Volvimos a Boquerón, PR

       Upon exiting the Turks and Caicos, the plan was to sail toward the northeastern coast of the Dominican Republic and then down through the Mona Passage to rest and reprovision at Boquerón,  Puerto Rico. The proposed trip was an estimated 300 nautical miles.
(1 nm = 1.151 miles)  However, the first half of the trip was quite an intense sail, so we "pulled over" to rest for a few days at Puerto Bahia Marina,  Samaná in the DR.  Then a nice forecast set us packing and we arrived at Boquerón where our friends on sv Windhover welcomed us with open arms.

Sunset on Boquerón's beach

          We met Windhover's crew  back in early February on  our first visit to Boquerón. Susi, Henk, and Teddy are a simply beautiful family inside and out.  They quickly filled us in on what was new and what was not in the area. Susi and Henk have been helping their son Teddy get settled in his new apartment and his new job in Boquerón. This is Teddy's first "bachelor pad" so you can imagine the learning curve all three are experiencing!

Always time for Dominoes with Susi, Henk, and Teddy.

        Since leaving the PR nearly four months ago, we have been reading about this commonwealth's effort to shore up its struggling economy with great interest. Things are changing in the PR and also in Boquerón. In February,  a small portion of the town's waterfront was being redone. Now more construction was disturbing the waterfront, as well as major portions of the streets in the heart of the tourist strip.

Took many exhilarating walks to the bakery.

        MANGO SEASON was fully on during this visit and their sweetness filled the air.  It was not unusual to see a bag or box of mangos set out on the sidewalk that was free for the taking.   I turned some of my free mangos into jam.

Mass at San José en español, supuesto.

        One Sunday as we returned from Mass, we found ourselves literally in the middle of a youth sailing regatta and the officials would not let us dinghy back to our vessel.  We made the best of the situation by climbing aboard Windhover to chat awhile. After that, on some days of the week, we suspected that the sailing instructors designated both Exit Strategy and Windhover as course "buoys" for the youngsters to practice tacking.   We enjoyed having "ring side seats" to watch their maneuvers and, thankfully, not a one hit us!