Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W
We picked Gerry & Nicky up this morning and after checking our e-mails via their internet connection, headed to the pottery factory that I have been wanting to visit since the early 90’s. It was another example of not knowing what to expect but once arriving, certain that what lay before me was not what I was expecting. After making the guys promise not to rush us in our perusing all of the wonderful items, we were in, out, and gone within 10 minutes.
We continued on to the town of Carolina, grabbed a bite to eat for lunch, then the guys dropped us off at Sams for re-provisioning while they went to Home Depot for their shopping. As Nicky and I walked into the vast warehouse, we had to walk past a huge flat screen TV. We both turned to each other and said that the guys would never get past that TV to find us in the back. Sure enough, when they did find us they were still talking about where to mount that big TV on the boat.
Although we had rented a large car, we stuffed it to near capacity with our purchases. We made the long drive back to our boats and called it a day; although I know that Nicky, like me, is dividing, vacuum sealing, arranging and re-arranging to make everything fit. I’m still not completely done with putting everything away but I’m finally down to cooking up all of the hamburger before dividing it, vacuum sealing and heaven only knows how I’m going to get it to fit into the freezer. I don’t know why I do this every time but there always seems to be something I can’t fit into the freezer and have to empty the whole thing out again to rearrange it one more time.
Tomorrow is Nicky’s birthday and unfortunately, the only thing we have planned thus far is Orpailleur being hauled for work on the cutlass bearing. I’ll have to figure out a good way to celebrate it besides doing laundry.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W
Our original intention was for Nicky and me to go shopping for a few hours while the guys checked on the cutlass bearing on Orpailleur. I took the computer along to respond to a few e-mails and by the time I was able to log into their internet connection and do my upload, they were back saying that the boat needed to be hauled to fix the problem.
Gerry had already checked on the availability of doing a quick haul and had found out that he needed some additional information from the boat manufacturer for size specifications as far as replacement parts. So once the determination was made that they did indeed need to pull the boat, it was just a matter of making a few quick rounds to confirm what was needed and when to do it.
After that, we made the normal rounds to the various chandleries for pieces and parts; a quick run to the normal WalMart, WestMarine, bank, refill on propane, a bite to eat for lunch, return to the stores that had been closed for lunch and then back to their boat to shoot the whole day. Nicky and I noted that when guys make multiple runs to stores for comparison shopping, well … that’s OK. But when we do it, its wasting time and money. We had a blast watching the two of them.
This evening as we shared dinner together, we caught up on the activities of our various children and what was going on back home. Tomorrow, Nicky and I will finally be able to go do the shopping we thought we were going to do today. The guys are going along too since we’re going in the direction of Home Depot but maybe we can figure out a way to send them off in one direction while we take our time in the pottery factory. We’ll see.
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W
Our original intention was for Nicky and me to go shopping for a few hours while the guys checked on the cutlass bearing on Orpailleur. I took the computer along to respond to a few e-mails and by the time I was able to log into their internet connection and do my upload, they were back saying that the boat needed to be hauled to fix the problem.
Gerry had already checked on the availability of doing a quick haul and had found out that he needed some additional information from the boat manufacturer for size specifications as far as replacement parts. So once the determination was made that they did indeed need to pull the boat, it was just a matter of making a few quick rounds to confirm what was needed and when to do it.
After that, we made the normal rounds to the various chandleries for pieces and parts; a quick run to the normal WalMart, WestMarine, bank, refill on propane, a bite to eat for lunch, return to the stores that had been closed for lunch and then back to their boat to shoot the whole day. Nicky and I noted that when guys make multiple runs to stores for comparison shopping, well … that’s OK. But when we do it, its wasting time and money. We had a blast watching the two of them.
This evening as we shared dinner together, we caught up on the activities of our various children and what was going on back home. Tomorrow, Nicky and I will finally be able to go do the shopping we thought we were going to do today. The guys are going along too since we’re going in the direction of Home Depot but maybe we can figure out a way to send them off in one direction while we take our time in the pottery factory. We’ll see.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W
They’re here, they’re here! I was still easing into the morning when Dale turned on the radio to listen to the Safety and Security net and then the morning weather report when we heard Orpailleur hail Gypsy Palace. You would have thought that the mattress had shot a spring I bounded up so quick. When they instructed us to turn on the VHF, we knew they were close. That only meant one thing: they had left early and sailed through the night to avoid the wind and waves.
