Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

Dale decided today that he would make some adjustments to my bicycle. But when he took the bike off the boat, he somehow managed to kick one of his Corona flipflops into the drink without noticing. That or the wind blew it off; or one of the dude brothers saw them and decided that it would be really cool to throw one away. You know the two dudes. They usually show up when something strange happens. The stories to the police or docs in hospital ERs start with something like . . . "I was minding my own business when these two dudes walked up . . . (and did something strange) and that's why I'm here."

Well, that's what happened to Dale. One of his favorite flipflops went missing and it wasn't his fault. In any event, we were on our way over to Tom & Jordan's to play Mexican Train dominos when the lack of footwear became obvious. Now giving some thought to the matter, I think that its a matter of a reciprocal ‘napping. We have Gerry & Nicky's anchor, they’ve pinched Dale's flipflop. The last message we had from them was 3 days ago saying they were in Salinas. Maybe they've made it here and snuck in under cloudy skies to abscond with Dale's flipflop. Just in case it wasn’t them, we’ll drop the dink tomorrow and search the mangroves to check to see if it shows up there.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

It was so quiet today it was spooky. I gathered up what laundry we had and washed it but after that, we just read and played computer games. In the afternoon, we broke out the bikes and headed towards All Hands Beach exploring. We rode down towards the water treatment plant, then down a dirt path towards a pier that overlooked the old Navy SEAL base, before heading back to the road that leads towards the beach. We didn't get very far past the beach when I saw a short coconut tree with several branches of good sized coconuts within arms reach. Well, Dale's arm at least. He was able to grab one branch that had about 8 coconuts on it and bring it down for me. I managed to balance the branch on my handlebars and started making the ride back.

Now I'm sure that you, like Dale, are wondering what in the world I'm going to do with all of my over grown seeds. Well, plant them of course! If you set a coconut off to the side and ignore it, it'll sprout a tree. That was my plan until I got about half way back to the boat and realized that I could set my coconuts off to the side and ignore them all I wanted but with the boat rocking all of the time, I don't know if my plan will work. In any event, I have 8 attempts. If nothing else, I have 8 bug free coconuts to eat at my leisure.

P.S: Geri and Betty Rae, we thought of you two in the Bahamas with your coconuts Unfortunately, my shirt wasn’t big enough to carry all 8 of them.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

Feeling much better today, Dale made a quick trip in to WestMarine to pick up the anchor we had ordered for Gerry & Nicky (we never have heard how they lost their other one - can’t wait for that story). He dropped off the car to Jessica, who dropped him and the anchor back at the boat. Then we set to writing the perfect ransom note:

• wE haVe yOuR aNchOR. If yOu eVeR waNt to See it, dON't dO anytHiNg StuPid. dO NOt cONtact the autHoRitieS: NO pOlice, NO fbi, NO tOw bOat US. yOu will receiVe fuRtheR inStRuctiOnS at a LateR date.

We haven't figured out what our demands will be. I'm working on that now.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

Jessica, the owner/operator of the Avis car rental agency that we frequent, picked us up at 8am this morning. Her 2 year old daughter came along for the ride so I got my baby fix for a few minutes. Like me, her daughter needs to ease into the morning but by the time we actually made it out to the front gate to where the rental agency is located, she was smiling and having a good time. Once the papers were signed, we were off to find the dentist’s office in Humacao.

We had the directions that the receptionist had given us but couldn’t figure out whether she knew we by passed the first toll booth on the highway leading to Humacao or not. Since we had plenty of time, we checked out the remaining directions and through analytical deduction concluded that she did indeed know what she was talking about and if we followed her directions explicitly, we would have found the office on the first try. However, being our usual skeptical selves, we first had to check out the wrong exit first, in both directions, just to be sure.

The dentist’s office was one of those ‘first come, first served’ services, so Dale checked in and then came back to the car to keep me company for the first hour. When he finally was able to be seen, he and the dentist talked about sailing and travels and where they had gone to medical school, etc. The long and short of it was that once the x-ray was developed and read, Dale needed a root canal.

