Charlotte Amalie,
St. Thomas
18.20.270N
64.55.61W
Why is it that we have the hardest time with internet connections? Yesterday we had purchased some internet time but last night when we tried to connect, the signal kept dropping. We added our external antenna to boost the power, then all of a sudden, we couldn’t make the connection at all. We found out today that the internet provider takes an initial signature of the computer when you sign on. Any changes to the computer after that, ie, adding the antenna, changes the signature and therefore the provider thinks that you’re a different computer trying to use the access code. So now I have to sit in the cockpit to access the internet and keep playing with dropped signals. At least I can down load our e-mails rather quickly.
The rest of the day, we showed Gerry & Nicky around the area as cruisers instead of the guests they had been when they were last here. We walked over to the new Harbortown Marina looking for some logo polo shirts and a jib halyard for Orpailleur but they still aren’t completely up and running yet, at least not for those items. We walked up to the K-Mart for some items needed for the incoming guests. We picked up some fresh tea at the grocery and pointed out where the laundry was located. Then we headed back to town into jewelry central and walked up and down all of the alleyways looking at everything. Nicky and I had a blast just window shopping. Dale and Gerry were being very indulgent. Occasionally we would see a beer in their hands or some other frosty drink but they just followed us around and didn’t complain at all.
At one point, Nicky and I were talking with a woman about conch pearls. She had two and brought them out to show them to us. She told us what to look for and that the Japanese had purchased most of the conch pearls in the Caribbean area which had forced the prices sky high. Then she also showed us the most beautiful 3 carat yellow diamond that I have ever seen. Gerry walked in about the time she said that it would sell for $20,000 a carat. Gerry simply shook his head and left. The woman folded the diamond back into the paper from which it had come, placed it back into a box, closed the box and turned away from us. Nicky and I got the distinct impression that we had been dismissed. Well! We’ll just take our money and go elsewhere! Which we did.
Nicky finally found a slide that she liked to go onto a necklace that she already has. The only question was, would it fit. We’ll head back tomorrow to find out. I know I’m being petty, but I’d love for Nicky to put that necklace on, walk by the woman who looked down her nose at us, just to see the expression on her face. Kind of like the scene in the movie Pretty Woman, when she walks into the store and says: “Remember me. . . . Big mistake, BIG mistake.”
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Charlotte Amalie,
St. Thomas
18.20.270N
64.55.61W
Normally, I start my post with a daily entry. However, last night after we went to bed we had a bit of excitement; other than what you normally find exciting in bed.
About 10:30pm a panga (a long, open boat, normally used for fishing) came into the harbor and zinged past us shining flashlights at our boat. Of course, this brought us both topside in a heart beat. Then it crossed the entire width of the harbor to the other side, again traveling much too fast in a darkened moonless anchorage shining flashlights at all of the boats as they went by. Jerry, on Summer Breeze was the farthest out and shouted his displeasure at their stupidity.
As learned in Trini, I grabbed our floodlight and lit them up as they came back in our direction again. There were at least 5 men in the boat speaking Spanish obviously looking for another boat. They came back across the harbor and eventually took the last mooring, right inside of us, then dragged a stern anchor to shore. Five men climbed out and started walking along the beach eventually making their way out past the reefs to the outermost beach that normally no one goes to.
Dale commented that it was going to be a long night, so I went below and came back up with a couple of blankets, binoculars, and nightscope but I couldn’t find the airhorn. Dale had already retrieved it. The long and short of it was: a boat full of men were certainly acting suspiciously, if only being stupid. However, for all of the noise and flash lights they had blazing, they certainly weren’t afraid of being seen. A couple of Homeland Security boats had been lurking in the anchorage earlier in the day, so it made us wonder what we had stumbled into. Dale felt that with me lighting them up, I had made us target. What I didn’t realize until this morning was, he had also grabbed our flare gun. So he was feeling pretty serious about the whole thing too.
In any event, we gave up our surveillance a couple of hours later when they were obviously having a hard time finding whatever they were looking for; clearly they weren‘t interested in us. In the wee hours of the morning, they left much more silently than they had arrived.
This morning, as Gerry would say: “at a sparrow’s fart” we got underway for St. Thomas. The seas were certainly more boisterous than we had anticipated and we slowed our progress to 4 kts to keep from pounding into the confused seas. Some were in the 6-8’ range with 18kt winds on the nose, of course. We entered into the lee of St. Thomas and once protected, picked up our speed until we entered into Gregory Channel. We tippy toed through the narrow and shallow Haulover Cut, then rounded into Charlotte Amalie Harbor with Gerry & Nicky right behind us. We anchored in 17’ of water and let out 100’ of chain; a nor’easter is due by the end of the week, so we wanted our hook well dug in by then. Dale completed this task by losing his hat overboard and had to dive into the less than sanitary water to retrieve it. He seems to be having a hard time keeping his attire on him these days.