A hasty call to Jessica got us a rental car and a couple of hours later, we caught Orpailleur’s lines as Gerry & Nicky pulled into Puerto del Rey. It was so good to see them again. We spent a short time catching up, walked with them up to the office to check in and then left to give them some time to catch a few hours of sleep before returning to pick them up for a Mexican dinner at Lolitas.
Between times, Dale took me to McDonalds so that I could down load our e-mails, check our financial status and upload our blog posts. I seem to get sucked into a black hole when I’m on the computer because Dale said that I was typing away for almost 4 hours. It hardly seemed like one.
Anyway, they’re here, they want to check a few things on the boat, do a little sight seeing, re-provision and then take off for the next leg of our adventure.
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W
They’re here, they’re here! I was still easing into the morning when Dale turned on the radio to listen to the Safety and Security net and then the morning weather report when we heard Orpailleur hail Gypsy Palace. You would have thought that the mattress had shot a spring I bounded up so quick. When they instructed us to turn on the VHF, we knew they were close. That only meant one thing: they had left early and sailed through the night to avoid the wind and waves.
A hasty call to Jessica got us a rental car and a couple of hours later, we caught Orpailleur’s lines as Gerry & Nicky pulled into Puerto del Rey. It was so good to see them again. We spent a short time catching up, walked with them up to the office to check in and then left to give them some time to catch a few hours of sleep before returning to pick them up for a Mexican dinner at Lolitas.
Between times, Dale took me to McDonalds so that I could down load our e-mails, check our financial status and upload our blog posts. I seem to get sucked into a black hole when I’m on the computer because Dale said that I was typing away for almost 4 hours. It hardly seemed like one.
Anyway, they’re here, they want to check a few things on the boat, do a little sight seeing, re-provision and then take off for the next leg of our adventure.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W
We received two e-mails from Gerry & Nicky today; the most important was that they were looking to make a straight transit here from Salinas starting tomorrow morning. That should put them in this area on Wednesday sometime.
We dropped by St. Christopher and told Tom & Jordan the news. I had promised them that I would make a cover for their isinglass before we left, so I went over to measure the area and discuss how she wanted to attach the cover. She has the canvas, I have the sewing machine and thread, but after thinking about it for a while, I hope she has some large grommets to run the line through like she wants.
About mid-morning we finally received our wayward mail. It took us a couple of hours to go through, organize and respond to. Most matters I’ve made arrangements to do on-line. One issue I haven’t been able to take care of on-line is something I’ve been addressing since we left Jacksonville. It involves an x-ray, the doctor who ordered the x-ray, the facility who took the x-ray and the insurance that covered the x-ray.
The whole thing started when the insurance carrier wanted a statement from the doctor reflecting why the x-ray was necessary and bounced the bill back to the x-ray facility, who sent a copy of the rejection to me. I made my first series of telephone calls to all of the parties because none of them can conduct business of this type via e-mail, or among themselves. The insurance company doesn’t like talking with me, the doctor’s office says they can’t deal directly with the insurance regarding the x-ray facility’s bill and the x-ray facility says that they’ve sent everything they have in their files but they can’t get paid. I call all 3 from various parts of the world to pay mediator. The doctor says fine; the x-ray facility says they’ll resubmit; the insurance company says they’ll pay. But 6 months later, it pops back up and I have to make the series of calls again to find out what the problem is this time. In each instance, I remind all parties that I’m out of the country and only receive my mail about once every 6 weeks. I’m told by all parties that there’s no problem and that everything will be taken care of but 6 months later, I’ll get another notice that it wasn’t.
One problem that came to light was that the doctor’s office was trying to send me all of the information so that I could forward it back to the various parties but they didn’t have my current address updated in their computer system. They did have it in their physical file but I was actually told in my last call to them that they couldn’t update the change in my address on the computer unless I physically came into the office. These are intelligent people; I‘ve met them. They freely admit they have the correct address in correspondence from me regarding this issue in their hard file. Now I ask you, what difference does it make to the computer whether I’m standing in front of someone, calling them on the telephone or mailing them the correct address? It still has to be entered by a human.
