Boqueron, Puerto Rico

Rested after a good nights sleep, we awoke hungry, and dinghied the short distance to town to find an American style bacon & egg breakfast. At 9:30am on a Monday, most of the town was closed up tight.

Luckily when we inquired where we might find a restaurant, one of the local owners was there and led us down the street to his small café. He was originally from New Jeresy and retired in PR. He spoke English and cooked and served our meal. Plates and utensils were all disposable, with no knives. When asked for a knife, he apologises and puts a large kitchen knife on the table for us to share. It was a tasty breakfast with great toasted flat bread.

After eating we walked town in the rain showers, but being Monday, most businesses were closed. We stopped for a beer at Mathilda’s, at the bridge next to the private Boqueron Marina.

Kaos was in need of a large drink of diesel fuel (700 gallons) so we checked with Club Nautico Marina (as listed in the cruise guide) and were abruptly told that they only sell to members, but we could take jerry cans to the gas station across the street…….I don’t think so!

We were given the phone number of a new marina, just six miles north in Puerto Real. A quick call to Jose Mendez, the owner confirmed they had diesel fuel and at $3.05 gallon, it was best price we’ve seen since leaving the US. We upped anchor and headed to Marina Pescaderia in Puerto Real to refuel. The owner, Jose spoke fluent English and was most helpful with local knowledge and sights to visit, as well as sharing some of his favorite places and beaches in the Virgin Islands. This brand new marina is one of the very few marinas accepting transient boaters on the Western Coast of Puerto Rico. It looked like a quaint little town, with a superb restaurant (so we were told) next door to the marina. This is a great spot to stage for crossing the Mona Passage, and we certainly will stage and refuel there on our return.

The wind was now strong from the North East, and that combined with the ocean swells made our anchorage lumpy, causing a restless night for all. Next morning Kaos upped anchor and ventured over to check out the Boqueron Hole, a lagoon amidst the mangroves that locals use during storms and hurricanes. The entrance and channel are well marked and the local polizia and DNR dock their boats inside the lagoon. It was flat calm inside and Jan was very anxious to join us and get some respite from her nausea,. Needless to say, we all enjoyed a great sleep that night.

Chipper and feeling much better after a good nights sleep, we elected to return to town and see if Tuesday brought a bit more action. Most of the restaurants were still closed, but we found Calloways on the water and had a great fish sandwich and a cold beer. Food was good and prices reasonable. Our waitress informed us that most businesses are closed until Thursday. The current economy combined with the slow season meant that many business’ only opened for the weekend visitors.


In spite of the many closures, we were still able to enjoy and absorb the Bohemian culture of this interesting, quaint town.