The Story of R&R and my return

    Last Sunday, October 30, I               boarded AA Flight 769 on my way to Caracas in order to rejoin my beloved husband and crew of vessels Apuej Bien and Spectre.  As requested by my husband I have posted several pictures that will give you an idea of where they have been.   Their stories from the passages from Grenada to Los Testigos, and onto Isla Margarita, Coche, Cumana, Mochima National Park, VZ  and Puerto La Cruz are abundant and I promise to expand on them sometime soon.   We arrived yesterday from Caracas, after a four hour drive by “autobus”.  Our pace in Caracas from the airport to the hotel put me back in step with the sailing mode and it's sometime hectic pace.
 However, today, I’m sitting at the Captain’s Desk, we are docked at Marina Bahia Redonda located in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela; air conditioning   is on and finally I have found my muse.     

 I took a leave from our boat on October 12^th which left me with little inspiration;  dull and devoid of any writing skill.   Even though I had mixed feelings about leaving the boat, I really felt exhausted and needed some rest.  We had decided for me to spend some days in Puerto Rico which gave me the opportunity to see my mother, my sister and my son.  I spent most of the days with my mother and sister and I have to say the time spent together will always be priceless.  Did I rest?  Definitely from the boat lifestyle but not the way I expected.  I had a great time with my family for sure.  We had a party at my father’s house for Rafa who turned 23 on October 30^th.  Even though I couldn’t see him that much because of his demanding College requirements, we did spend some quality time together.

2009 photo of my mother and I

Most of the time I stayed at my mother’s apartment in Isla Verde; she lives in a condo right in front of the beach.   It was hard to convince my mother of my real need to rest as she wanted me to go to the beach and meet all her friends.  My mother is seventy four years old and she wakes up every day at five in the morning and goes for a three mile walk along the shore.  She doesn’t drive and she fulfills her needs by foot, walking to the nearby grocery store and pharmacy.  We took the public transportation system bus four times on our way to Old San Juan and each time we waited 15 minutes each way.  It was nice, different.  Buses have air conditioning and for seventy five cents each way we traveled to Old San Juan and came back.  I estimate my mother walks approximately five miles per day;  her cardiologist recently told her she has a heart of an athlete.

During the weekends, my mother meets a group of friends at the beach which I denominated the “socio-cultural phenomenon” of Isla Verde.  They meet in front of the beach of Condominio Coral Beach.   On Saturdays, she sits down with Maria, her husband and company, my mother brings the umbrella, and they share “los piscolabis” (   Hors D Oeuvres) and everyone brings their beer.  Probably they have been meeting here each weekend for the last twenty years or so.   Maria and her husband sit closer to the shore near the water where you can feel the roasting effect of the blazing sun.  And that, ladies and gents is exactly what I was trying to rest from!

So anyway, this exquisite group of people also meets on Sundays, but on Sundays my mother sits with el Doctor Gonzalez y su esposa Betsie.  They pay the guy who handles the chaise lounges and he sets a table and chairs for them, right in front of the recreation area gate of Coral Beach.  The same thing happens on Sundays, they drink beer, wine, drinks and everybody chips in with “los piscolabis”, puertorrican style.   There, each postulates their philosophy about life, family, popular culture and food.  Usually they talk about things going on in their neighborhood, but gossip or “chismear” is prohibited.  The group is rather interesting because it combines an interesting heterogeneous and eclectic set of professional backgrounds, nationalities and age groups.  Within the group, some are retired, some are still working; some had kids or grandchildren and some never had kids.  What they have in common is their ability to receive friendship, to practice camaraderie in a companionable and gracious manner.   Among the many things that can be said about my stay in Puerto Rico I must signify that this is one good thing going on in this island.

Smitty and me