Spring Break in Ponce and Laura, Jeff and Luke have flown down for a visit! We are anchored off of the Ponce Yacht Club and they are staying at the Hilton which is just a mile away on the bay!

Guest Blog: Cruising with the Baars as seen through the eyes of Laura, Jeff and Luke.

I sip a glass of wine, listening to the waves and contemplate our past days catching up with the Baars family. For all of you in cyberland who think that life on Eira can't possibly just be about exploring beautiful destinations, drinking fruity libations, and enjoying the surf and sea, you're right -- it's also about expat camraderie and an amazing day-to-day existence. The Baars family is healthy and happy and thriving in the tropics, for anyone who was wondering about that!

Jeff, Luke and I arrived Sunday night in Ponce, Puerto Rico and met the gang on a bustling boardwalk known as the Malecon where couples danced salsa and children, including ours, ran wild against the throbbing beat of competing bands up and down the boardwalk. Eira bobbed just off shore while we drank cuba libres and soaked up the Spanish language and foreign culture. Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory but we felt a long way from home. The next couple of days we lounged around between our hotel facilities and the Ponce Yacht & Fishing Club, where Luke was thrilled with the dingy mode of transport . . . and rescue! Menno adeptly rescued his hat twice from the waters of the marina. Note to other land lubbers: tighten up your baseball cap when you walk out on the docks! Luke, Daniel and John spent hours playing in the pool, Val and I experienced the Puerto Rican culture -- did you know that Pina Coladas were first created by a bartender in San Juan, PR? Dinner on Eira, with the obligatory and most delicious boat drinks prepared by Menno, was devine. Another night we feasted on lobster, shrimp and red snapper on a deck extending right over the Carribbean Sea with a canopy of leaves from a giant sea grape tree.