Ponce
29 April 2013 | Puerto Rico
And off to Ponce.
We, Dulcinea and Golightly, arrived at about 07:00. Checked into the Ponce Fishing and Yacht Club marina and hired a car. Jeremie flys back to Canada in 2 days time and we have to find a box to put his bicycle into.
Had a look around and Ponce is a beautiful old town. Lovely buildings, some of which have been restored. Friday and we are off to San Juan. Quick stop at West Marine then to the airport to drop Jeremie off. It was sad to see him go. We've had a lot of fun, many laughs, drunk a few rums and shot and caught a lot of fish and lobster together. He was a great help on the boat. Always willing. He will be missed. I think he has learned a lot about sailing, sailboats and life on the water in general. I suspect that he will be back out on the water sometime soon.
This week end, was the Juntoes 2013. It is celebrating the end of the college field and track events. We went down town of Friday evening to see the festivities. Hundreds of cops lined the streets as thousands of kids partied the night away. The Medalla beer was very good and only $1.
Also went to Hacienda Buena Visa. A conservation area that we thought was a commercial coffee farm. Toured around the rain forest, hoping for a coffee at the end. No luck. Nice to see though. Later had drinks aboard Truant, a beautiful Cabo Rico 47, with Mark and Jill. It was great to catch up with them again.
Off to San Juan for the day. First to the old fort "El Morro". Really a great sight. Right at the entrance, guarding the bay. Then off to the Bacardi factory. After the tour and free drinks, Oak and Coke was my poison. A good day was had by all!
The last 2 days have been spent re- insulating my fridge. I've been having problem with it as its been drawing 6Ah for 20 hours a day. My solar panel, 285 amp, couldn't keep up. So I've lined the fridge sides with 1' insulation and the bottom with 2. Looking good already. After pulling the temp down, it now seems to draw about 1-2 amps and only every couple of hours. I'll be installing a battery monitor when I get to St. Maarten and then I'll be able to see my consumption over a 24 hr period.