S is for Spanish Virgins

Our first anchorage at Luis Pena in the Spanish Virgin Islands.

After the first night at the small island of Luis Pena we moved over to the western coast of Culebra. Culebra is the larger island with the settlement of Dewey.

Dewey is a very quaint and colourful town.

The sign says it all....open some days...closed others.

The Spanish Virgins, like Puerto Rico are very hilly. There are many roads much steeper than this but this one gives you the idea.

We hiked the two and one half miles to Flamenco Beach. It is now a park and it was interesting to watch all the Puerto Ricans at play at the beach. Many come across from Fajardo, PR just for the day at the beach.

These Puerto Ricans gave us a lift back to town from the beach. The driver who was a marshall in the Puerto Rican army wanted a picture of the cruising Canadians. More news and pictures to follow.

This is how this is how the other half live. We rented a car from Enterprise whose office was in the Conquistador Hotel.

We waited for the ferry back to Culebra in a little bar. Notice the big box...a brand new shiny toilet...at least we didn't have to fly this box down?!? The Spanish Virgin Islands were discovered by christopher columbus in 1493 and they lie between the US virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. They are totally dependent on tourism yet they are not "touristy" and busy. Dewey is the only town and it is ever so quaint. The islands are a very popular place to come for diving. We snorkelled at our anchorage yesterday and it was quite lovely. The coral is healthy and growing and the water was clean and clear. The Spanish Virgins have lovely anchorages, and pristine beaches and we only wish we had lots of time to spend here; however we will do what we can in the time that we are here. We are pinned down for a few days with a cold front so we may have a chance to do some exploring. We went into town this afternoon and learned a few things from a local cruiser who runs the Dewey Library. Last night the cold front came through with very strong winds and squalls. John almost didn't join us for dinner as the winds and rain were picking up by dinner time. By the time he left in his dinghy for Katerina the wind was quite fierce; however this is a great anchorage and well protected. Today is Sunday April 15th and we have been invited to a potluck on Blue Kai which is a huge catermaran. We met them back when we first arrived in Puerto Rico. John and Kathy have travelled with several of the boats that are here in the harbour and everyone is getting together on the largest boat. Today is Wednesday April 18th and tomorrow we are leaving for the US Virgin Islands.....St. John which is a national park.