Fly in the Ointment

I guess if we had a perfect vacation, where everything went off without a hitch, we'd arouse far too much jealousy in our readers, so we thought we'd throw in a less-than-stellar day. I'll start with the worst, even though it happened last, because then I can end on a more positive note.

There are three "bio-bays" in Puerto Rico: which are bays that house organisms much like underwater fireflies. So you can go there at night, and if you move the water, it glows. I was really excited to see this phenomenon. I figured it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that would be well worth the exorbitant fees the tour guides charge to take you there by boat or kyak. Steve wasn't so sure, but I talked him into it. The minimum age to ride in a kyak to the bay we chose in Fajardo was 6, so unless we wanted to leave Steve and Jessie behind, we had to take the electric motor boat. After some trouble contacting one of the 2 boat tour companies, I made a reservation for last night. This in itself was a little of a problem, because last night the moon was half full, and the fuller the moon, the less obvious the effect of the glow. But this proved to be a moot point, anyway.

We got to the dock right on time and forked over our hard-earned cash. It was over $250 for all 6 of us; by far the most expensive thing we're doing here on this island next to buying groceries. They had told us to be there half an hour early, so we sat and waited. The time for the boat to leave came and went, and still we waited. Finally, at 7pm, after all the kyaks had left, we were able to board the boat and head to the bio-bay.

The boat ride to the bay was fun. It winds through a red mangrove like a living water tunnel, and it was really interesting to see these unique trees and hear the guide talk about them. When we got to the bay, it wasn't fully dark yet, so we motored out across and the guide showed us photos on his tablet computer of some of the animals in Puerto Rico, including turtles, and frogs.

Then, finally, the "captain" of the boat said the glow effect was beginning, so the tour guide handed us each a long stick so we could put it in the water and cause the organisms to glow. I was busy helping Jessie and didn't get my camera out right away. This proved to be a mistake. We couldn't have been looking at the glow for more than 5 minutes, before I realized we were about to re-enter the channel that would take us back. At first I thought I must be mistaken: it wasn't even fully dark yet, we'd had hardly any time to enjoy the bio bay itself, I didn't even get a picture of it. I wasn't mistaken. Before we knew it, we were back in the mangroves, and the glowing water was gone. Steve and I were a little angry. But we're not the kind of people to speak up and complain. Sometimes I wish I were; I would have given that captain a piece of my mind. On the Internet, they'd indicated that the tour was supposed to be 2 hours long.  We were back at 8pm: just one hour after we left.

This is about the only picture I got in the bay: of the old lighthouse and the kayaks I wish I'd been in!

The kayaks were still in the bay when we beat a hasty retreat. I think the boats probably had to get out first to avoid accidents in the dark with the kayaks, but it still seemed to me like our captain rushed things. I really wished we'd been able to take the tour by kayak: that would have made the trip worthwhile. As it was, Steve and I both felt cheated.  We drove 2 hours to get to that side of the island, paid all that money, then didn't get the "glowing" experience we'd expected. (It's good that I can still smile about this, right?)

So, you win some and you lose some, and sometimes you lose a lot. I'll get over it eventually. (I hope.)

Our other dim experience came earlier in the day. I've been wanting to take the kids snorkeling, and I read online about a beach in the area of the bio-bay that was supposed to have good snorkeling for beginners. The report also said their restroom facilities weren't the best, but I figured we could put up with that for the sake of snorkeling.

The first problem surfaced (okay, I'm just punny today!) when we tried to find a place to rent snorkeling gear. We drove around for a long time, looking for a sporting goods place, a tour guide company, or anyplace that even hinted they might have equipment. All we found were lots of little food places advertising beer. We finally asked the guard at the parking lot (it cost us $5 to park at that beach), who said there wasn't anyplace to rent, you had to buy. So, we drove a couple of miles back to a Walmart. Unfortunately, an adult snorkeling set cost more than our budget would allow, but we did buy a child's set and headed back to the beach.

Since we were far away from our condo, we had to change into bathing suits there at the beach. I discovered that the restroom facilities were far more horrible than even the Internet report said they were. When we arrived, the water was shut off, so none of the toilets had been flushed. (I'll spare you the gory details.) We changed in the non-functioning shower stalls and went to the beach.

