November 23, 2006
So far we are soaking up the coast of Puerto Rico at a typical Lucky Peek pace — slooooowww. We ended up spending six days in Boqueron; enjoying its tranquil bay, its mile-long crescent sand beach, and its quiet during its sleepy mid-week state and then watching it transform into a rockin‘, weekend destination for local Puertoriquenos – many of which arrived on polished Harleys and other two-wheeled machines. The little seaside town came alive with loud music and a multitude of sidewalk vendors selling fresh shucked oysters (which we did not partake of given my violent intestinal intolerance to them). The main street is shut down every weekend night so the pedestrians can weave their way across without too much danger. Before the street barricade was set up there was a steady stream of cars and bikes arriving for the weekend party. Conveniently for us, the dinghy dock was located right in the middle of the main little square where all the action seem to be centered.
In Boqueron we tasted our first Medalla, the local Puerto Rican beer, and we sampled a variety of empanadillas, which are scrumptious little fried meat pies with your choice of filling – chicken, fish, lobster, shrimp, etc. Not the healthiest fare, but mighty tasty and cheap!
We received a gracious offer to stay in Boqueron for Thanksgiving dinner by an American couple who lives there and hosts an annual traditional turkey dinner for all the cruisers in the harbor. It was tempting to stay and give Thanks with new friends as well as other members of our Luperon Class of ‘06 who were planning to stay for the dinner: Paul on “Sunrunner”, and Jack and Des on “Famous Potatoes”. But we decided it was time to up anchor and move on. So on the sunny afternoon of Sunday, November 19th we left Boqueron, made a stop for the night at Cabo Rojo (Cabo Rollo) along with Chris and Yani on “Magus”, then had an invigorating sail around the cape the next day into 20+ knots of wind to La Parguera on the southern coast.
Ahhhh…. La Parguera. La Pargueraaaahhhhh. La Parguera is now on our list of favorite places. The intricate reef system and numerous islands off of La Parguera provide endless options for anchoring near this charming little town. Formerly a fishing village, La Parguera is now a popular getaway for locals and foreigners alike who travel here on the weekends for the boating and excellent diving opportunities. By dinghy we explored the miles of mangrove creeks that lace together the mainland and its many coastal islands – one of which is reportedly inhabited by monkeys. We didn’t see any ourselves but thought we heard them mocking us as we paddled our way quietly through the mangrove tunnel that was at times barely wider than our dinghy. Mangrove roots hung from above our heads and sometimes in front of our faces as we made our way through to the other side which opened up into a beautiful little protected bay. No boats, no people, no monkeys. Just us in the warm sun marveling at the beauty.
Thanksgiving was drawing near and Rod was making plans to carve a Spam into the shape of a turkey for our dinner until we received another gracious offer for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. We didn’t intend on leaving La Parguera before Thanksgiving so we accepted the invitation and had a wonderful time getting acquainted with the cruisers that are calling La Parguera home for the winter (and in some cases, next summer and next winter). Don and Olga from “Richard Cory”, Ken and Andrea from “Ruff Life”, and Jim and Debbie from “Majong”, who hosted all of us aboard their classic 50 year old 52-foot wooden yawl. And Wally, a character whose boat name we cannot recall, told the tale of the crew of the vessel flying the Pink Jolly Roger and has Rod now scanning the horizon to find the same.
It’s hard to be away from family and friends this time of year but we are thankful for the new community of friends that are so open and welcoming. We are thankful for so many things, including the opportunity to be out here doing what we are doing and enriching our lives with new experiences. And I’m especially thankful that I didn’t have to eat Spurkey for Thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving, all.