One of the great things about traveling with a doctor is that he brought a few antibiotics with him and had already started a regimen before seeking counsel. Because of this, there was no need to wait for the antibiotics to take effect for surgery, so the dentist called and spoke with an endodontist, who agreed to do the root canal a few hours later. Find that in the U.S!

We had just enough time to grab some lunch before searching out the next office. I teased Dale that it would be his last meal for some time so he’d better make the best of it. He chose the nearby Pizza Hut. So much for the last meal theory.

We found the next office without any drama but when I took off to kill some time, I found myself going back and forth on Route 30 looking for the Route 53 exit. I could not find it anywhere. About an hour later I found a sign for Farjardo and figured that if I could find something familiar, I could at least find my way back to Dale. It worked, thanks to our earlier forays back and forth along the main street in Humacao. As luck would have it, I found myself on the main road through Humacao coming up behind Sams. I took the opportunity presented and picked up a basic computer at Sam’s to use as a spare and then made my way back to Dale.

I had just parked when he came outside. Talk about timing. I told him of the problems I had encountered and we started our way back. We began along the same highway but Dale saw a sign in the bushes reflecting a subdivision in the right direction. We took the exit and ended up where we needed to be. At least I wasn’t crazy. There was no sign with the highway number. It was one of those ‘you can’t get there from here’ and you just needed to know where you were going, in order to take the right exit.

We made a quick stop at the local McDonalds to upload some of my blog posts before making our way back to the base. I hadn’t driven a car in several months and enjoyed the day out. So far, even though he has a droopy smile, Dale says he feels better already.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

Beggars can’t be choosers, so we accepted Mr. Toad’s wild ride to Ft. Buchanan with grace and humility to do some shopping at the base at the opposite end of the island taking the new highway from Carolina that by passes to the south of San Juan proper. We were hoping to take advantage of the sale on computers but were unable to find anything basic to use as a back up to the one we carry to the various internet cafés down island. So we did the next best thing. Shopped for anything else that might catch our eye and would fit on the boat. That left us to the few hard to find items I keep on my running list. I found the rib roast I wanted for Easter Sunday as well as the pimentos, crumbled feta cheese, radishes, and sliced black olives I always keep an eye out for. So while Tom & Jordan did major provisioning, Dale and I ate ice cream and people watched.

We had a good time on our trek across the island in spite of the growing concern that Dale has a sore tooth. He’s been taking antibiotics hoping that it would go away but since it hasn’t, he finally broke down and asked for the name of Tom’s dentist in Humacao. We’ve rented a car for tomorrow and will seek out professional advice.

When we got back to the boat, there was a message from Gerry & Nicky. They’re in Ponce now and should be here by the end of the week. After a couple of days of sight seeing, then re-provisioning, we’ll be off to the Virgin Islands to pick up their guests coming in from England; who, if I understand this correctly want to be dropped off in Trinidad. Sounds like a quick trip over the next couple of months. I know the boat can handle it, I hope we can.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

Well today started off with a bang. When we went up to get our bikes for our morning bike ride, Dale’s had been vandalized. Not bad; something little like the other 2 times, but this time it made it so that he couldn’t ride it. Mine had been messed with but nothing that can’t be readjusted. I was still able to complete my exercise but Dale stayed behind and filled out an incident report with the base police. The main problem is that the marina manager thinks that the only people who have the access when we’re not watching the bikes are the base police. Needless to say, the bikes are now housed on the boat.

What’s truly ironic is that while we were in Trinidad surrounded by petty crime pretty much on a daily occurrence, our bikes were never touched while they were locked to the fence at the end of the dock. Here, where we feel as safe as in our mother’s arms, the bikes have been messed with while they were locked right in front of the boat and outside of the marina manager’s office on 3 separate occasions. This time we can’t say that children were the culprits. At first blush, yes. Definitely the screws removed from Dale’s bike could have been done by deft little fingers. But the readjustments made to my bike had to have been made by someone taller and stronger than the little ones running around over the weekend.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

Today was a pretty quiet day. We visited with our neighbors although I never did catch what their names were. The children all speak excellent English without a trace of an accent, compliments of the school they attend where 50% of the teachers do not speak Spanish. Their father retired from the U.S. Navy but has a bit of an accent that his eldest daughter thinks is terrible. Their mother, a chef, doesn’t speak any English but she sends over plates of food when they’re here on the weekends, which of course, translates into any language. Last week she sent over barbequed shrimp and chicken wings. Today she sent over Caesar salad and paella. Each dish has been wonderful. I told Dale he was getting too skinny when the neighbors start sending over food every time they see us. I think next weekend I’ll send something over to them. I’m not nearly the cook she is but it’s the thought that counts, right?

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

We finally heard from Gerry & Nicky. Apparently they had run into some bad weather regardless of what the forecast had been and had pulled into Samana on the eastern side of the Dominican Republic for a 12 hour rest before making a smooth transit across the Mona. They are now resting in Boqueron on the western side of Puerto Rico. At least we’re on the same island now. It will probably be the end of next week before we see them.

Although a lot of boats went out for the gorgeous weekend, its been a quiet day. We ended it by getting together with Tom & Jordan and Bill & Sharon on Wild Orchid for a couple of hours. Bill & Sharon will be heading out on Monday morning for St. Martin and wanted to say good by to everyone. Hopefully, we won’t be too far behind.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

Bless his heart since he hasn’t been able to do his morning jog, Dale rode along with me on my morning bike ride, then helped me defrost and clean the refrigerator & freezer. We need to use up some of the frozen items from the bottom of the freezer before we re-provision for the trip south again. I love it when he has energy to burn.

Gerry & Nicky should have arrived in Puerto Rico today but we haven’t heard anything yet.
Tom dropped by to say that they were renting a car on Monday and would let me tag along to McDonalds for an internet connection. On Tuesday, they plan on going to Ft. Buchanan, so I may tag along on that trip as well.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

Early this morning we moved the boat over to the adjoining slip so that Dale could wash and wax the port side of the boat. I replaced some of the screens that have started to disintegrate in the sun. The nylon screening material keeps out the tiny insects but it certainly can’t take the direct sun for any length of time. At some point I’m going to have to finish polishing the stainless on the starboard side but I’m hoping for a cloudy or at least a cooler day in which to do it.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

Finally, the post office was open and we were told in a very abrupt manner that the address on our mail was insufficient and that it was returned. Now mind you, there is only one marina and one post office on this base, about a quarter of a mile apart on the same road but instead of placing it into the correct box, the post mistress elected to return the package because it didn’t have the post office box number on the parcel. Technically she was correct. But there are only about 6 active post boxes on base, how much effort would it have taken for her to simply put it into the right box? So much for “rain, snow, sleet or hail.” I found the situation so ridiculous that I didn’t even bother to take issue with it.

Instead, we went back to the boat where Dale contacted our mail service and told them the package was on its way back and to add the post office box number on it. I kept busy by polishing the stainless on port side.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

We checked again at the post office for our missing mail. Regardless of what the sign in the window indicated when we got to the post office, they were closed. We’ll try again tomorrow.
Good news from Opailleur. We received word from Gerry & Nicky that they plan on leaving Luperon tomorrow morning and will be traveling straight to Ponce on the south side of Puerto Rico; they should arrive Friday afternoon or evening. With any kind of luck, they will be in our area by the end of next week. The weather window they had been hoping for has held and even expanded for an additional few days. They should have a great transit across the Mona.

Dale managed to dislocate the big toe on his right foot today when he tripped over part of the picnic bench he was using as a work table. It’s a lovely shade of purple tonight so he won’t be able to do his morning run for awhile.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

Today on my morning ride, I thought I’d start the search for our missing mail. We had asked for it to be sent to us back on the 12th of January and since last year when we were here it was mis-delivered, we thought that perhaps the same had occurred this year. I checked at the security office, the OIC’s office, and the supply office (they get most of the mail on base) but no luck. So I headed back to the boat, we rechecked with our mail forwarding service and learned that they used the US Postal service to mail it this time. Not a problem, the post office happens to be open on Monday afternoons here on base; I’ll just ride back down and check with them. Except that as of today no less, they weren’t open. The sign on the door indicated that they would be open tomorrow. Oh boy. I hope this doesn’t mean that we’ll be waiting week to week for mail now.

Later, I popped over to St. Christopher to check in with Jordan. I had volunteered to help her make canvas covers for her isinglass. Unfortunately, she didn’t have enough material to do what she wanted, so that project has been put off for a while.

In the meantime, Dale continues to clean and polish isinglass and I’ve started cleaning and polishing the stainless. Dale is reading Mark Twain and I’m into Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple series. I should probably start taking notes so that I can sleuth out our missing mail. So . . . Until tomorrow . . . I am observing.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

This morning Dale and I once again headed into town and finished the remainder of our errands before heading back to the boat. I try to keep a running list of what we need or what we should take care of when we do rent a car but in the evenings when we have a car, there’s always one or two more things we think of. Maybe its just an excuse to go somewhere; after all we do like to travel.

Word from Gerry & Nicky is that they are looking for another weather window to open in a couple of more days. If it doesn’t, we’re thinking of getting off the dock for awhile; we’re starting to get a film of gunk on the Palace’s bottom. With the type of bottom paint we have, it should only take a brisk ride in the open water to give her a good cleaning. That and we’re starting to set up a routine. Dale jogs every other morning. I ride my bike every morning. We both find something on the boat to polish, mend, fix, grease, clean, tidy up, or rearrange for the rest of the morning then either read or play computer games during the heat of the day. It’s not a bad life but something to keep in mind when we do finally retire. We have a habit of setting up routines after a couple of weeks and I think for us, we need more activity. When we’re moving from island to island, we don’t have time to set up routines.

In any event, we spent a quiet day. We figure that the next time we rent a car, if Gerry & Nicky are here, we’ll go visit Mac & Marie!

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

Today we picked up Tom & Jordan and made our way to Micky D’s. We each took a table and hooked into the internet for the rest of the morning. The transfer of the old blog posts to the new and improved look was completed and I was able to load all of the posts for this year. I was surprised when the older posts took on the new look but I think it makes reading them a lot easier and it certainly is quicker to upload them. Hopefully down island, it will be just as quick.

Tom was grumbling from time to time as he couldn’t get his Skype to work. I knew his software was loaded properly since he had been able to use the connection at the base before the bowling alley closed so it had to be something simple. Dale was reading a book off to the side and went over to assist. He asked Tom to go back out and show him from the beginning what he was doing. Sure enough, on the very first step Dale saw the difference. Once that was changed, Tom & Jordan were happy campers talking to all of their relatives for the rest of the morning. I think Tom was a little embarrassed when the problem was identified but sometimes it just takes a second pair of eyes to see the difference.

After we were all caught up with our internet activities, we headed back to the base and passed the word to Bill & Sharon that we were all going to Lolitas for dinner since we had transportation that would carry all of us. We had a great evening and enjoyed our dinner out.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

Happy Birthday Kyle! You know you’re getting older when you can only burn the midnight oil until 9 o’clock; we thank you and Veronica every day for making us grandparents.

What luck! Today when we picked up our rental car, they were all out of compact ones and were forced to give us a Ford Freestyle. We’d never even heard of this model before. In case you haven’t, it’s like a cross between an SUV and a minivan. Great for loading up the back end with provisions or hauling around 5 or 6 of your favorite people.

Today, we were mostly interested in finding affordable internet access. Again our luck held. One of the marina secretaries told us that McDonalds’ had internet. Sure enough! Not only did they have WiFi, it was FREE, FAST and conveniently located to power outlets!!! Wahoo, we’re cooking with gas now!

Dale and I tagged teamed the poor computer. We caught up with friends and family and updated our blogspot with a new look for the new year. Most of our cruising buddies that we left in Martinique have now made their way here and hopefully, we’ll be able to meet up with some of them again as they either pass through or head back down again.

Dale made side trips to the hardware store; Westmarine was in the same complex and WalMart was right across the street. By the time I was done, so was he. We were also lucky when we went into the grocery store we’d been shopping at lately, as it was the last day that they were open. Apparently, they have been sold to another chain and will be closed for an indefinite period of time. No signs; nothing; at least nothing that we could translate.

We hurried back to the boat and put things away and had just enough time to make appetizers for our gathering on St. Christopher with Tom & Jordan and Bill & Sharon for a night of dominos. We passed the word that McDonalds was a great find and tomorrow we’ll head back with Tom & Jordan in tow.

Sadly, today we also learned of Roger Wolfert’s death on the 6th of January. For those of you who have followed this site since its inception, you know that Roger & Elaine on DocNoMore were mentioned almost daily from November 2005, when we met them in the Exumas until June 2006, when they returned home for hurricane season. We were all eager to continue sailing together on their return to Trini in October, when Roger was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. DocNoMore was sold by November and both Roger and Elaine have been sorely missed in the cruising community since then; particularly by us. They will always hold a special place in our hearts and will be fondly remembered each time we blow the conch horn or play Mexican Train Dominos. We hope to see Elaine in the near future.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

Today was laundry day. The missing dryer and the inoperable one next to it were replaced with two that worked. With one washer and 2 dryers, my task was completed rather quickly.

Dale polished a couple more isinglass sections before the rain chased him back in. The wind has been rather brisk lately which leads us to believe that outside our protected harbor, things must be rather nasty. We rarely feel the effects of the wind inside so when we’re tugging at our lines and rocking back and forth, it’s got to be awful beyond its boundaries. It’s a good thing Gerry & Nicky decided to wait for another window, this is heading in their direction.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

Dale is trying to keep busy so today he decided to clean and polish our isinglass. In the past this has been on my list of things to do but I certainly won’t look a gift horse in the mouth, particularly when he’s starting to get bored with reading everyday. We have 10 sections of isinglass and he started with the 3 in front to space out the work. Also, it does take a bit of elbow grease and a little shade. When he brought each one back, if they needed their zippers re-sewn, I’d do it before they were put back up. We had a nice little assembly line going. In the meantime, I dusted, swept, mopped and shook out all of the rugs. Its amazing how dusty this boat gets so quickly.

We heard from Gerry & Nicky this afternoon. The window they had been hoping to catch, “fizzled” and the next possible one doesn’t appear until late next week. If you remember when we were caught in Luperon, its definitely best to wait for a 3 day window so you don’t get beat to death. We started out in an iffy one and ended up having to return and wait another couple of weeks. As it was, even when you do get a window, rounding the capes of Hispaniola can get a little exciting.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

While Dale continued his washing and waxing at the transom of the boat, I tried another tactic to access the internet.. This time by telephone dial up at the marina office. Still no joy. Apparently they have analogue telephone lines; I can’t win for losing but I did learn that most of the MacDonalds restaurants in Puerto Rico have internet cafés. That certainly gives me another option. Guess I better rent a car.

I tried a new appetizer recipe which was well received when we went over to Tom & Jordan’s tonight. Bill, who we met at a previous dinner on St. Christopher, brought his catamaran over from Puerto del Rey earlier and we were meeting his wife, Sharon, who had just arrived. They will be sailing the Caribbean for the winter season.

In discussing current events at dinner this evening, Tom saw where the local Pizza Hut advertised WiFi. You know, its really sad when 6 adults sit around and the most important things in their lives are where we can access the internet and what happened to the dryer in the laundry; it just disappeared.

Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

For our chores today, Dale washed and waxed the starboard side of the boat. I dug out my sewing machine and started re-stitching some of the enclosure pieces where the thread was disintegrating away from the zippers. Then we picked up our books and read for the remainder of the day. I’m afraid that doesn’t make for a good blog post.