Position: 17:58.607N 65:59.701W

Date: Monday 24^th March 2014

On Monday morning we left the marina and sailed slowly, westwards.  The winds were very light but we managed to cover the 15 or so miles to Puerto Patillas. There was only one other boat there when we arrived.  The anchorage is protected by a very visible reef to the south and east, but to get to the anchorage you have to work your way around a couple of shallow patches.  The water is not clear enough to see the sea bed, so this involved going slowly, watching the depth gauge and hoping that the charts are correct.  There are manatees in many of the bays on the south coast and Eillen was pretty sure that she saw one. 

The small village ashore was very quiet with just a few houses and a couple of bars and restaurants that didn’t appear to have any customers as we strolled by.  But there was a bar that had a very pleasant surprise inside.

One of the things I miss from the UK is beer; in my view British beer is simply the best.  Caribbean beers are quite bland being light, gassey, larger type beverages with very little body.  So imagine my suprise when I asked the barman for a beer and was presented with a pint (american pint) of the most delicious drink I have had for many months.  It tasted just like Theakston’s Old Peculiar, brewed in Yorkshire. Even more suprising was the fact that it was brewed in Puerto Rico.

It was called ‘Kofresi’, named after a famous local pirate, and brewed by a company called ‘Old Harbour’ from Carolina in Puerto Rico. I enjoyed a couple of pints pulled from the pump, and was able to buy a few bottles to take back to the boat.

Beer beautiful Beer: