Spanish VI

Sample itinerary for a one way sailing trip, starting in St, Thomas visiting the unspoiled Spanish Virgin Islands and ending in Puerto Rico, Marina Puerto del Rey

1st day:
We welcome you aboard the sailing yacht BILLY JEAN at 12:00 noon in St. Thomas, close to Red Hook in "Compass Point Marina" with a typical Caribbean Rum Punch and something light to eat. We will explain to you, all the things you have to know about "living aboard". We will set sail to Great St, James and, anchor in Christmas Cove, where you can have your first swim and snorkel in the blue Caribbean waters. With a little luck you will discover one of the turtles or stingrays who live here. See the cruise ships at the horizon, leaving St, Thomas at sunset.

We sail to Buck Island, a very attractive snorkel spot. After lunch we sail either to Charlotte Amalie harbor, the main anchorage in St, Thomas, if you are into shopping and nightlife or we drop anchor in Honeymoon Bay in Water Island, if you want to spend a more quiet evening.

Today we will have our longest sail ahead of us. About 20 miles or 4 hours to Culebrita. Like most of the anchorages in the Spanish Virgin Islands, during the week you're likely to have Culebrita to yourself, but it's a different story on the weekends.

Although the Spanish Virgins lie just 15-20 miles from the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, they are far less crowded. Even though they're part of the United States, they have none of the commercialism of the U.S. Virgin Islands, nor the crowds of charter boats that fight for moorings in the British Virgin Islands.

Explore Culebra, which isn't very difficult to do. Because the U.S. government has one of its most diverse National Wildlife Refuges on Culebra, land developers haven't made much of a toehold there, either. There are three roads, each of them leading to a beach, and 2,000 people on the 11-square-mile island. Most people live in Dewey, the town all the locals call "Culebra," and everyone is friendly, laid-back and unaffected.

Hike across the is land to Playa Flamenco, one of the most spectacular beaches anywhere in the Caribbean, and see how many of the 85 kinds of birds that nest on Culebra you can identify.

After breakfast we sail to an island in the south of Culebra, Cayo Luis Pena. The under water coral world will take your breath away. After Lunch we set sail, be sure you have your trolling lines out; Vieques Sound is full of bonito, tuna and dolphin. We drop anchor at Palominos, a small island with a white beach and a lot of palm trees.

We leave the island world and sail to Marina Puerto del Rey. Here we pick up our rental car (included in price) and get ready to visit one of the most historic cities in the Caribbean Old San Juan. You can visit the Fort, do great shopping in the narrow street and we will dine in one of the typical restaurants. After a long and exciting day we return to Billy Jean.

One of the highlights of this trip will be the visit of the El Yunque Rainforest.

The El Yunque Rain forest is a cool, mountainous, semi tropical rain forest in eastern Puerto Rico. The abundant rainfall is shed down the mountain through rocky rivers creating many cascades of waterfalls and pools. At the higher elevations the waters are clean enough to drink and delightful to swim in. Bring your bathing suit! The forest hosts a number of unique plant and animal species such as the endangered Puerto Rican Parrot and the tiny coquis (indigenous tree frogs) that serenade the evening hours.

"According to ancient Indian Legend, the good spirit 'Yuquiyu' reigned on his mighty mountain-top throne, protecting Puerto Rico and its people. The name Luquillo is derived from this god spirit's Indian name."

El Yunque is managed by the US Forest Service who maintain an extensive network of hiking trails. Picnic facilities, paved trails and tour bus parking, the 'El Portal' exhibit hall and lookout towers are on the North side. The South side is the quiet side.

El Yunque is an excellent choice for a rainforest experience. It is a very gentle forest. In fact; there are no poisonous snakes! The need to protect our planets rain forests becomes more apparent as one gains a better understanding through actual experience

After breakfast we will bring you to the airport. We are sure you will have a wonderful vacation.

* As an alternative itinerary we also can exchange the last two day land excursions with two more days in the islands and visit Vieques, if the weather permits.

* Excursions ashore to the rain forest and Old San Juan, dinner in Old San Juan, Marina fees (normally 2 nights ~$100) in Puerto Del Rey, two day car rental are not included in the rate.