At this point, the doctor’s office as agreed to fax the statement to the x-ray facility and they have agreed to resubmit the invoice to the insurance company. The insurance company says that’s all they’re waiting for. I’m going to call again before we leave Puerto Rico while I still have good telephone service just to be sure.
Dale reminded me that this was a prime example of why we felt the need to take our sabbatical in the first place.
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W
We received two e-mails from Gerry & Nicky today; the most important was that they were looking to make a straight transit here from Salinas starting tomorrow morning. That should put them in this area on Wednesday sometime.
We dropped by St. Christopher and told Tom & Jordan the news. I had promised them that I would make a cover for their isinglass before we left, so I went over to measure the area and discuss how she wanted to attach the cover. She has the canvas, I have the sewing machine and thread, but after thinking about it for a while, I hope she has some large grommets to run the line through like she wants.
About mid-morning we finally received our wayward mail. It took us a couple of hours to go through, organize and respond to. Most matters I’ve made arrangements to do on-line. One issue I haven’t been able to take care of on-line is something I’ve been addressing since we left Jacksonville. It involves an x-ray, the doctor who ordered the x-ray, the facility who took the x-ray and the insurance that covered the x-ray.
The whole thing started when the insurance carrier wanted a statement from the doctor reflecting why the x-ray was necessary and bounced the bill back to the x-ray facility, who sent a copy of the rejection to me. I made my first series of telephone calls to all of the parties because none of them can conduct business of this type via e-mail, or among themselves. The insurance company doesn’t like talking with me, the doctor’s office says they can’t deal directly with the insurance regarding the x-ray facility’s bill and the x-ray facility says that they’ve sent everything they have in their files but they can’t get paid. I call all 3 from various parts of the world to pay mediator. The doctor says fine; the x-ray facility says they’ll resubmit; the insurance company says they’ll pay. But 6 months later, it pops back up and I have to make the series of calls again to find out what the problem is this time. In each instance, I remind all parties that I’m out of the country and only receive my mail about once every 6 weeks. I’m told by all parties that there’s no problem and that everything will be taken care of but 6 months later, I’ll get another notice that it wasn’t.
One problem that came to light was that the doctor’s office was trying to send me all of the information so that I could forward it back to the various parties but they didn’t have my current address updated in their computer system. They did have it in their physical file but I was actually told in my last call to them that they couldn’t update the change in my address on the computer unless I physically came into the office. These are intelligent people; I‘ve met them. They freely admit they have the correct address in correspondence from me regarding this issue in their hard file. Now I ask you, what difference does it make to the computer whether I’m standing in front of someone, calling them on the telephone or mailing them the correct address? It still has to be entered by a human.
At this point, the doctor’s office as agreed to fax the statement to the x-ray facility and they have agreed to resubmit the invoice to the insurance company. The insurance company says that’s all they’re waiting for. I’m going to call again before we leave Puerto Rico while I still have good telephone service just to be sure.
Dale reminded me that this was a prime example of why we felt the need to take our sabbatical in the first place.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Roosevelt Roads 
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W
The Great Thong Theory and Shoe Search. You may recall from yesterday, Dale’s footwear walked off without him. So today we conducted a less than scientific experiment to see if the remaining flipflop sank or swam to see if we were going to swim or search. While I photographed the trials, Dale tied a string to the surviving twin then kicked it off to see what would happen. We both witnessed the results: it floated like a toy boat bobbing in a bathtub. Guess that means we search.
We lowered the dink, mounted the outboard and African Queen putt, putted to the closest windward shore of the harbor to begin our perimeter search; keeping in mind that we might find Australian footprints of shoenappers instead. Within 20 feet of our starting point, we were poling our way around mangrove roots with the boat hook, with me on the bow, butt in the air leaning way over, peering beneath the bushes as best I could. We found an assortment of buckets, tires, crates and ropes of every imaginable color. We also found several fenders; one really, really big one that I wanted to strap to the boat to keep it from sinking but Dale said I was delusional. It was as big as the dink, so I think he just didn’t want to drag it back against the wind.
