Mike exercised prior to departure, swimming for about an hour and a half up and down Ensenada Honda. The rest of us enjoyed fresh brewed coffee accompanied by a good serving of natural beauty and serenity.
Cruising conditions were much more comfortable today. Enroute, we learned via radio that Canadian friends Charlene and Bill aboard RSVP, had their dinghy stolen the previous evening while at anchor in Esperanza Harbour. The dinghy was locked to the boat and when the thieves couldn't cut through the cable, they cut the lock. Other petty thefts occurred such as theft of a dinghy fuel tank. These things can happen anywhere, and remind us to be vigilant and not become complacent. Having had our dinghy stolen four years ago in Nassau, we can certainly understand how Bill and Charlene feel, and understand that such an event does color one's view on the area. Anxious to replace their loss and continue their travels, Bill and Charlene departed Esperanza for St. Thomas. Having said all this, at no time on our travels have we felt threatened or unsafe. Thefts can occurr anywhere, inspite of taking all possible precautions.
Upon arrival in Esperanza, we found the harbour quite rolly and elected to head just East to anchor at the East end of Sun Bay Beach.
We were later joined by sailing friends Chris and Robin aboard Toucan Dream, who we last saw in Rum Cay, Bahamas in early December. Tim and Jan aboard Lamb Chop arrived early that afternoon. The rest of the day was spent on the beach and soaking in the water as we all caught up on one and others travels.
The following day we arranged to go for dinner at the Tradewinds Hotel in town. As a result of Bill and Charlene's dinghy theft, we were uncomfortable leaving our dinks tied at the public dock. Tim offered to provide dinghy service for all eight of us, and ferried ashore to the beach, where we had arranged to have Lolo, one of the local publico vans pick us up and drive us the short distance to town. We arranged to call Lolo later when we were ready to be picked up and returned to the beach, where we had tied and locked Tim's dinghy to a tree.
It was a fun evening. We enjoyed cocktails at the bar and dinner out on the open air terrace, overlooking the harbour. Tradewinds special that Friday was fresh lobster, which was delicious. We were serenaded for a short while with latin music, comming from the mobile DJ, driving up and down the street.
Camraderie was outstanding, food, service and ambience were excellent and I would not hesitate to return to this quaint little hotel.
A great time was had by all, and Tim's dink was still locked to the tree on the beach when we returned. Life is good!
Vieques is well known for the many wild horses that roam the island. En-route to the restaurant, we saw a herd that appeared oblivious to humans and continued grazing at the side of the road.
The horses also come down to the beach early in the morning and we were fortunate to see them accompanied by a couple of foals.
Next morning was another dawn departure. Kaos was heading to Palmas del Mar, on the East coast of Puerto Rico, Toucan Dream was off to St. Thomas, and Lamb Chop was staying in Vieques for another day.
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