After a couple of hot showers later, we lowered the dink and started into town, stopping only to say hello to Tom & Doris on Exit Strategy, whom we last saw at the Pitons. With Gerry & Nicky in tow, we made our way to the restaurant that made Roti’s, we had been told about in January. It was a tiny establishment with only 3 tables but they served quite possibly the best Roti’s we’ve ever eaten. Roti’s, by the way, are an Indian fast food. Curried chicken, beef, goat, or shrimp with potatoes in their own type of tortilla wrap. Definitely a lunch to clear your sinuses. Delicious!
With full tummies, we waddled into Liberty Jewelers for our Valentine’s Day presents. I found a pair of green earrings but Nicky didn’t see anything that grabbed her eye. The type of earrings that she had seen last year were nowhere to be found this year. With so many beautiful pieces, she felt overwhelmed. I certainly agreed with her assessment but I can usually force myself to focus in on something I like.
We finished our day by finding an internet store to buy some connection time, walking through the straw market, then making our way back to the boat by snore-o‘clock. All in all, a full day.
St. Thomas
18.20.270N
64.55.61W
Normally, I start my post with a daily entry. However, last night after we went to bed we had a bit of excitement; other than what you normally find exciting in bed.
About 10:30pm a panga (a long, open boat, normally used for fishing) came into the harbor and zinged past us shining flashlights at our boat. Of course, this brought us both topside in a heart beat. Then it crossed the entire width of the harbor to the other side, again traveling much too fast in a darkened moonless anchorage shining flashlights at all of the boats as they went by. Jerry, on Summer Breeze was the farthest out and shouted his displeasure at their stupidity.
As learned in Trini, I grabbed our floodlight and lit them up as they came back in our direction again. There were at least 5 men in the boat speaking Spanish obviously looking for another boat. They came back across the harbor and eventually took the last mooring, right inside of us, then dragged a stern anchor to shore. Five men climbed out and started walking along the beach eventually making their way out past the reefs to the outermost beach that normally no one goes to.
Dale commented that it was going to be a long night, so I went below and came back up with a couple of blankets, binoculars, and nightscope but I couldn’t find the airhorn. Dale had already retrieved it. The long and short of it was: a boat full of men were certainly acting suspiciously, if only being stupid. However, for all of the noise and flash lights they had blazing, they certainly weren’t afraid of being seen. A couple of Homeland Security boats had been lurking in the anchorage earlier in the day, so it made us wonder what we had stumbled into. Dale felt that with me lighting them up, I had made us target. What I didn’t realize until this morning was, he had also grabbed our flare gun. So he was feeling pretty serious about the whole thing too.
In any event, we gave up our surveillance a couple of hours later when they were obviously having a hard time finding whatever they were looking for; clearly they weren‘t interested in us. In the wee hours of the morning, they left much more silently than they had arrived.
This morning, as Gerry would say: “at a sparrow’s fart” we got underway for St. Thomas. The seas were certainly more boisterous than we had anticipated and we slowed our progress to 4 kts to keep from pounding into the confused seas. Some were in the 6-8’ range with 18kt winds on the nose, of course. We entered into the lee of St. Thomas and once protected, picked up our speed until we entered into Gregory Channel. We tippy toed through the narrow and shallow Haulover Cut, then rounded into Charlotte Amalie Harbor with Gerry & Nicky right behind us. We anchored in 17’ of water and let out 100’ of chain; a nor’easter is due by the end of the week, so we wanted our hook well dug in by then. Dale completed this task by losing his hat overboard and had to dive into the less than sanitary water to retrieve it. He seems to be having a hard time keeping his attire on him these days.
After a couple of hot showers later, we lowered the dink and started into town, stopping only to say hello to Tom & Doris on Exit Strategy, whom we last saw at the Pitons. With Gerry & Nicky in tow, we made our way to the restaurant that made Roti’s, we had been told about in January. It was a tiny establishment with only 3 tables but they served quite possibly the best Roti’s we’ve ever eaten. Roti’s, by the way, are an Indian fast food. Curried chicken, beef, goat, or shrimp with potatoes in their own type of tortilla wrap. Definitely a lunch to clear your sinuses. Delicious!
