Culebra, Puerto Rico.

[barnaclebones]

Culebra is a wee island off the coast of Fajardo, Puerto Rico.. and it's fucking heaven. You do have to take a ferry but its relatively cheap.. but i highly recommend scouring the internet for sailboats seeking crew... a lot of times people will post wanted ads that even ask for unexperienced crew, because sailors like to TEACH people how to sail THEIR boat the way THEY sail it. experienced sailors board a boat with preconceptions, and sometimes that goes over worse than if you're just a doe eyed newbie.

Culebra is a pretty busy port, mainly companies chartering for tourists but some pleasure cruisers... full of expats who have escaped from new england and straight up local puerto ricans. Spanish is good to know, but kinda useless with all the slang flying around. cool folks, fruit trees everywhere, surfing beaches, awesome land crabs and mangrove habitat. GO. the only tricky part is getting to San Juan if you a.) dont have an id or money to fly OR b.) can't find a boat to work on for the passage from florida. hitchin to fajardo is tricky too, if you don't know ANY spanish... but i'm sure ya'll can manage.

SO... go, my brethren... spread the dirt!!

 

[barnaclebones]

other beauty is, PR is the doorway to the rest of the caribbean, and once you're there, finding work on a boat is pie if you go about it in the right way... St. Thomas in the USVI is a very short passage from Culebra.

 

[emmylou88]

hey, What up? Me and my boyfriend are probably gonna be heading to Puerto Rico in January and we were wondering how are the cops in cuelebra? Can you sleep on the beach without getting harassed? Are there dumpsters in town somewhere for food or soup kitchens ect? Also, how much is food if we were to buy it and lug it to camp? Thanks for any info you have,

Emily

 

[barnaclebones]

well heres the deal... most of the campsites are a hefty hike from the only town on the island, Dewey. you could probably find some good campsites on flamenco beach away from the main campground, but the problem is that january is one of the peak tourist times.... so there might be heavier enforcement.

the cops... i think theres only one or two cops on the island, and they're probably pretty friendly. i never even saw them in the 2 weeks i was there.

sooo... dumpsters. hm. i dumpstered the pizza place a few times, but it wasn't terribly fruitful... but then again, i was there in november when the island is deserted but for the locals.

i dont have much more info about campin, cuz we got taken under the wing of a local surfer dude named Pan, who rents out 2 rooms in this little shack as well as his boat as sleeping quarters. you could probably go into one of the businesses and ask where pan lives.. or for his digits and ask him how much he'd charge ya to pitch a tent at his place. everyone on the island knows him, so it won't be too tricky. he'll also have more info on where you could do some guerilla campin.

good luck! my bro and i will be there in late february or early march, so we should hook up if you're still in the caribbean. PM me whenever!

 

[emmylou88]

thanks so much for the info, and yeah we should definitely chill if we are both on the island at the same time.

 

[moe]

i was thought about going out of this country like mexico but don't know much about the place. but pr sounds much now like a possibility.;]