Although we are always saddened to miss Mardi Gras in New Orleans, we were excited to arrive in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, a week before their “Mardi Croix” celebration. (“Tuesday Cross”…We are aware that makes no sense.) Finally, after a year and a half of cruising, we could dust off our capes, crowns, glitter, […]
Author: John-Michael
Questioning Everything
Since we sailed away from land-life in August 2015, we have gotten quite a few questions from friends and family. We realized by some of the questions being asked that we were taking a lot for granted about their knowledge of what we do, and how strange our aquatic life may seem to our […]
Exploring the Land of the Fat Virgin
At noon on January 20th, inauguration day in the United States, something very special happened. We glided across an invisible line in the water in an area called “the Narrows” and we entered foreign territory! This was not some grand political statement on our part, just a fun coincidence caused primarily by a weather window […]
Once Was Not Enough
If we had to pick a single word to describe the island of St. John, it would be “pristine”. A whopping 60% of the landmass of the island is within the lush Virgin Islands National Park. The park boundaries also extend to most of the sea around the island. In addition, even more underwater areas are […]
An Ode to the Unappreciated Saint
“It’s only an overnight stopover.” “We’re sailing right past it.” “We’re skipping it altogether and going straight to the British Virgin Islands!” These are just a few of the rumblings we have read from other cruisers about the island of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In their defense, the massive cruise ships […]
Big City Living
Although the city of Charlotte Amalie (“Am-ALL-yeh”) on the island of St. Thomas has a population of just under 20,000; it feels like a huge city after the small town, laid-back vibe in Culebra. Heading east on a sailboat in the Caribbean is always tricky, since the prevailing winds are almost always from that direction; […]
Culebra and Culebritaaahhhhh
For years, we have heard about the wondrous beauty of a small island off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico called Culebra. It has been on our itinerary, even before we started cruising. All that waiting made our arrival in Culebra that much more exciting. On the way, we only made a couple of stops, one […]
A Photo Journey Through Old San Juan
Even cruisers need to take a break from sea life. While staying in a marina is Salinas, Puerto Rico, we left Pura Vida behind for a few days of playing tourist in Old San Juan. To describe it words will not do it justice, so this blog is primarily a photo essay of Old San […]
In Hot Water
The marina warned us. Our friends warned us. Yet we thought we knew better! Everyone said to arrive at the Marina de Salinas before 9am or the winds will be too high to dock your boat. “Seriously, they must be exaggerating. The winds do pick up late in the morning, but never above 15-20 knots.” […]
Back in the U.S.A — Kinda
As we said farewell to the Dominican Republic and saw its coast disappear behind us, the only thing separating us from Puerto Rico was 90 miles of open water in the Mona Passage. The Mona Passage is the stuff of legends for sailors. We have been hearing tales about this infamous body of water for years, […]