With full tummies, we waddled into Liberty Jewelers for our Valentine’s Day presents. I found a pair of green earrings but Nicky didn’t see anything that grabbed her eye. The type of earrings that she had seen last year were nowhere to be found this year. With so many beautiful pieces, she felt overwhelmed. I certainly agreed with her assessment but I can usually force myself to focus in on something I like.
We finished our day by finding an internet store to buy some connection time, walking through the straw market, then making our way back to the boat by snore-o‘clock. All in all, a full day.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Isla de Culebrita 
18.19.128N
65.13.738W
Today was just another beautiful day in paradise. Dale and I started our day with a swim to the beach and then a walk back and forth the entire length of the beach. Shortly after we returned, Gerry & Nicky came around and we all jumped back in and went for a snorkel by the reef just a short distance from us.
18.19.128N
65.13.738W
Today was just another beautiful day in paradise. Dale and I started our day with a swim to the beach and then a walk back and forth the entire length of the beach. Shortly after we returned, Gerry & Nicky came around and we all jumped back in and went for a snorkel by the reef just a short distance from us.
After snorkeling the Tobago Cays, I’m either spoiled or the reefs here are in worse shape than they were a year ago. In any event, I took our new underwater camera and started playing with it. As luck would have it, the fish just wouldn’t hold still long enough for me to compose a good shot, so eventually I learned to use the widest angle I could and hope one would swim in front of me. As you can see, I got a few shots with fish in them. 
We returned to our respective boats for lunch and agreed to meet up again after lunch to hike over to the Culebrita ‘baths.’ Once again I jumped in to play with my new toy but everyone else took in the sights without taking the plunge.On our way back, we were delighted with the observation that almost all of the moorings were occupied by sailboats today. Not only were they sailboats but all were live aboards. It’s the first time we’ve seen more sailboats than motor boats in this anchorage.
We finished our day by sharing a pot luck dinner with Linda & Jerry (Summer Breeze), Gerry & Nicky (Orpailleur) and Tom & Jordan on St. Christopher. Summer Breeze is heading back to Jacksonville, so we’ll catch up with Linda & Jerry on down the road. Tom & Jordan are heading to St. Thomas in another day, so we’ll more than likely say our final farewells to them there.
In a way, I suppose you can say that this is the beginning of the end of our sabbatical. We’ve both started talking about heading back to work and where to live. We’ve got six more months to go but already our trip is starting to feel as if its almost over. We’ve had a great time and answered the big question of whether we could live in such a small space 24/7, without killing each other. Jordan says that we’ll have more of a hard time returning to our ‘normal’ lives and not being together all of the time. She believes that we’ve gotten too used to having the other around as best friend, sounding board and partner in every sense. In other words, we’ve succeeded in the biggest goal of all: renewing our commitment to each other and why we work in the first place. Isn’t that what a sabbatical is all about?
Monday, February 12, 2007
Isla de Culebrita
18.19.128N
65.13.738W
Underway again! This morning Dale returned the rental car, I tried to confirm that my x-ray had been taken care of and we readied the boat for transit. Along the way, we finally met our neighbor Loretta who was starting laundry of epic proportions. We had met her husband Marshall a few days ago when they first arrived in the slip next to us.
We slipped our lines about 9:30 and said a fond farewell to Roosevelt Roads. We still don’t know if AAFES is taking over the marina or not but hope that they do, so that we’ll have our Puerto Rican home to return to in the future.
We headed out to the turning basin, unfurled our sails, then sailed in the direction of Vieques. The wind was a modest 12-15 kts with seas in the 2-4’ range. We got as close as we could to Punta Caballo before tacking back towards Culebra, dodging a Coast Guard buoy tender working in the area.
Orpailleur and St. Christopher left about an hour before us and we thought we were catching up at one point. However, in my infinite wisdom, I believed that since we had a good wind in the direction we were going, if we continued on the same tack, pinching as high as we could, we could round to the north of Culebra and scoot in with everyone else. It never works that way and I should have known it. Apparently, we actually were catching up with everyone until they tacked back behind Culebra (the normal route) and watched us taking off for points unknown. Although I was able to pinch quite high on the south side of Culebra, we needed to dodge the rocks that lead from Puerto Rico, after that, the wind started to die and we were well on our way to Africa when I turned the wheel over to Dale. About 4 pm he turned on the ‘iron genny’ to insure we made it into harbor before dark.
