As we arrived in Samana we were thankful to have a full 5 days of rest before heading out on the Mona passage. We enjoyed spending time with friends, working out every morning, and hanging out in Puerto Bahia’s beautiful pools. Nick and I take pleasure in these small things. Sometimes boat life is a struggle and it’s no secret that our last passage was a doozy.
After our much-needed rest and relaxation, we were ready to make the long trek to Puerto Rico. A few of our buddy boats wanted to wait for more wind however s/v Satori and s/v Archiplego opted for calmer conditions. To our delight, the passage was mostly problem-free. There were a few times the engine bogged down but for the most part, she behaved. We even got to sail part of the way!
We arrived in Puerto Real in record time (25 hours). It sure was nice to drop anchor before sunset. The next morning, we went to Marina Pescdaria for another 5 days. Satori needed a good cleaning and Nick wanted to take a good look at our fuel tanks and system. It’s always easier at a dock for the convenience factor.
Nick decided the only thing left to do to fix our problem once and for all was to cut inspection holes in each baffle of the fuel tank. This required a few parts that we did not have. As luck would have it, the weather looked great to start moving East along Puerto Rico’s south coast. For anyone that has sailed this way, you know how hard it is. A good weather window that was going to last for over a week was a rare occurrence so we made the call to start moving. We didn’t have everything we needed but decided to sail to Salinas to finish buying the supplies and also finish the work there. Salinas is a clam enough anchorage to work on the boat. We could also easily rent a car from there.
Our first stop was La Parguera. We visited the bio bay which was one of the coolest things we’ve seen on our sailing adventure. We went at night and it was a little scary because there was no moon so it was pitch black. When you ran your hand through the water, it was like a trail of pixie dust. We couldn’t resist the urge to jump in and go for a swim. That was also scary because you couldn’t see a thing. I heard the theme song from Jaws in and decided to get back in the dinghy quick! It was amazing though. A must-do in Puerto Rico!
The next stop was Coffin Island. Nick and I went on a hike to the top of the hill. The view was beautiful. There were Iguanas at every turn and all kinds of terrain. We could see Satori swaying like a cradle in the anchorage below us. We also were able to play around on the water rafts left from the adventure tours. It was an extreme course, one you would see people competing for the best time without falling in the water!
Finally, we made it to Salinas. Nick was anxious to fix our fuel problem so as he went hunting for parts, I joined our friends Jenny and Steve for a tour of El Yunque rainforest. That came with a stop at Wendy’s for a Nutella frosty and ended with a delicious much-needed pizza from Pizza Hut. It was expensive but we wanted to treat ourselves to that sweet American staple. Mmmm!
Stay tuned for Nick’s superhero work to finally take care of the dreadful diesel bug.
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