Culebra, Spanish Virgin Islands

We spent two weeks in St. Thomas, provisioning, repairing and cleaning getting ready to sail to Culebra.  We sailed to Culebra on June 5, 2016, one of two main islands called the Spanish Virgin Islands, part of Puerto Rico.  Silent Dream dropped anchor in Ensenada Harbor near the main town of Dewey.  Culebra is a very quiet, beautiful island with many beaches, although most beaches are approached best by water and not by land.  In 1939, the U.S. Navy began to use the Culebra Archipelago as a gunnery and bombing practice site. This was done in preparation for the United States involvement in World War II and used in this manner until 1975.  Flamenco Beach is considered one of the most beautiful beaches in the world and also the site of two rusting Sherman Tanks left by the U.S. Navy in 1975, decorated by the locals with graffiti.  We rented a golf cart for the day and toured the entire island after spending time at Flamenco Beach.  Our self-guided tour included Tamarindo Beach, Museo Historico de Culebra (built in 1905 by the U.S. Navy and used as a munitions warehouse), cemetery built in 1894, a drawbridge built for two fishing boats that no longer exist, and several good restaurants including Mamacitas, Zacos Tacos, and Dinghy Dock Restaurant.  Hector Protector, a recycled wood sculpture on the dock throwing rocks at polluting boats was built in 2014 for an art festival in Culebra.  We stayed almost two weeks in Culebra before heading to Puerto Rico, 22 miles to the west.