We arrived in Culebrita about 5:30 pm. St. Christopher, Orpailleur and Summer Breeze (our Trini neighbors) were all sitting in their cockpits watching the sunset as we scurried around trying to set an anchor bridle into the swell. (Dale refused to set a stern anchor again.) In spite of my “short cut” it was a wonderful day of sailing. The winds never rose above 18 kts and the seas were kindly, rarely above 4’ even on the exposed Atlantic side.
Dale dropped the dink and made the rounds saying hello to everyone as I set about gathering something for dinner. Gerry & Nicky joined us later for left over party snacks before we all called it an early night.
18.19.128N
65.13.738W
Underway again! This morning Dale returned the rental car, I tried to confirm that my x-ray had been taken care of and we readied the boat for transit. Along the way, we finally met our neighbor Loretta who was starting laundry of epic proportions. We had met her husband Marshall a few days ago when they first arrived in the slip next to us.
We slipped our lines about 9:30 and said a fond farewell to Roosevelt Roads. We still don’t know if AAFES is taking over the marina or not but hope that they do, so that we’ll have our Puerto Rican home to return to in the future.We headed out to the turning basin, unfurled our sails, then sailed in the direction of Vieques. The wind was a modest 12-15 kts with seas in the 2-4’ range. We got as close as we could to Punta Caballo before tacking back towards Culebra, dodging a Coast Guard buoy tender working in the area.
Orpailleur and St. Christopher left about an hour before us and we thought we were catching up at one point. However, in my infinite wisdom, I believed that since we had a good wind in the direction we were going, if we continued on the same tack, pinching as high as we could, we could round to the north of Culebra and scoot in with everyone else. It never works that way and I should have known it. Apparently, we actually were catching up with everyone until they tacked back behind Culebra (the normal route) and watched us taking off for points unknown. Although I was able to pinch quite high on the south side of Culebra, we needed to dodge the rocks that lead from Puerto Rico, after that, the wind started to die and we were well on our way to Africa when I turned the wheel over to Dale. About 4 pm he turned on the ‘iron genny’ to insure we made it into harbor before dark.
We arrived in Culebrita about 5:30 pm. St. Christopher, Orpailleur and Summer Breeze (our Trini neighbors) were all sitting in their cockpits watching the sunset as we scurried around trying to set an anchor bridle into the swell. (Dale refused to set a stern anchor again.) In spite of my “short cut” it was a wonderful day of sailing. The winds never rose above 18 kts and the seas were kindly, rarely above 4’ even on the exposed Atlantic side.
Dale dropped the dink and made the rounds saying hello to everyone as I set about gathering something for dinner. Gerry & Nicky joined us later for left over party snacks before we all called it an early night.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Roosevelt Roads 
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W
Today the guys wanted to do chores on our respective boats prior to taking off, so I picked up Nicky and headed in the direction of a specific store to pick up a birthday gift for Dale. I can’t write about it now or it wouldn’t be a surprise. Then we headed back to the Palace to do laundry and make the isinglass cover for Jordan that I had promised. Nicky was pressed into laundry service while I sewed and bless her heart, Dale got her to help him put the outboard back on its perch on the back. Sad to say, Dale knows to stay away when I’m sewing but poor Nicky got sent to the corner when she pointed out that in spite of the fact that I was measuring hems with a ruler, they appeared to be crooked. After that, she was an angel when I clearly wasn’t sewing up to my usual standards. In any event, the cover was completed, in spite of the less than perfect stitches and returned to St. Christopher. Tom & Jordan weren’t there so I climbed aboard and left it in the cockpit, giving their guard dog, Harry, a little pat for being so quiet.
Next Nicky & I headed to the nearest grocery store for our last minute veggie shopping. One of the guests that Nicky is expecting is gluten intolerant so she was seeking items with no wheat in them. I started thinking about my menus and realized she has her work cut out. No pastas, no breads, no crackers (unless they’re made of rice); sounds like a forced Atkins’ diet to me; Dale says: not quite.Being a glutton for punishment, I had also decided that we’d host the last night on the dock farewells. We invited Tom & Jordan, Mac & Marie and their guests, as well as Gerry & Nicky. At one point we had 11 people in our cockpit passing hors dousers around. Probably not the smartest move on my part but I really wanted to see Mac & Marie again and not impose on Tom & Jordan’s graciousness with their roomy catamaran. It might have been a bit cramped but everyone seemed to enjoy the evening. Nothing like a full day of activity.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Roosevelt Roads 
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W
Happy Birthday Geri! You know that you’re getting older . . . when the twinkle in your eyes is the sun hitting your bifocals!
