The flight was scheduled for 11:15 pm to 5:00 am but it actually arrived a little early so we had plenty of time to get our bags and get to Cape Air for our small flight to Culebra. The only real downside of the flight was a screaming baby. The process was pretty much identical to last year - we waited for 3 hours in the San Juan airport for our small plane to Culebra. There were 5 of us on the 9 passenger plane so we took up the majority of the seats.
I was disappointed when they informed me I could not take pictures! [I took a ton of photos and video last year.] The experience of riding in a small plane like that seems like a Disney ride to me; its kind of bumpy and loud but the views are breathtaking!
A small snag when arrived, our checked bags did not -- too much weight. So the two dives bags and Katie's bag would come on a later flight. The down side of that is that all our snorkel stuff was in the bags. Car rental was easy but we couldn't check into our Airbnb until 3pm so we decided food was most important. We tried to go to a small place in the center of town called "Vibra Verde" but everyone else on the island thought going to this place for breakfast was a good idea as well; the line to order food was really long and people told us we would have to wait at least one hour for a food order. So we ventured toward Zoni Beach and came across a food truck on a hill called "Tiki's Grill." It had nice open air seating. I had an amazing ham, cheese, egg sandwich -- it was then that I realized how hungry I was.
Next we decided it was time to see a beach and get in the ocean. We drove to Zoni Beach which is a secluded beach on the eastern side of the island. We played in the waves and rested on the beautiful beach. We were all tired so we closed our eyes for a few minutes lying in the shade but it started to rain so we raced back to our car and headed back to town. Fortunately our bags had arrived so we were able to pick them up.
It was still too early to check in to our house so went to the Dingy Dock for a snack. It is a cute restaurant right on the water. People feed the fish there so huge Tarpon swim around right next to the dock. Since the water is so clear they are easy to see. So we spent about the next 1.5 hours here waiting for Lemeule the person that would take us to Villa Hermosa. When we finally connected with Lemeule we met him near the ferry terminal and proceeded to take the 5 minute drive up a steep hill that was right on the coast. Villa Hermosa is situated perfectly so you have a beautiful view of the bay where the small town is situated on Culebra.
It is "rustic" to say the least. It's a wooden structure with a flat roof that has a white stucco coating over the top and sides. It was open on essentially all sides with large windows and doors that are essentially open all the time. So those are the positive sides of the place. On the negative side was not very clean - although I felt the sheets were clean on the beds. Since there was no air conditioning you are supposed to keep all the windows and doors open. There were fans on overhead but they looked filthy! Also they had mosquito netting over the beds for sleeping but there were holes here and there so I doubt they were super effective. Since we were right next to the bay the car ferry came in at 6 am and there was a loud arrival horn that essentially became our morning alarm clock the next morning.
After settling in we walked down the hill for dinner at Mamacitas. The place was busy but still had enough seats for us. There was Karaoke going on so that was funny to listen to.
I had a grouper fillet with a curry sauce that was amazing! After dinner we had to trek back up the hill which was a challenge since I was exhausted and full! But Jim held my hand and helped pull me up the hill. Despite my fatigue, I was thrilled to be with my girls and looking forward to the next week!