
Back in February of this year you might remember that Lily and I had her daughters join us for a week as we cruised the southern coast of Puerto Rico….
Puerto Rico is the smallest of the Greater Antilles, but had significant strategic importance from the time Christopher Columbus first sighted it on his second voyage in 1493. This is due to it being the first island a European ship comes upon that is large enough to have fresh water. Thus, the Spanish Empire held onto Puerto Rico for over 400 years until they lost possession to the United States at the end of the Spanish-American War in 1898.
Although Christopher Columbus named the island San Juan after John the Baptist,
it was Ponce de Leon that explored and colonized the island. The settlement and harbor was called originally called Puerto Rico (meaning rich port) and the island was San Juan, but over the centuries these names became reversed thus we have the city of San Juan on the island of Puerto Rico.
Due to the original colonization and ownership for 400 years by the Spanish Empire the people of Puerto Rico are Spanish speaking, but the island has been part of the United States for over 100 years.
This gives you a feel of Latin America with the comfort of still being in the United States.
The Spanish Virgin Islands is a term used for the islands between Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands (Culebra and Vieques being the main two islands). They are geographically similar to the US and British Virgin Islands, so cruisers gave them the title Spanish Virgin Islands to be consistent. They are owned by Puerto Rico and most locals do not know them as the SVI, but as Culebra or Vieques instead.
Having been based in the US Virgin Islands for 6+ years I travel through the Spanish Virgin Islands several times each year. Plus, when I haul my boat out each year in Fajardo, on the east coast of Puerto Rico, I try and see something new on the main land. On top of taking a day here and there in between boat projects, I did a week-long road trip around Puerto Rico in 2015.
My favorite things to see on Puerto Rico are Old San Juan (easily 2-3 days of historic sites), El Yunque rain forest, and the Arecibo radio telescope. With this said do not forget about all the beaches, pre-Columbian sites, and the mountains (where it gets into the 50s and they grow coffee).
The Spanish Virgin Islands have the feel of what I am told the Caribbean was like 30 years ago, and Culebra is one of my all-time favorite islands.
This is another location that I do not have any dislikes for, but there are some fun quirks. For example, road distances are given in kilometers while speed limits are given in MPH.
If you come by boat remember to go through Boarder Patrol, even if coming from the US Virgin Islands. Oddly, you do not have to check into the US Virgin Islands if coming from Puerto Rico though.
Below you can get even more helpful hints by watching the two travel videos I made for the Puerto Rico and the three for the Spanish Virgin Islands. Also, you can read what all I did there in my blog posts located below the video.
Back in February of this year you might remember that Lily and I had her daughters join us for a week as we cruised the southern coast of Puerto Rico….
Did you follow our adventure as we cruised the south coast of Puerto Rico? Lily posted so great entries on Instagram and Facebook, so everyone could follow along. She has…
For the last 11 years I have run crewed charters aboard Guiding Light, a Lagoon 410, in the Virgin Islands with several years down in the Leeward and Windward Islands….
Last month Lily and I left the Virgin Islands to start our westward bound adventure. Our first stop was in Puerto Rico to pick up her daughters who flew in…
Before these blogs follow me down island, I wanted to catch up on a few places I visited this year in the Virgin Islands. The first one is Culebra. This…
Cayo Santiago is a 37.5-acre island located half a mile from Humacao, Puerto Rico. The island actually consists of a smaller, flat island connected by an sandy isthmus to a…
Last Tuesday I wrote about my dad and I sailing across the Caribbean Sea and on Thursday I wrote about a little sand bar out in the middle of nowhere….
In this episode of The Cruising Life you will go offshore sailing with Capt Shane and his father as they sail Guiding Light from Grenada to Puerto Rico. The 430…
The answer may surprise you. It is bamboo. Now I bet you are wondering why I am talking about bamboo, which is part of the Asian culture, when I have…
As I told you on Thursday, I am interrupting our adventures to share with you an article I wrote several months ago for some magazines. Given the damage the two…
Now that I have finished writting about our time in Morocco, I want to talk about the Virgin Islands for a bit before I get back to telling you all…
As many of you know I haul my boat out in Puerto Del Rey on the east coast of Puerto Rico. This year on the 40 mile trip back to…
If you are every sailing on the south side of St Thomas you might see what looks like a large schooner to the west. This is Sail Rock. It is…
This is the final blog about much less crowded locations outside of the BVI you can visit. Let me know if you have enjoyed this short series. HISTORY – A…
On Sunday I started a blog about different things to see outside of the BVI if you want to get away from the crowds. Today I am going to continue…
If you want to partake in beach bars and a very cool and fun party scene then the British Virgin Islands (BVI) is a great place to visit. Almost every…
So you are planing a vacation to the warmth and relaxing Caribbean? In fact you choose to visit the Virgin Islands. Now regardless of whether you came on a cruise…
Two weeks ago I hauled the boat out of the water in Puerto Rico. This is my third year doing this and I had seen several things in Puerto Rico…
In the latest issue of Cruising Outpost (Fall 2014) there was a letter to the editor explaining how a gentleman gave my Spanish Virgin Island article to a couple thinking…
The latest article I have had published was about spending 5 days in Puerto Rico with my family. It was published in the Fall 2014 issue of Cruising Outpost. Check…
Today I was asked a question I get all the time and that is “does it rain a lot and should I bring my rain gear?” The truth is that…
A couple weeks ago Bella told you about walking along the top of the reef, well I want to follow up on that and tell you more. If you…
Everyone, My latest article to be published is about my trip through the Spanish VI and was published in Cruising Outpost’s Spring 2014 issue. If you would like to read…
Having spent the last two weeks in Puerto Rico I have observed a few things. 1) The people here have been so nice. Everyone has tried so hard to be…
San Juan was established in 1509 and officially named in 1521. Remember Christopher Columbus made his historic voyage in 1492, only 17 years before the city was…
Even though the boat is put away for the hurricane season, my parents and I could not stop “cruising”. We simple continued in a van with two of…
We bid Viequez a fond farewell as we sailed away from the west coast one morning with just the jib up. It was a fast, dead downwind sail that…
Last week I left you at Luis Pena Island off of Calebra. We stayed here for the night, because it gave us an easy departure point to sail 8-10 miles…