By my standards, it was crowded, but I'm a hermit so normal people would probably think it was okay. The wind was blowing pretty strong, making the water choppy and unsuitable for snorkeling, especially by young beginning snorkelers who are not good swimmers. Plus, I couldn't figure out where the snorkeling was supposed to be. I didn't have an adult snorkeling set to venture off and try to find the place, and none of our kids know what they're doing enough to find it on their own, so we soon gave up on the snorkeling idea.

We found a place in the shade and ate our picnic lunch. I'm starting to believe that nobody in Puerto Rico ever goes on a picnic, except to the rain forest, because you can never (and I mean, NEVER--even at parks) find a picnic table. The only time we did was at the rain forest. All our other picnics have been fixed standing up, usually with the wind trying to rip the sandwich ingredients out of our hands. Yesterday was no exception. But, at least we're getting good at this type of picnic after all our practice.

The kids had a good time playing on the beach, in spite of my disappointment in the snorkeling.  I think they enjoyed having actual waves to play in; although, later Rachel said she preferred the calmer waters around our condo. Steve and I went in the water and swam a little, and Steve even played in the sand.

When it was time to go, we had some trouble cleaning up. By then, they'd turned the water back on at the restroom, although we discovered the indoor showers still didn't work. We were able to wash off some of the sand in an outdoor shower, at least, and get cleaned up enough to change.

The saving grace of the day was dinner. In our travels around the area, we'd spotted a place that looked like it had authentic Puerto Rican fare. So, we headed back there after the beach for dinner. It was a great place! Perfect for families! They had a lot of stuff on their menu, including fried chicken and french fries for the kids, seafood for me, and authentic rice and beans for Steve. Plus, their prices were really good. We got a ton of good food for a low cost, and ended up bringing home leftovers we can eat for lunch today.

It wasn't a completely wasted day, by any means. We had some good experiences, and we had fun in spite of the setbacks. What's more important, we were all together and enjoying the day as a family, and that's really what this vacation is all about.

A Child's Paradise

Yesterday, we spent most of the day at a children's museum in the city. The kids absolutely loved it!

We arrived about the same time as several large groups of kids. I think they were from summer camps, or school groups, or something. As we tried to go through the exhibits, we were jostled by the crowds, and the kids didn't get to try each thing very long before they had to give someone else a turn. So, after awhile of this, Steve and I got a bit frustrated with the crowds, and I suggested we go back to the car, eat our lunch, then return to the museum when it would, hopefully, be less crowded. (Our passes were good all day.)  This proved to be a good plan, even though the kids were not happy to leave, even temporarily.  When we got back, it was far less crowded, and the girls were able to spend as long as they wanted at each exhibit.

We've been to a few children's museums over the years, from one Katie loved in Grand Junction when she was just over a year old, to one in Arizona near where Grandma used to live.  The kids have enjoyed them all, but I think this one was by far the best we've visited. The exhibits were all in English and Spanish, so the kids could read them, and there were some really great things for kids, not just to play with, but to learn from too.

They even had a real airplane (retired now) that we got to tour!

When we finally left, at closing time, we stopped by a panaderia to get some baked goodies and fresh bread.  They have 2 delicious breads here: pan de agua (which is similar to French bread) and pan sopao, which is softer and sweeter. When I get home, I want to try to master the techniques of baking both kinds.  They're very yummy!

Ice cream and flowers

On Wednesday, we had a "down" day, where we just hung out here at the condo. We took the kids to the beach to swim, but after only half an hour or so, we got rained out.

This is how Katie "enjoys" the beach.

Getting rained out at the beach.

Yesterday, we took a scenic drive to the southern part of the island. We visited a couple of Steve's mission areas and saw where he used to live. 

On the way down south, we stopped at an ice cream shop I'd read about online. It was supposed to have a lot of exotic flavors, and we weren't disappointed (although, the kids were looking for flavors like "chicken," and they didn't have those.) We tasted lots of different samples, and finally decided on which one we wanted. They had nutella, avacado, and sweet potato, as well as many of the exotic tropical fruits. On the way out the door, the kids were already clamoring to go again. I wouldn't mind stopping again there, myself, if we get down that way.

Helado muy delicioso por Jendy's!

We drove all the way down to the coast to eat our picnic lunch, and saw the Carribean Sea. We weren't able to find a beach, but we ate our lunch in a gazebo overlooking the water. It was really windy: enough to rival home in the springtime! We had a hard time keeping hold of our food as we ate.

The beautiful Caribbean.

