“Cruising is fixing your boat in exotic places” is a well-worn adage among sailors. Puerto Rico’s size and population make it the perfect location for repairs. With a date set for fixing the water-maker, we head into Farjado on the island’s east side. Following a recommendation, we book into Puerto del Rey, a modern, clean facility. They assign us an end berth which makes docking relatively stress free.
Generally, we avoid marinas if at all possible. They are the only place where air-conditioning is a must (and Liberator doesn’t have air-conditioning) as they tend to be hot and buggy. April has arrived and with it temperatures that have been hovering in the mid- nineties. Our only guarantee: it’s going to be beastly.
Suddenly we are besieged with breakages, all strangely involving water. It’s as if Liberator has hung on until she knew we were in port, and then one by one, things start to fail. One night as Tom starts to wash the dishes he realizes is standing in a puddle of water. The sink faucet’s metal tubing has frayed through and is spraying water. While searching for something stored under the mattress in the head cabin, he notices water standing in the bilge. The connection to the water heater has broken and all of the water in our starboard tank has drained out. Apparently this effort has stressed the bilge pump and the next day it too goes caput. If it wasn’t all so serious we’d be laughing at the situation. From Puerto Rico we will embark on a 2.5 day passage to Turks and Caicos so everything needs to be fixed before heading to open sea.
Puerto Rico’s interior
All along, we planned to spend a night in Puerto Rico to visit old San Juan, but the broken water-maker extends our stay by a couple extra nights so we add El Yunque Rainforest Park to the itinerary. At El Yunque, we start with the visitor’s center. The map indicates many places to hike, but the vast majority of visitors hike La Mina and/or Big Tree to a La Mina falls where one can swim in the pool. We know that the kids will like this so we follow the herd. The trail, constructed as a CCC project back in the 30s, is busy and quite narrow. Often one must step off the trail to let others pass. The waterfall is majestic, about 2 stories tall and the pool is crowded with people. Zoe is the only one of us brave enough to stand beneath the 65 degree water. To hike out, JT and I opt for the loop, while Tom and Zoe do the out and back to collect the car. La Mina trail borders the river which culminates in the falls. As a consequence, more flowers are evident. There are many smaller, but blissfully empty swimming holes along this route and IMHO far prettier than the trail we hiked down.
The next afternoon we drive to Old San Juan. It has the distinction of being one of the oldest cities in the Americas. It’s vibe is very Spanish with narrow cobblestone streets, numerous delightfully shady plazas and the European architecture. What sets it apart are the fact that it buttons up by 9 (when most restaurants in Spain are just getting started) and the colorfully painted houses are pure Caribbean. It’s a lovely city and I am far more impressed than I expected. Tom booked us into hotel right near the harbor. Its a funky mix of ancient and modern: with huge modern paintings in stark contrast with stone walls and antique furnishings. It’s perfect except the pull out couch mattress has seen better days.
In the morning, we tour El Morro, the 500 year old fort that guarded the port against attacks from the English Dutch and French. Puerto Rico was the first port where fresh water and provisions could be obtained after crossing from Europe. It helped Spain control the Caribbean trade routes for some 350 years. The kids complete the junior Ranger program and earn a San Juan badge to add to their St. John, unforatuntely El Yunque does not have a program.
No comments:
Post a Comment