Caja de Muertos to Vieques

2/14/2017

Caja de Muertos lighthouse

We left Guanica in the dark for Caja de Muertos, arriving around 10:00 am. After a brief visit to shore to explore the island, we decided to continue on for the town of Salinas on the south coast. We raised the anchor and motored away from the island. As we turned east, the wind gusted to 27 knots on the nose and it started to drizzle. The wind was from an approaching squall. The waves were steep and the motion was uncomfortable. We'd had a challenging dinghy landing on shore, it was hot, the kids were tired and grouchy, Marin was seasick, and Brian and Kendall were feeling the effects of the early morning departures. This was just not our day. We decided enough was enough and we turned back to Caja de Muertos and anchored in the spot we'd just left. After some much-needed rest and stillness, Brian ended the day on a better note by making pizza on the grill.

The alarm went off at 3:30 the next morning for the trip to Cayo Puerco near the town of Aguirre. This is a well-protected anchorage surrounded by mangroves and is a popular staging area for the longer jump to Vieques. There wasn't a shore to land on so we stayed on the boat, got work done, and rested - the alarm was again set for 3:00am.

We left the anchorage at 3:30am and set our course for the west shore of Vieques. The trip was uneventful and we arrived at Green Beach around 10:30am. Since it was a Saturday (not a school day), we went right to shore after anchoring. We swam and snorkeled along the shore, took a dinghy ride through the anchorage, then spent the rest of the day relaxing on the boat and enjoying the scenery. .