When it got deep enough, Dale would switch from the boat hook/pole method of propulsion to rowing backwards (supposedly so he could see where he was going). We frightened a manta ray and saw a couple of good sized fish. Right about the time I started to worry that the Coast Guard guys would see us and chase us away, I saw it. It’s bright yellow Corona letters glistening in the water. It had made its way past the main perimeter and was making its way to an interior cove created by the mangrove trees themselves. We forced the dink through the narrow opening and extended the boat hook to its full length to reach the escapee taking refuge on a small island tree in the middle of the cove.
Once retrieved, we turned around and tried to make our way back out against the wind. At this point, I had one oar and Dale had the boat hook. We worked against each other most of the way out but still managed to break free. Once we cleared the majority of the roots, Dale took over the rowing (backwards, of course) and continued our journey towards deeper water by way of the wind forcing us sideways. Somehow we managed to get ourselves into deeper water so that we could lower the outboard and power our way back to the Palace with the fugitive safely tucked beneath a couple of small fenders that somehow found their way into the dink.
Back on board, his flipflops reunited, Dale was a happy camper when he made his way to the showers with his favorite footwear. He keeps telling me how hard it is to find a really comfortable pair of shoes. I wonder what the hospital will think of his new fashion statements: a pony tail, flipflops and lets not forget about that little earring!
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W
The Great Thong Theory and Shoe Search. You may recall from yesterday, Dale’s footwear walked off without him. So today we conducted a less than scientific experiment to see if the remaining flipflop sank or swam to see if we were going to swim or search. While I photographed the trials, Dale tied a string to the surviving twin then kicked it off to see what would happen. We both witnessed the results: it floated like a toy boat bobbing in a bathtub. Guess that means we search.
We lowered the dink, mounted the outboard and African Queen putt, putted to the closest windward shore of the harbor to begin our perimeter search; keeping in mind that we might find Australian footprints of shoenappers instead. Within 20 feet of our starting point, we were poling our way around mangrove roots with the boat hook, with me on the bow, butt in the air leaning way over, peering beneath the bushes as best I could. We found an assortment of buckets, tires, crates and ropes of every imaginable color. We also found several fenders; one really, really big one that I wanted to strap to the boat to keep it from sinking but Dale said I was delusional. It was as big as the dink, so I think he just didn’t want to drag it back against the wind.
When it got deep enough, Dale would switch from the boat hook/pole method of propulsion to rowing backwards (supposedly so he could see where he was going). We frightened a manta ray and saw a couple of good sized fish. Right about the time I started to worry that the Coast Guard guys would see us and chase us away, I saw it. It’s bright yellow Corona letters glistening in the water. It had made its way past the main perimeter and was making its way to an interior cove created by the mangrove trees themselves. We forced the dink through the narrow opening and extended the boat hook to its full length to reach the escapee taking refuge on a small island tree in the middle of the cove.Once retrieved, we turned around and tried to make our way back out against the wind. At this point, I had one oar and Dale had the boat hook. We worked against each other most of the way out but still managed to break free. Once we cleared the majority of the roots, Dale took over the rowing (backwards, of course) and continued our journey towards deeper water by way of the wind forcing us sideways. Somehow we managed to get ourselves into deeper water so that we could lower the outboard and power our way back to the Palace with the fugitive safely tucked beneath a couple of small fenders that somehow found their way into the dink.
Back on board, his flipflops reunited, Dale was a happy camper when he made his way to the showers with his favorite footwear. He keeps telling me how hard it is to find a really comfortable pair of shoes. I wonder what the hospital will think of his new fashion statements: a pony tail, flipflops and lets not forget about that little earring!
Saturday, February 03, 2007
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.
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.
Friday, February 02, 2007
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.
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.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
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:
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.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
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.
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.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, January 29, 2007
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.
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.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
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?
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?
Saturday, January 27, 2007
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.
Friday, January 26, 2007
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.
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.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
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.
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.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
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.
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.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, January 22, 2007
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.
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.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
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!
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!
Saturday, January 20, 2007
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.
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.
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