rachel mode. Moving bunks around and trying to make things as comfortable as we can for her. We are soooo excited that we will see her in just a few days! Well, I better get back to work and get off of this computer. Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and we’ll be keeping in touch.

Love and miss you all,

Jennifer and Brian