Our First Guest – Vieques, Puerto Rico, February 13, 2023

It has been a busy couple of weeks since we just found out in late January that we are expecting our first guests!  My sister and her husband are both coming to spend a week with us. Upon learning this Ron and I made a plan to leave the fun hiking and snorkeling we were doing in St. John’s and head over to Puerto Rico early to get ready.  We rented a car in addition to a dock at the “The Yacht Club” in Palmas Del Mar (a beautifully gated community on the south side of the island).  We had hoped to go to St. Croix first but when we tried to head over there it was too rough and honestly It worked out better for us to head directly to Puerto Rico since they were flying into San Jaun, and we also had quite a bit of reprovisioning to do. 

Our first order of business was to get access to some laundry since all my spare sheets etc. had been packed up for three years and needed a good washing.  Ron had also been busy picking out a new grill since Puerto Rico is a place where we can have anything from Amazon sent to the marina (dangerous!).  Our old marine grill didn’t work very well and with the burnt asparagus as proof it will be nice when he can have something that has settings beyond on or off.  When he got it and tried it out, we made fajitas and they turned out so well, I think he now loves his new grill more than me.

In between loads of laundry, trips to Walmart to reprovision, we cleaned up the boat and got everything in order for my sister to come.  The day we picked them up from the airport we jumped in the car to head back, made an epically short trip to Walmart, got them on the boat, and took the afternoon to sail over to Vieques (a small island off the south coast of Puerto Rico).  According to the weather it was the only time we were going to be able to take them out on the boat overnight, so we didn’t want to miss our chance.  It was an easy sail, we dropped anchor in a nice protected little anchorage and waited for night fall so we could see the bioluminescent bay.  We relaxed had dinner & a couple of beers then took off for the bay when dark hit.  It was very bright since there was no moon, and I am so glad we got to take them there.

The next morning, we snorkeled the bay which was pretty good, we saw a lot of fish, a ray and some very pretty coral.  Then after lunch we had to head back to hid from the weather. Since it was whale season here, we hoped we would see one on the sail back but with no luck.  Sadly, the weather didn’t really cooperate much all week as it rained every day but we still managed to hike the El Yunque National Forest, the Pterocarpus Forest, and one other trail on the south side of the island.  We also spent a rainy day in Old San Juan which is always very cool seeing the old forts, cemetery, and just walking the oldest city in the U.S.

The week flew by and rain or not I think everyone had fun.  It did highlight about how unusual Ron and my life is and how it can be a bit for any person to get used to.  Everything from the bathroom experience on a boat to just getting used to riding in the dinghy.  I guess I take a bit of this for granted since we are a couple of years into it.  I just want to thank my sister and her husband for being brave enough to not let their comfort get in their way and to try something new like this at the drop of a hat.  We loved having you.

Ron and I took a couple of days after they headed back to the mainland to continue utilization of the laundry, finish up the last of our provisioning, return the car and then headed out to do a bit more snorkeling in Vieques now that the wind and seas have calmed a bit.  We went back to Blue Tang Reef (one of our favorites last year), and just relaxed for a few days.  Now it is off to St. Croix!