Puerto Rico – Hubby’s Perspective

So Hubby has decided to contribute to the Sailing Marionette blog, albeit the last thing I want to do is take away from my wonderful wife’s mad skills of writing about our new adventures. However, I guess I do have something to contribute after all… So I will begin with Puerto Rico. We are in the Pescaderia Marina on the western most coast of Puerto Rico. A place I have never been, and quite frankly has never made my radar. Yesterday’s full days motor sail took us across the entire southern banks of Puerto Rico and since we were unable to refuel in historic Ponce, we pressed on. Well after dark we were greeted twice by surprise from the Puerto Rican Policia, fully armed with a spotlight that would make the sun beg for a pair of Costas. While intimidating, the truth is they were friendly and professional. Simply asked for our boat info as well as where we were heading to and where from, the politely disappeared into the dark. Did I mention intimidating?

The day ended with pulling into Marina Pescaderia. Fortunately we were able to seek refuge, refuel, and get some rest in this VERY accommodating marina. (I will give a shout out to this April 7^th birthday boy who parallel parked his 44’ boat in a 45’ spot in between million dollars of catamarans in the dark). Credit to whitewater experience… some will get eddy hopping…

Today’s experience has been nothing but surreal. Let’s begin with the people. Amid the entire COVID pandemic, the people here remain masked but extremely friendly, and grateful to have tourists on their beautiful island. We’ve met a handful of Crayola colorful characters already and one that reminds me of a long lost friend. The place itself is very beautiful. It’s a working marina, with local fisherman, people living aboard permanently, and transients like ourselves. We just met a couple that spent a month in Haiti and, for the most part, loved it. My current surroundings are this wonderful mixture of locals, the aroma of stewing seafoods, and kamikaze birds diving for supper. In the background I hear Luiz Bonfa on Pandora. If you enjoy music beyond Bon Jovi and the Bieber, I highly recommend  with maybe a bottle of Bordeaux.

In closing, the sights, smells, and sounds of travel far exceed whatever Netflix has decided to release this month. While our temporary new reality has us in unchartered territory, I encourage you, when the dust settles, to break out a map, close your eyes, point …. And go. Be kind, limit your “rewind”, and just go….