The boat projects are complete . . . well mostly!
As we get ready to depart it is time to reflect back on our time on this beautiful island and the wonderful and friendly people we have met here.
The first thing I will always remember about Puerto Rico, is driving in and navigating around the island. We would have never survived with out the Garmin GPS Barry bought before we left. I remember when he brought it home, thinking it was another useless gadget. Boy was I wrong! I don't know how any one finds their way around in Puerto Rico because most of the streets have no signs with the name of the street. In fact, there were times when the GPS would just say "turn left onto Road"! In the beginning the only down side to the GPS was that it didn't always use the same route for a particular route - it took us a little longer to learn our way around because of that.
Now add into the mix the mad driving skills of the Puerto Ricans, I have never seen anything like it! For example, say you want to make a right turn but you are in the left lane, no problem just stick your nose out and everyone will wait for you as you cross in front of two lanes of traffic. On the highway when you want to pass, you get in the right lane - when you want to go slow you get into the left lane. Tired of waiting for the red light to change, no problem check to make sure there is not traffic and just go. It was crazy! I have to say Barry adapted very quickly and developed some mad driving skills of his own.
We had many visitors while we were in Puerto Rico. Our first visitor was Sherri (Barry's sister). Sherri actually visited us twice. She stayed at the El Conquistador Resort the first time and then stayed with us at the second condo the second time. The first time she visited we made her do all of the touristy things, the second was more relaxed.
Our next guests were our friends Jon and Jean from Indianapolis. I'm not sure if things were as relaxing as they had hoped! We took them sightseeing to all of the old Fort sights in Old San Juan - it turned out to be the quintessential 'Forced March'! It was fun and informative, but very hot! Jon foolishly volunteered to help with boat projects - never ones to pass up free labor we jumped on his offer. It was a bonus for me as I didn't have to work on the boat too - I was dedicated to keeping Jean company and catching up on things. With only one car, it meant Jean and I spent a lot of time at the condo.
Our last visitor was my Aunt Gail, she just needed a break from her day to day life and she is a lot of fun to hang out with. We took her to the sightseeing highlights of Puerto Rico, but curbed Barry's enthusiasm for Forced Marches!
We met new friends while we were in Puerto Rico as well. I have already talked about the great people that were doing work on our boat and became our friends. We met Mary and Reza in Puerto Rico. Mary and Reza are from Canada and thinking about buying a Beneteau 473. I met them on the Cruiser's Forum when they posted questions about the 473. When I learned they would be in Puerto Rico for the months of December and January we invited them to come see our boat and see what it would be like to sail it with only two people. What great people, they also volunteered to help with boat projects and were instrumental in helping us get the arch set and the solar panels installed. We hope we have made life long friends that we will stay in touch with for a long time!
Puerto Rico is a very beautiful place that we look forward to visiting many times in the years to come. It is truly the Enchanted Island!