We are in Palmas del Mar, one of the barrios of Humacao, Puerto Rico.

Way back when (say in the late 1400's) there was a Taíno Cacique (Chief) named Jumacao, and this area was named after him. Today they changed the spelling to Humacao, as the J's sound like H's in Spanish.

The Tainos, who lived in Puerto Rico long before the arrival of the Spaniards, were, legend has it, an organized and peaceful people. The only problems they had were "occasionally with the cannibals of the Carib tribes". Occasionally ? Yeesh.

Anyhow, today we are safely tucked into a (cement) slip marina for the first time since, oh, early January when we were in Ft Pierce getting our solar panels installed.



That's 1483 nm ago (and thanks Blue Moose for that "action shot")!

No doubt about it, poor little Banyan has salt crystals the size of grapefruits growing on her deck, her stanchions, her lines, well, everywhere. I think I found some in my hair the other day.

We spent the afternoon getting ourselves oriented in this very friendly and welcoming resort/marina, filling up with diesel and gas, water, power lines, etc... The staff here so helpful and aware, that as I stepped off the boat with a bag of garbage, Ricardo who was zooming by on his golf cart, immediately stopped, came over, and grabbed it out of my hands. They drive you everywhere, and Ray came over with the power adaptor while helping 3 other boats get into their slip. Multi-tasking at its best, so far we are pleasantly surprised and quite impressed.

A great night's sleep was followed by a morning spa session for Banyan,



To begin the rejuvenation process a luxurious and unique hull wash treatment was used, then a scrub and soap down with fruity smelling pink soap that was not only Eco Friendly, but did a wonderful job of melting away the salt crystals.

The teak decks also received some personal attention, a thorough against the grain scrubbing with a soft-bristle brush, followed by a fresh water rinse, that allowed the dirty grimy grey water to rinse overboard, and reflect the beautiful honey coloured teak wood to shine through.

While Dave was tending to that, I used some canvas cleaner and bristle brushed our cockpit cushions free of salt and dirt and they are looking quite wonderfully renewed.



All this to help prepare Banyan for wax treatment that will decelerate sun damage, refining the surface for the addition of wax. This exfoliation and thorough wash process will enhance the effectiveness of the active ingredients in any wax product, better leaving the white hull shiny and radiant looking. At least, we hope...

And not just the outside got tended to. I gave the oven an Easy Off treatment to be envied. And believe it or not, even the pots and pans got scrubbed with baking soda, and they're gleaming an almost new sparkle. All the better to cook with, m'dear.

And that, believe it or not was the start of a four hour morning at the spa. We enjoyed union sanctioned breaks of fresh fruit salad, toasted tomato, ham and Swiss cheese sandwiches,

"what's this honey, ANOTHER glass of water?"
"yes, m'dear"
And Dave mumbled something, but drink he did, and then he grumblingly traipsed to the heads for the umpteenth time.

And so, by the time all was said and done (for today anyways) the dark grey and blue clouds that were converging overhead finally opened up and we quickly clambered into the protection of our newly cleaned cockpit, to enjoyed a quick lunch of tuna sandwiches (and more water). Grumble, grumble, grumble. Can't you hear him now?

It was time to allow Banyan to relax into the beginnings of her renewed self, and so we left her be, and walked up to the Tiki bar,



enjoyed a beer with some gargantuan onion rings followed by chicken wings while listening to the calypso band belt out some old tunes.



The pool area here was deserted,



and the brief rain shower allowed the rainbow to come out and play,



and the music and dancing to continue, while enjoying a view that you just can't keep your eyes off of.