It's always an experience being in a Marina, isn't it?

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Every Cruiser has different reasons for being in a Marina. I vividly remember, sometime during the first year of our cruising travels, being newbies and all, we were at a social event and were asked where we were going next.

"To Marina XYZ" I replied, with a smile, really looking forward to our planned marina stay.

And the lady responded, with an audible and quite noticeable body shudder, "We NEVER, ever go into Marina's." looking at me as if I'd just talked about The Dark Side.

And what does one respond to that?

And the next time we saw them? Why, they were in a marina.

True story.

At the moment, we find ourselves in the Palmas del Mar Marina (Puerto Rico).

We had a few gremlins that needed attacking, easier done when tied to a dock. We needed to clean the boat, inside and out, easier done with cheap, pressurized running water. We needed to bulk provision for our upcoming travels that will include the remainder of Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, perhaps Turks&Caicos, and then the Bahamas.

It's always a bit of an event, mental and physical, to tie oneself up alongside and every marina experience is different.



We are pleased to report that the staff at Palmas del Rey was wonderfully helpful, even changing up our slip as we were arriving, so that we would be blown OFF the dock, instead of ON the dock. Thoughtful!



It's quiet here at the moment, and we had lots of wiggle room,



Land-based HookUps & Connections complete, it was time to get our paper and pens out and continue with those lists while doing the Laundry Walk of Shame,



which was wonderful, as last time we were here, they had no machines. This time we found 2 washers and 2 driers in the basement of the new complex, at $2 per load.

In between walks back and forth, we took a breather to enjoy the view,



and once the day complete, enjoy get-togethers with friends at the Tiki Bar,



discussing achievements of the day, future plans, the girls giggling over Margaritas and the boys getting all technical over Cerveza's.

While the Capt'N did his thing, I spent a few days de-cluttering, organizing and cleaning,



I tend to think of it as Spring Cleaning, checking for mould and or bugs, (which thankfully there were none). I checked on all the vacum-sealed bags that are kept under our mattress, and re-sealed them once all items inside were inspected, all the while making lists as I went.

My galley got a thorough cleaning, from the insides of the fridge and freezer, to scrubbing the pots & pans and plates with baking soda to give them all a good clean.

Then it was time to rent a car, which was made even easier to do with the Car-Rental Target Office right in the marina parking lot. Fajardo never knew what hit it. West Marine, Wal-Mart, Ralph's Groceries... Anything and Everything your Boat Life could Desire, if you had the dollars to pay for it all.

I'm not sure how I feel about being back in the land of Stuff, cars going about a Life Lived at a Frenzied Pace. We were in grocery stores that housed potatoes the size of my aft cabin, disgruntled faces at the cash that barely smiled and surely didn't offer a "good morning" type of greeting.

We got three wheel-barrows of STUFF on the boat, had a late dinner, and went to bed, totally exhausted.



The next morning, it was 5 hours worth of dis-assembling our purchases, re-assembling into the cleaned out spaces.

I unpackaged everything,



and I mean, everything.



All canned food (shudder!), went into one large pile, got wiped clean (especially the rims),



"You know hon" I said to Dave,
"Hmm...?" He asked, still preoccupied with the installation of our new windlass remote control.

"The only canned goods that I bought, that we don't normally, OK, ever, buy is Roast Beef INACAN, and Pulled Pork INACAN."

I laughed, as I don't like to do much of anything INACAN.

"And that should go every well with the Duck Confit INACAN that we bought back in the French Islands".

My storage bins got assembled,



and all cardboard (as always) and plastics went into the garbage,



"All that plastic!" I said with a shudder, as I carried the large plastic bag to the garbage bin. "Le Sigh..."

Another day done,



and we watched the beautiful full moon rise overhead,



as we rested, feeling pretty darn accomplished.

And you know what? One of my favourite parts of Marina Life, is that at the end of a productive type of Day, I can walk over to use the Plenty Clean Rooms and Plenty Water Marina Showers. Pamper Much??

You know, honestly, it don't much matter if you Marina Much. I'm sure that there are cruisers out there that would have done all of the above while at anchor. And there are definitely cruisers that do only marinas. Bottom line? It's all bout doing your own thing. What works for you and makes you happy, in the confines of your own budget.

And it's all about the Adventuring, right?



We're almost ready....