CURRENT LOCATION: Tied to a mooring ball near Cayo Pirata, in Ensenada Honda, Culebra, Puerto Rico

18 18.400' N, 065 17.842' W

First of all, I am happy to report that Team Prudence is back to 100% on the health front. All effects of our lingering head colds have left us.

With mind, body, and spirit in total alignment we are settling into each day with something akin to a routine. The mornings aboard Prudence always start between 0700 and 0730. This is the time when a combination of sunlight streaming through the hatch and noise from nearby seagulls and departing planes make it less than likely that we will get any more sleep.

After breakfast, we usually read or do stuff on the computer. I am trying to focus on two types of tasks: 1) Continue writing efforts directed toward publication; 2) Learn Spanish. I cannot say that I am making great strides on either front, but baby steps may eventually result in the development of some substantial momentum on those endeavors. At least I am hoping so. Wish me luck (or better yet, discipline), dear Reader.

As lunchtime approaches, we generally try to get out and get active. As those who tune in regularly to this blog well know, our means of transportation from the big boat are of the motorized and non-motorized variety...



...and the latter can become an activity in and of itself. The peace and quiet found when paddling to remote corners of the island is a goal worthy of the effort. Then, of course, there is the underwater world we so frequently capture in our photos...



...providing not only physical exercise, but intellectual stimulation for Sheryl. Hours are spent back aboard the big boat identifying fish species.

Even going to the beach...



...requires considerable bipedal locomotion. The most popular sandy destination is over two miles by road, and more remote beaches require even greater hiking distances, some involving somewhat strenuous trails.

By the time our bodies grow weary, it is back to the big boat for dinner. After which we may watch a movie or play a game, but it is not too long after dark when the v-berth begins to beckon. The turn of a few pages in a paperback is usually all it takes to find the land of Nod.

Our routine over the past week has found us frequently in the company of Jan from s/v Irise. While the other half of her cruising contingent, Paul, has been helping another boat sail to George Town in the Bahamas, Jan has been keeping watch over their boat here in Culebra.



In company with Jan, Sheryl has been able to devote more time to those activities in which I display a lesser interest, such as searching for sea glass. Recent beach scouring sessions have resulted in much of the highly prized blue glass and several samples of the even rarer red glass.



Now that this morning's computer time is nearing an end, and the sun is throwing a shimmering reflection across the turquoise wavelets adjacent to Prudence, it is time to select the day's activities. I am thinking about paddling about the bay while Sheryl and Jan go walk some hills and hit sea glass beach. The plan is then to reconvene aboard Prudence for curry and dominoes during the later portion of the day. Life is good, dear Reader, as we meander through just another day here in Paradise.