Now I warn you… my impressions of the south coast of Puerto Rico may be slightly influenced by how unpleasant the sailing conditions were while we traveled there. You know – those 25 knot trade winds I keep griping about. I’ll stop complaining, but you may notice a certain lack of enthusiasm that might not be completely warranted….

The highlight of our south coast crossing was a stop in Ponce, the second largest city in Puerto Rico. Not only because the boardwalk of restaurants and bars is a two-minute dinghy ride from the anchorage. Or because we shopped at the first American grocery store and Walmart shopping center since Florida. The colonial old town of Ponce is delightful. There are beautiful Spanish colonial buildings, piazzas and parks, and a world class art museum.

The flag of the city of Ponce is red and black, honoring its historic fire station. The station has been renovated and it’s beautiful, plus the historic firefighting equipment on display is fascinating.

Did I mention that the mascot of Ponce is the lion? No accident that you’ve seen lions in most of these photos – even on the ice cream truck!

From Ponce, we made a short hop to Isla Cana de Muertos, or Coffin Island. I was looking forward to a beach day, but the weather didn’t cooperate. Instead, the island made us work to discover its treasures. It was difficult to find a safe place to dinghy ashore, and when we did, the trail was overgrown with cactus plants of every shape and size. They were beautiful, and fascinating, but still prickly! I wished many times for a machete for a little DIY trail maintenance. Capt. Mike wished the same after a baby cactus hitched a ride on his leg.

But we persevered, and climbed up to the spine of the island where a lighthouse dating back to the Spanish colonial days holds the position of honor. We did a little breaking and entering to earn the best views of the island and surrounding seas.

Back at sea level, we hiked to the beach where day trippers visit from Ponce, and after the ferry departed, Capt Mike did a little American Ninja Warrior practice.

After a few days exploring on land, we headed east again. Set the alarm for 4:00am and headed out before sunrise to try to catch a period of calm before the daily trades kicked up. It didn’t work. We actually experienced some of the worst weather and roughest seas we’d seen all season. I tell people that I don’t get seasick, but that day, I might have been lying. On the plus side, I got some great pictures of our buddy boat Soluna riding on one hull in the big waves.

We lived to tell the tale, and soon anchored in Patillas harbor for a few days. Since we were here during the week, rather than on a weekend, town was quiet with very few restaurants open. But Paraiso Bar was open, and here Capt. Mike began his love affair with mofongo rellanos – mashed plantains cooked in garlic and oil and stuffed with fried pork or grilled shrimp.