(Puerto Real, Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico)
Life in Puerto Real is pretty great! And easy. And I like that.
Maybe that’s because we are happily docked at Marina Pescaderia just loving life…and shore power (i.e. air conditioning)…and free water. ;)) Who knows? But it’s so great, that we may in fact be growing roots.
We thought we’d only be in Puerto Real (at the dock) for a day or two when we rolled in from the Dominican. But, it’s just so awesome here, why rush to leave? And since I’m flying home to Florida this week to visit family, we might as well stick around a bit longer.
Our days in PR are beginning to blend into one another because they are so lovely and simple. Seriously, my favorite kind of days. There’s lots of sleeping in (yay!!!). Free wifi. Strolls to the town bakery for guava donuts. Hanging with the marina locals we have come to know and love. Enjoying the awesome tapas restaurant here too. Taking Oliver for walks around town. A little boat work here and there. Tons of reading, photo taking, and even more music listening. Cheap drinks. Fun dinghy excursions. And just an easy, simple life. What more could you want, really?
And honestly, if it were up to me, I could easily fill up half my days with photo editing and be a very happy camper. While, I’m quite positive Jereme could probably do the same with random boat projects. This week alone, he’s been tending to our exterior teak and “helping” it go gray by removing the varnish with our heat gun.
In any case, we are soaking up our time here in Puerto Rico while we wait out hurricane season and finding tons of free time to explore the little fishing village that is Puerto Real, Cabo Rojo.
Just the other day we were in the mood to get off the boat and go exploring. And since it was incredibly calm in the harbor (after an afternoon storm had passed) we decided to bust out our standup paddle board and go for a spin around the neighborhood. We love our inflatable Tower SUP because we can easily keep it stowed on the boat and break it out whenever we are in the mood to paddle.
But since we only have one inflatable SUP, we usually dinghy-tow the board somewhere fun and take turns using it while the other one of us hangs in the dinghy with Oliver (although he too takes his turn on the board!). It works out perfectly because I love capturing these moments on film and having one of us safely in the dinghy with my very non-waterproof camera is the way to go.
^^getting out the SUP and towing it to some cool spot to paddle is super simple, although we also just jump on it right from the boat from time to time too.^^
This time, we brought the paddle board out to the mangrove coastline of Puerto Real to explore the crystal clear shallow waters. Jer was up first as I manned the dinghy and followed him around snapping a few photos!
Oliver joined him after a bit and basically just walked from the front to the back of the board while Jer paddled around. It was pretty darn cute! Oliver *always* stays on full alert ready and waiting for any ‘creatures’ to pop out of the water. Thankfully, this is not prime dolphin territory or anything!
The area we paddled in the other day has a thick seagrass bottom with TONS of red starfish littering the seafloor. I mean, TONS! I’m talking starfish breeding grounds for sure. Although the water was insanely crystal clear and glass-like after that storm, I didn’t see a whole lot else.
Nearby is a very coral-rich area that would be perfect for snorkeling and maybe even some lobster hunting! We’ll have to come back and check that spot out again with our snork gear in tow!
I’ll say, Jereme has become pretty proficient on the paddle board. I, on the other hand, always fall off at least once. It’s a given. I might as well just jump off as soon as I get on the board because it’s bound to happen sooner or later.
Oliver hasn’t decided if he loves SUPing or hates it, but he is content just being with one of us (no matter what crazy activity that may entail).
After a fun afternoon on the SUP, we headed back to the marina just as the sun was setting. How insanely gorgeous are nights like these? We spent the evening enjoying some tapas at the Vaiven, the marina restaurant, and then relaxing back at the boat.
And that’s pretty much a day in the life here in Puerto Real, Cabo Rojo. You won’t hear any complaints here. :))
Just a little FYI, I clicked over to the Tower SUP website a little earlier and it looks like the inflatable SUP we have from Tower is actually on sale right now!!! Might be a good time to grab one if you’ve been in the market for awhile.
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[…] wasn’t all too surprised to hear of Jer’s daily paddle-boarding excursions around the bay. With Oliver in tow, of course. And a hilarious story about Oliver falling off the […]
[…] was one of the best decisions we made! (You can find some of my most favorite Puerto Real posts here, here, and here.) This quaint little fishing town really became part of us, and us part of it. So, […]