Culebra

Flamenco Beach

Situated east of Puerto Rico, Culebra and the surrounding small islands encompass over 7,000 acres.   From 1936 to 1975 the U.S. Navy used about 2000 acres for bombing practice.  Culebra was lucky unlike its sister island Vieques where the bombing continued until 2003.   Culebra has had time to develop some character.

Ensenada Honda

The 2,000 permanent residents of Culebra are regularly visited by vacationing Puerto Ricans from the main island.  

Consequently, Culebra has some really good eateries that are reasonably priced.  Heather’s has great New York style pizza, while Zoco’s Tacos has interesting Mexican style food.

Most of the cruisers initially head for the Dinghy Dock Restaurant for obvious reasons.  The Dinghy Dock is under new management and recently underwent an upgrade.

Mamacita’s is another option, and is accessible via bicycle, golf cart, or…

…by water off the canal.

Mamacita’s has probably banned us.

Because Pollie could not follow the rules.

For light provisioning, Culebra has two stores.

For some reason, of the two, this store seemed more popular.  It must be the ambiance. 

At first glance, Culebra appears to be the island that zoning and code enforcement forgot.

Even the U.S. Post Office seemed rampant with code violations.

The Culebra Library is an example of form following function.  The breezeway between the two single-wides was well used.

The local gas station was another case where form follows function.   On a small island, one must be able to service both vehicles and dinghies.

But, on closer examination, Culebra exudes a certain charm.

Architectural details are everywhere; one must just look past many of the less fortunate structures.

For some reason, Pollie was enamored by this “urban” home across the street from the ferry dock.

The Hotel Kokomo is a couple of doors down from the Pollie’s find.

On the back side of the “Pollie’s house” elaborate stairs have been constructed making one wonder if the owner had planned some commercial use for the structure.  Again, zoning does not seem to be an issue.

Culebra Eco School

Some of the newer public works on the island were very interesting.  This school with hurricane construction utilized the trade winds for cooling and a large solar array for energy.

While other locales have “the bridge to nowhere,” Culebra boasts the lift bridge that does not lift.  When constructed, at what had to be considerable cost, the bridge was to service two fishing boats.  The boats have left Culebra and now large water service pipes span the opening making the bridge unusable. 

We have visited Culebra twice.  Once on our own and then we took our friends Chris and Michele over when they visited us in Puerto Rico. 

 Culebra Museum, closed on Wednesday

After two visits, Pollie stated that Culebra is a 3 to 4 day island.  After 3 to 4 days you probably have done all there is to do.  

Lively Barracuda with Large Teeth

But, getting to these small islands is half the fun.  Above Chris and I are removing a lure from a barracuda before releasing.