The next cold-front brought steady, high winds in the 25-30 knot range for the better part of a week. The Jumentos are an exposed island chain so there is inevitably a bit of roll when the weather kicks up. Reach had the anchorages all to herself and was secure. Anchoring is shallow here ~ often 5-6 feet ~ and most places have good sand for holding.
It’s not so terrible being boat-bound for several days. A break from the normal routine… kinda like a snow-day with no snow. Grab a book, bake some goodies, watch the clouds.
I was particularly excited about an easy DIY bagel recipe (no holes) that worked great and the clouds put on quite a show with their squally shapes and colors.
When the weather broke it was back to the routine of fishing …
...and island excursions.
Just follow the well-marked path of beach shoes to cross the island.
As cruisers well know, there is always a ton of junk strewn across Caribbean beaches that lands here after floating uninhibited around the Atlantic ocean.
Besides driftwood, fishing nets and boat debris, there is mostly plastic and for some reason… shoes?!
The rugged scenery opens up as you move from the tranquil bays of the leeward side to the windward beach side. Blow holes only give a hint of the the erosion that happens here as the light angle reflects the limestone cliffs, plants find a way to grow in impossible places and coral rubble piles up.
We had a few bays to ourselves and enjoyed the tranquility. With the advent of good weather boats could be on the move again and soon we had company. John & Barbara (Sam the Skull) arrived and at last we could catch up on stories of the last seven years and start to create some new sailing yarns!