We saw a large mango grove and looked for a fruit vendor to buy some mangos. I think that has become everyone's favorite tropical fruit: we all love the ripe, delicious mangos you get here. Before we went on vacation, I bought some mangoes at home, and Steve turned up his nose at them. Now I understand why! They were horrible compared to what you can get down here.

At the first road-side fruit stand we saw, we pulled in. I didn't see any mangoes on display, so Steve got out and asked the folks if they had mangoes. There were about five people seated around a table, and they gathered up these mangoes they had in a plastic grocery bag--probably their lunch?--and just gave them to Steve.  After that, I told him to buy some of the juice they had for sale to patronize their business. There were so many mango trees in that area. They were often left to rot on the ground. That's probably why we had a hard time finding them for sale: they're so common, that who would buy them except crazy tourists like us?

It is much drier on the southern end of the island than the north, where we're staying. In fact, I was shocked to see cactus growing there!  The vegetation down there reminded me of northern Arizona, or even Utah. The grass was in abundance, but brown. But the dryness doesn't last long as you drive up into the mountains.

We went for a beautiful drive up to a mountainous town. There were flamboyant trees everywhere!  These are beautiful red flowering trees whose upper branches spread out like an umbrella. I absolutely loved them, and I started scheming how I could get one and somehow coax it to grow at home. It might not survive our winters, though, so maybe I would have to have a greenhouse. But I sure would love to have one of those beautiful trees in my yard!

This morning, Jessie spotted a crab in our condo. She said it was by the shoes, but it took the rest of us awhile to find it. I was inclined to think she was imagining things, until Steve finally saw it hiding behind the cooler. He chased it out the door. I guess when you leave the doors open all day, just about anything can wander inside!

Our little "house guest."

The Rainforest

When we were first trying to decide where to go on vacation, I told Steve I wanted to go somewhere green and wet. I got both in abundance yesterday!

We visited El Yunque, the only tropical rainforest in the U.S. It was really a neat experience! We stopped at the visitor's center first. That was a neat place, in itself, because the walkways are open to the rainforest vegetation all around it. We managed to get our share of souvenirs, plus an umbrella. In hindsight, I wish I'd packed the rain ponchos from our trailer, as the ones in the gift shop were too expensive (at least, when you're outfitting 6 people, they were too expensive). But, without them, we got the full rainforest experience.

 Something I thought was interesting was that they had private vendors inside the park, selling food and souvenirs. That's something I don't think you'll see at any of the mainland national parks. But we brought our own lunch in a cooler provided by the condo, so we didn't need to patronize any of the vendors.

Inside our picnic pavilion, protected from the rain, but still enjoying the greenery.

We found a really neat picnic spot for lunch. There were covered pavilions down in the trees, and we found an empty one, and had our lunch with the rain falling outside and the greenery all around.

It didn't rain very hard for the first few hours we were there. It rained frequently, but usually for only a few minutes at a time. The sun even came out from behind the clouds several times.

We climbed up to the top of a tall tower where we were able to look out over all the green rolling hills around us.  That was a beautiful sight!  Then, we went on a hike down into a waterfall, where we were meandering through the rainforest for nearly a mile each way. That was a really beautiful walk, with all the tropical plants and moss. I didn't see as many flowers as I had expected.  Maybe they just don't grow in the shade of all those trees. And we didn't see too many animals: mostly snails. Once, Megan spotted a lizard on a tree trunk. We didn't see any of the little frogs so prevalent here, but we sure heard them! They are very loud and call "co-kee," which is what they're named for: coqui frogs.

The waterfall was beautiful. We didn't go swimming, like several of the other people that were there, but we took lots of pictures and lingered awhile, enjoying the beauty of the water.

The white flowers smelled like gardenias.  So pretty!

On the hike back out, we finally discovered why they call it a "rainforest." Steve had talked about being soaked to the skin when he was there before, but most of the day we just got a little wet. On the way back to the car, it really started to downpour, and we all got soaked. I told Megan it was like taking a shower with all your clothes on. It was the most pleasant rain I'd ever gotten soaked by: not cold at all. I just wish I could take a little of that rain home with me! They said it rains over 200 inches per year there!  Maybe if I hooked onto some of the clouds and dragged them behind the airplane with me...?

Hurray for rain!

Old San Juan

We've had a relaxing weekend, here by the ocean. We seem to be in condos popular with the locals for a weekend getaway, because the complex filled up pretty good on Friday, and there were beach parties and loud music into the night each night, but today it's been quiet again.