The crews of Orpailleur and Gypsy Palace dedicated today as a day of sightseeing. We started off with a trip to downtown San Juan and learned that we had chosen the day of the Boy Scout Jamboree as our day in the fabled city. Boy Scouts were pouring into the city by the minute. We were early, so we parked next to the cemetery by the El Morrow fort. On our way up the hill, Nicky and I decided that it would be prudent to head to the loo before we got to the fort when we saw the sign indicating that there were none in the fort. We found some very nice ones in the conveniently located souvenir shop. However the ladies room was in the process of being cleaned and we were directed to the men’s room across the hall. It was clean and tidy and not at all what we envisioned a men’s room to look like, except for one item; a blow dryer at waist height. Now I suppose that this could be for children or those in wheelchairs but when we turned it on, the force was enough to blow a small child to the next island. Of course there is only one thing we figured this could be used for and indeed we harassed the guys about it for several minutes upon our return. . . . . . . . . If they didn’t splash water all over the place, there would be no need for a stand up clothes dryer.
We continued with our tour of El Morrow enjoying the views and imagining what life must have been like in days of old. By mid-morning, it was obvious that this was going to be a sweltering day. After a couple of up and downs on the steep staircases, we made our way out of the fort and headed out of the city at a snail’s pace. By this time the streets were clogged with uniformed munchkins with their larger versioned leaders and guardians in complimenting colors. The main street heading out of the city was closed for the mid-day parade so we eased through cobble stoned side streets built in the 1600’s, long before today’s SUVs were thought of. Nicky had been looking to purchase a mask that is made in Ponce and we saw several in the windows of the stores as we passed slowly through town. We considered jumping out a making a quick purchase but the guys said that as soon as we did, the traffic would clear and they would be forced to circle around to come back and pick us up. It was made clear to us that this was not to be considered. No sense of adventure, it seems.
We eventually made our way out of San Juan and followed the signs to the Bacardi Rum factory for the tour there; no I didn’t buy any rum - in fact, I volunteered to be the designated driver. This time the walking tour wasn’t turned on (probably due to all of the cruise ships in town) and we quickly made our way through the audio/visual center and back to the tasting center. Thankfully, the tastes seemed much lighter than our first encounter a year ago and my driving services weren’t required. 
We headed back to the mall in Carolina and grabbed a quick bite for lunch before making our way to Sears. Nicky’s vacuum sealer had sealed its last bag and we found a newer, smarter, more expensive version to replace it. We walked with purpose and determination through out the remainder of the mall looking for the Ponce masks, just in case they might be there and quick enough so the guys had nothing to complain about but still, no joy. Later as we passed by the souvenir stores at the El Yunque rainforest turnoff, we found just what she wanted and just as the shops were closing. I’m glad we were able to locate them as Nicky wanted to pick one up for their daughter but they had only spent the night in Ponce and did not have enough time to locate the masks there.
Another full day and one that we ended with dinner at Lolitas as we were all exhausted from the fresh air and sunshine.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Roosevelt Roads 
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W
Happy Birthday Nicky! You know that you’re getting older . . . when your back goes out more often than you do!
I think that when we started out this morning, they guys were going to move Orpailleur over to the travel lift and Nicky and I were going to go back to the base and do some laundry and possibly some shopping in town without the guys. However, I had taken our computer over to their boat to download our e-mails and while in the process of making the internet connection, the guys starting untying the lines and we all ended up moving the boat over to the travel lift for the cutlass bearing to be replaced. We had told Gerry about the great deal to be found in pulling the boat during the noon lunch break. He checked into it, made all of the arrangements and while the boat was in the sling, Dale and Gerry scraped the barnacles off the keel while the people Gerry had hired worked on replacing the cutlass bearing. Nicky and I ended up supervising from some chairs in the shade. As soon as the lunch break was over, the boat was dropped back into the water.
I was surprised and delighted to see that a young woman operated the travel lift when it was time to return to the water. We all made the comment that it took 3 men to pull the boat but only 1 woman to move her back and lower her in. Once back in, we motored over to the fuel dock and topped her off before finally heading back to their slip.
With the better part of the day gone by this time, Nicky and I decided to vacuum seal her purchases from yesterday and created a little production line which had everything taken care of in fairly short order. After that we had a couple of cocktails before going up to the marina restaurant to celebrate Nicky’s birthday.
With all of the major projects completed, we only have our sight seeing left to do and then we’ll be off once again.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
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.
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)