Calico cats and barracuda.

There’s a Calico cat at the Blue Lagoon Marina that sort of sets the pace here. Slow down, she seems to say, have a seat and rub me behind my ears. Captain Jason has never met a cat that he won’t pick up, including some of the ugliest alley cats I’ve ever seen in Puerto Rico. 

We are on our 24-hour turnover, this time using a provisioning service rather than invading the grocery store with a 7-cart adventure. We still had to run around town for some odds and ends, so we got to spend some time with our guy on the ground here, Lyndon. 

Turnover Saturday night is a favorite of mine. I take the crew out for dinner and we get to unwind and talk story, as they say in Hawai’i. We settled into picnic tables at a beach bar, drinking rum punch and feasting on grilled barracuda. 

One not-so-quaint reality of most Caribbean countries is the customs and immigration officer. There’s one stationed right at the marina here, and he’s armed with volumes of Byzantine regulations and fees and fines that he’s only too happy to inflict on visitors. We needed him to stay late on Sunday to pick up some late-arriving guests, so we made nice, did a song and dance routine, and slipped him an extra $100. It worked. 

Our provisions arrived just 2 hours before our first round of guests, so we had a mad scramble to get the boat straightened away. We took the first group, Heather, John (we have two Heathers and two Johns this week, one guide and one guest, each!), Tracy, and Bill, to Rock Island for a swim n hike up the hill. In the middle of our hike (and Heather and Tracy’s swim) a squall came through and drenched us with a spectacular rain. Wild and wonderful.

Thanks to Zack for getting great photos and vid of the hike so I, Mermaid HP, could stay in the water with Tracy and look for cool fish! - HP

A spectacular rain came with a short, intense squall. I love swimming in the rain. - HP

The second group, Marianne, Gene, Janet and Laura, arrived a little later, and we all sipped Aperol Spritzes as we chatted about our travels. Jemima put out a yummy chicken, dill and orzo stew. John and I strung up our hammocks on the stern of Flamboyant and rocked to sleep. 

Hopper

A short little video of the squall from Fort Duvenette on Rock Island, with music by my guy, Finn Weafer. XO - HP