We attended church yesterday at one of the wards where Steve served as a missionary, twenty years ago. The people were all very friendly, and helped us with the language. The girls all got interpreter friends in their Primary classes, and I had a bilingual sister help me out during Relief Society. I was able to loosely follow what was said in Sacrament Meeting, but I think I got tired of concentrating after that, and I had a harder time in the other two meetings. I found myself wishing I'd kept up my Spanish studies from college. Even though I never could speak very well, I used to be able to understand much better.

Steve recognized a couple of the people in the ward, but didn't remember them very well--and they didn't remember him, just one missionary out of the many that have served there in the last twenty years. But it was fun to visit with the people, anyway.

Today, we decided to get out and do some sight-seeing. We went to Old San Juan and toured El Morro, an old Spanish fortress on the tip of the island. It was really interesting! We had fun running around the old fortress, going into lookout posts, and seeing all the old cannons and fortifications. There's a big grassy area on the land side of El Morro that used to be a battlefield, but now people play there and fly a lot of kites. That was fun to see!

We walked around Old San Juan and found a little place to eat. By then, we were really tired and the humidity was getting to us, so it was nice to sit down for awhile and drink lots of ice water! I don't think they were used to serving children, as they didn't have many kid-friendly dishes, but they pulled out some "chicken nuggets" that were really more like mini-chicken-cordon-bleus. The kids liked them, and Megan had some chicken pasta she ate most of. Katie had garlic shrimp with the traditional yellow rice they serve here, and Steve and I shared a dish of fried plantains topped with spiced beef. It was all really delicious, and our server was super friendly. He was a "gringo," or mainlander, like us.

When we got back to the condo, we made pina coladas, which the three younger girls eschewed in favor of ice cream cones. (They don't know a good thing when they have it!) I thoroughly enjoyed my pina colada, anyway.  Steve and I drank our treats out on a bench overlooking the ocean as it got dark. There are few things in life that can beat that!

Day 3 - We have arrived!

The internet is not very strong here, so I may have trouble posting regularly.  We'll see how it goes.

Today, we meandered our way out of the big city to our condo. The kids were a lot grumpier today, probably because they are sleep deprived and tired of traveling.  But once we got to the condo, they all cheered up considerably.

I really love our condo!  We made a good choice.  It's in the same complex where Steve's parents and he stayed when they came to pick him up from his mission.  Even though it's a bit older, it is very roomy and recently remodeled.  I really like the decor: very cute and "beachy."

We have three floors, with the girls in 2 bedrooms on the middle floor, and our room at the top with a wonderful balcony and ocean views.  The girls each have their own bed. The beach is just a few steps away from our back door.  We weren't able to play in the water much today, but the girls are planning to spend most of the day out there tomorrow.

Now that I have finally gotten here, I want to spend the day tomorrow doing pretty much nothing and trying to get my body over this nasty cold!  Steve and I are both still hacking pretty often.

The humidity has played havoc with our hair.  (You knew I would bring the topic around to hair somehow, right?)  Mine has gotten kind-of frizzy, as has Katie's.  She likes it straight, so she isn't too happy.  Megan's hair has curled up really pretty.  She has all kinds of ringlets going on.  I wish her hair could look like that at home!

The condo complex has a lot of security here.  There's a guard always on duty, riding a bike around the grounds, and you have to go through two gates to get in, so we feel pretty safe.  I like that, because it's nice to open all the doors and let the ocean breezes waft through the condo during the day.

We picked up some groceries and came home with some local fruit I've been excited to try.  Steve told me many times about guineos--mini bananas.  So, we got some today and they were really good.  I like them better than traditional bananas.  We also got some huge, ripe mangos.  They were delicious!  We intend to buy a lot more fruit from a local stand soon, especially since the fruit we bought today is rapidly disappearing!

Making a mad dash for the beach!

"En mi viejo San Juan...."  Steve was glad to come "home."

Day 2

I was too tired to write last night, and I don't have a lot of time today--but we made it!  We're here in Puerto Rico.  We didn't have any travel trouble yesterday, which was a big relief.  It seems like whenever I fly, I always encounter problems with late/missed flights, etc.  But yesterday we had smooth sailing all the way.  The kids were great.  They are awesome travelers!

When we got to San Juan, we waited outside for awhile for a shuttle to take us to the rental car agency.  It was humid, and Megan kept saying "It's so humiliating!"

Playing barbies in the airport.  We had a long layover in Miami.