Our last sunset in La Parguera

Yesterday morning at 6:30, we lifted our anchor from the mud in La Parguera. Just as dawn was arriving, we began to zigzag our way through the mangrove islands and reefs to make our way toward Guánica. Two hours fifteen minutes and 12.3 nautical miles later we dropped our anchor in 8 feet of water in the deeply indented harbor. Entering Guánica harbor was striking. The quarter mile-wide entrance resembles a tropical fjord, narrow and bordered on either side by rugged hills. On August 12, 1508, Juan Ponce De Leon entered into this same impressive natural harbor and founded a town he called Guaynía. And then, on July 25, 1898, United States Troops made landfall in this harbor as part of the Spanish-American War. This invasion ultimately led to the acquisition of Puerto Rico by the United States.

Morning passage to Guánica

Passing Punta Manglillo

Following in the wake of Ponce De Leon and the U.S. military into the impressive entrance to Guánica Harbor.

Inside the harbor, on the way to our anchorage.

In the early afternoon, we dinghied over a mile from our anchorage across the harbor to the town of Guánica to explore. A very nice gentlemen who spoke very good English met us as we tied up to a dock. It’s rarely clear whether we are allowed to tie up to a dock in Puerto Rico. This one was in front of a pescadería (fish market). He told us it would be fine and gave us the layout of the town. Guánica, like Boquerón and La Parguera, appears to be a weekend party town. As we walked along the malecón (boardwalk), we were struck by the desolate appearance of the place. We walked about three quarters of a mile down the main street in town (25 de julio) to Caño’s Pizza for lunch before ambling back to Dalí for the quick ride back to Beatitude.

Beatitude at anchor, Ensenada behind

Ponce De Leon

The main street in town, the 25th of July

The small local hospital

Walking the streets of Guánica

Lunch (and a haircut if you need one)

A house on calle 25 de julio

Stone commemorating the U.S. military landing on this spot in 1898

Fishing boats along the waterfront

Shortly after arriving back on board, we received a FaceTime call from our son, Jeremy, and his wife, Fran, who live in California. They sent us a text message while we were talking of an ultrasound showing our first grand baby! Cindy and I are going to be grandparents for the first time! How exciting! Our grandchild is due on September 4th. We’ll see how this impacts any of our cruising plans as time goes on.

Our Grandbaby!

In the evening, we dinghied over to the Bodegas Andreu Solé, a nice, restaurant, vineyard, bar and winery situated on the water in Ensenada (We are actually anchored in Ensenada, which is across the harbor from Guánica). The vineyard was begun in the early 1980s by the Andreu family which had previously owned a vineyard in Valencia, Spain. The evening was wonderful as we sat outside under the stars as a young man provided entertainment on guitar. We sampled the winery’s sangrias and house wine along with the six liqueurs they produce. The menu was tapas style. The chorizo and bean soup and the pimientos stuffed with crab meat were delicious. By the time dinner was through, it was pitch black on the water, but we dinghied back to Beatitude in the dark with no problem.

The sun has set behind Ensenada

Looking good for our date to Bodega Andreu Solé

A look down the dock at the Bodega

My alias in Puerto Rico

Tapas and wine

The evening’s entertainment

Today, we are raising our anchor once again for a very quick jaunt to a small group of islands not far east of Guánica harbor.