Puerto Rico coastline

We arrived in Buequeron, Puerto Rico on Saturday at 4am after a relatively easy trip along the north coast of the Dominican Republic and through the Mona Passage. We sailed and motor sailed with Spray. We were really lucky with the wind and waves. A few other boats arrived a few hours after we did. After a few hours of sleep, we left for Ponce, The wind was directly on our nose and the sea a bit rough so we motor sailed to "Gilligan's Island" which was a calm and beautiful anchorage. We could not get off the boat since we hadn't cleared in.

The next morning we went to Ponce and cleared in with customs. On Monday morning we finished the clearing in process and in the afternoon, went to SEARS(!) where we bought a sump pump and other hardware. The sump pump replaces our anchor washdown pump and will also serve as a secondary emergency bilge pump in the unlikely event that water would be coming into the boat. We also went to "Cash and Carry, a warehouse type of store to buy provisions.

Spray in full sail

Yesterday we motor sailed and sailed with Spray to Salinas, a smaller town, and anchored in the mangrove-lined harbor. Lutz and Krina will help us with some maintenance and sail issues. Nothing major. We will stay here for at least a week, depending on how our boat projects go.

It's interesting to be in a US Territory. We both pointed and exclaimed, "Look!" at a white US Postal Service truck the rolled by delivering mail. The shape and color of the road signs are familiar but all in Spanish. From asea, Puerto Rico looks like a lush, green country, which we look forward to exploring.

Right now we're at a panaderia (bakery) using the wifi, so our internet connection is limited now. We hope to find a better solution soon.