CURRENT LOCATION: Anchored east of Cayo Mata near the villages of Playa Salinas and Playita, Puerto Rico
17 57.274' N, 066 17.474' W
[Note: the crew of
Prudence took a day (and partial night) trip yesterday, via automobile, to the towns of Santa Isabel, Cayey, and San Juan, while
Prudence and
Patience remained in the harbor]
It has been over 3 months since Sheryl has been behind the wheel of a car. Though she felt a bit awkward at first, she soon adjusted to being in control of an object which moves along at speeds better than 6 knots (with many other such objects in close proximity). We had rented a car for the day, and elected to experience total immersion in the familiar institutions we left behind in the States. Before the sun had set, we had spent significant time in Walmart, Starbucks, and West Marine. We had dined on a quick lunch at Chili's and searched for engine oil at Pepboys and Advanced Auto Parts. Fortunately, we stopped short of indulging in one of the numerous familiar fast food chains we passed along the way.
The main goal for the day was to stock up on SAE30 motor oil for our diesel engine. Although we departed Florida with a good supply, our engine manual suggests a change every 75 hours (a schedule which we have been hitting fairly close to the mark), and each change requires 5 quarts of fresh oil. Until we started looking here in Puerto Rico, we didn't realize that it would be so hard to find SAE30 for diesel engines (some other cruisers with Universal engines confirmed this observation). In order to avoid issues of shortages, we purchased 9 more gallons (once we finally located the precious lubricant). Added to our current stores, we should be good for nearly 1000 additional engine hours.
Aside from engine oil, we spent way too much money at West Marine on a surprisingly few number of items, and stocked up on some basic provisions and a few other items at our first SUPER Walmart stop since departing New Bern. Once the shopping extravaganza was done, we decided to put on our tourist hats and explore Old San Juan.
Big cruise ships tie up in Old San Juan, and we were right there among the throng of sunburned partiers being disgorged from the bowels of these ships. We spent the waning daylight hours walking the city (which has a wonderful European feel to it), and then enjoyed a fantastic dinner at a Turkish restaurant (a rare treat for us).
By the time we made it back and transferred our items out to the big boat, it was
way past time for bed. We waited until after returning the car this morning to finally stow all of our purchases. Then we spent the day doing some final provisioning (more water and gasoline for the dinghy) and we got in a last dose of internet surfing at the Cruiser's Galley.
Tomorrow we plan to move on from Salinas. Although we will need to make several interim stops, our current goal is to make it out to the island of Culebra before too long. We have two groups of guests who are in the process of coordinating trips to join us between the middle and the end of March. We are really looking forward to having folks come to see us and we want to arrive out at Culebra with plenty of time to relax and prepare for their arrival. Perhaps we can even give our guests the appearance of knowing what we are doing in this cruising life of ours.