Laura, Jeff and Luke
14 April 2006 | Ponce, Puerto Rico
Guest Blog: Cruising with the Baars as seen through the eyes of Laura, Jeff and Luke.
The seven of us ventured into Ponce, a venerable old town, and toured the mansion of the city's premier rum-making family complete with luscious gardens and a pool. The little boys got antsy and so Val and I had to bail out of the tour early to let the boys run around the gardens while we sampled the family version of the Pina Colada. The next day we sailed off to the island of Caja de Muertos, otherwise known as Coffin Island. A legend about a pirate and three wooden machetes from Ponce transformed the boys into dangerous pirates. The island, about an hour and a bit's sail from the southern coast, is made up of two hilly mounds and a long strip in between with beautiful deserted beaches. One of Luke's trip highlights was hauling in a barracuda on the fishing lines that dragged behind the boat. On the shore, the boys found secret directions to a hidden treasure buried in the sand and, after criss-crossing the island, they found treasure in the form of $3.75 buried in the jagged rocks at the foot of a cliff. Daniel suspected that perhaps Val or I had planted the treasure note, but we both denied it vigorously! We experienced a sudden shower and huddled under a roof for a while, but that only added to the adventure as far as we were concerned. After seeing an odd looking mouse and a dead rat later amidst the sea rocks, Valerie dubbed it Rat Island. But to me, Jeff and Luke it was a little hint of paradise. To complete the journey, on the way back to Ponce, I had the thrill of seeing two dolphins bob and play around the boat!
That night we had dinner on board DreamWeaver, the luxurious boat belonging to Karen and Paul that has more rooms than a few of our former homes. We sipped rum drinks, ate coconut, and the last bit of daylight lit up the water between the sailboats on the dock next door. Magic to us. Just another day in the life of Eira. Thank you, Val, Menno, Daniel and John for sharing your adventure with us. We are already making plans to return at some point for another taste of what Luke dubs the sweet life.