El Yunque, Culebra and Family

March 8 - 18, 2014

Doing the 'happy dance' now that they are
off the plane!

It has been a busy ten days since my last post.  Our son and his family came for a week from Minnesota.  Steve and Erin have twins that are six years old:  Niko and Addison.  Gotta Smile held the six of us comfortably and we had some great adventures here in Puerto Rico.  Meal planning was a challenge.  Steve is a vegetarian.  Niko is allergic to tree nuts and Niko and Addison are both dairy and egg intolerant.  I was well prepared with lots of options and once they arrived it was much less complicated than I had imagined.  

Ready to begin the hike.

The first day of their visit we went to El Yunque National Forest....a tropical rain forest.  The land was originally set aside in 1876 by King Alfonso XII of Spain.    We hiked the long strenuous path to La Mina Falls.  OK, it's only .7 of a mile, but it really is up and down one steep hill and then another on a very narrow path.  The falls cascade into a pool of ice cold water.  It was definitely worth the pain.  The scenery was fabulous the entire way and the kids loved swimming at the falls.    

Finally, the falls!

Amazing trees supporting other
plant life.

Heading back to the car.

Feeling a little seasick.

Our next stop was Culebra--a four ride by boat.  This beautiful island was a practice bombing site for the U.S. Navy until 1975.  There are still tanks in the forests and on the beach.  Now it is a quiet getaway for Puerto Ricans and boaters traveling the area.  Culebra is one of the islands referred to as the Spanish Virgins.  We arrived mid afternoon, anchored in Ensenada Honda and began jumping off the back of the boat.  The next morning Brian put the dinghy in the water only to find that the motor would not start.  Lots of disappointment for everyone.  He worked on it all day rebuilding the 

Not everyone felt bad.

carburetor several times.  The rest of us got more and more adventurous jumping off different levels of the boat to make big splashes.  Finally, his perseverance paid off.  About 4:30 the motor started.  Good news, we would be able to explore for the next two days.  Friday, we took a long dinghy ride to the National Wildlife Refuge, Melones Beach and Tamarindo Beach.  The kids loved splashing in the water, rolling in the sand and picking up shells and small pieces of coral.  Our last day on Culebra we rented a golf cart to see the island from a different perspective.  The main goal was to go to Flamenco
                                                                               Beach.... absolutely gorgeous!    

We're all feeling great now! 

National Wildlife Refuge

Tamarindo Beach

Niko and Erin snorkel.

Heading into town

Downtown shops, restaurants and hotels.

Flamenco Beach

Leftover tank from the Navy's bombing practice.

Wild chickens are all over the island.
This one has babies.

Watching the fish as we wait for lunch.

Last night on board I helped the kids make fish out
of coconuts that we found on the beach.

Another stop at Costco after the airport.  Time to finish provisioning.  Unbelievable--- they were out of Diet Coke.  Really -- out of Diet Coke?  How can a major store run out of Coke?  You know what that means -- another  (our 6th) Costco visit.  This one had plenty.  (I know you are relieved.)  This boat is maxed with food.  Every drawer and cabinet, all of the refrigerator shelves and both freezers are loaded.  We even filled the ice maker with food!  Trinidad here we come!   
                      
Gotta smile -- we're lovin the ride!

Fajardo, Puerto Rico

February 19 - March 7, 2014

Here we are relaxing for a few weeks in Fajardo.  Fortunately we stumbled onto Sunbay Marina when we drove over from San Juan.  We had read about Puerto del Rey Marina and thought we would be staying there.  But, when we saw how huge it was and found the cost was more than double Sunbay, our decision was easy.  Except for the weekends, we virtually have the marina to ourselves.  It's good to take a break from schedules and the three w's: wind, weather and water, while we wait for our son and his family to arrive.      

At the top of the first hill.  Marina far below.  

We have been without a car most of the time.  It's given us an excuse to walk in spite of the very hilly terrain.   The marina is at sea level (surprise!) and everything else is one huge hill after another.  We found a great little cafe/bakery that makes delicious sandwiches and desserts.  It is the perfect excuse to take that walk.  

Looks like gas is really cheap.  Those prices are
actually per liter.  We did decide to get a couple
hundred gallons of diesel ($4.05/gallon).  Next
fill-up in Trinidad.

Puerto Rico has a few idiosyncrasies when it comes to their highway signs:
mile markers are in kilometers and speed limits are in miles per hour.  It feels like they switched half of their measurements to metric and ran out of money.  

Since Puerto Rico is part of the United States, delivery by the post office and other carriers is more reliable and there is no tariff.  We had parts sent that we needed or thought we might need in the next year.  Rebuilding the stabilizers was his biggest task.   

Gotta smile -- we're lovin the ride!