Our position is 17:57.321N 66:17.520W

After the nerve racking entry into Puerto Patillas we were careful to retrace our steps exactly until reaching the deep water when we left the next morning. We were slightly concerned when spotting an uncharted lighthouse out to sea but as we got closer it transformed itself into a large barge being towed by a small tug. The wind was kindly and we ran with full sails down to Boca de Infierno, where we entered the Bahia de Jobos, which the pilot book claimed was full of manatees. The sail through the mangroves and past the hurricane holes was very picturesque but no manatees were in evidence. We soon arrived at the entrance to the harbour at Salinas and made our way up the channel. The anchorage was crowded but we were able to find a space not too far out.

We went ashore to check out the facilities and see if there was anywhere to eat ashore (there was but we decided against it) and went to the bakery to get some bread instead. On our return we took a tour round the bay in the dinghy.

That night in the cockpit I was sure I could see a manatee in the distance so we hopped in the dinghy and went to investigate. Disappointingly it turned out to be a half deflated mooring so the search for a manatee sighting continues.

The next morning was spent sorting out the boat and trying to work out what to take home. I also returned to the bakery to take advantage of their wifi (which proved a bit frustrating and intermittent) while I was waiting for the laundry to finish. Ted took advantage of the presence of a canvas work shop to take the spray hood to be re-stitched. It had been showing signs of wear for some time and some of the seams were leaking when it rained. We had noticed another (almost) British boat coming in the night before and when we were in the cockpit preparing to go ashore they waved us over. Jill and Tony on Nychea turned out to be from Guernsey and we were treated to a delicious morning coffee.  They have an espresso machine on board and I’m still trying to work out where we can fit one on Moorglade. We agreed to eat together in the evening and they were going to see if they could locate somewhere suitable. In the event they didn’t much like the look of any of the restaurants so we were invited to Cafe Nychea instead. They also said that when Ted had been returning to the shore in the dinghy to collect me and the laundry there was a manatee in the water behind him, but he hadn’t seen it! We had a delicious meal with Jill and Tony and plenty of opportunity to admire their beautiful boat.

The next day we were trying to sort out a hire car but the car hire man wasn’t due until the next day. I was assured he would have a car for us then, at the marina, so had to take it on trust while we got on with the jobs and Ted re-fitted the beautifully repaired spray hood. They had even replaced all the windows at very little extra cost. We also had more espressos at Cafe Nychea and I did my packing.