March Mariner

Today I finally got in a boat again.  The bright spring morning with flat water begged my to hall out a kayak and paddle over to Blake Island, stretch the legs with the four mile perimeter hike and then paddle back.  Esther would liked to have joined me, but she had shopping to attend to.  I wanted to accurately measure the distances, so put my Apple Watch to work.  The distance from Southworth ferry dock where I launch to the south campground is 1.3 miles.  Interestingly, following the perimeter trail, the distance from the south campground to the marina is 1.3 miles, the distance from the marina to the westside beach is 1.3 miles, and the distance from the westside beach to the south campground is 1.3 miles.  

I paddled on calm water to the island, and ditched the kayak in the driftwood.  The perimeter trail winds through a variety of forest biomes, madrone, fir, cedar and alder; each with their unique undergrowth.  The was a surprising amount of mud and water on the trail.  In the dozens of times that I have walked the trail, I have never seen as much mud.  I only met a few other hikers.  I heard plenty of eagles and a few owls and saw a couple deer.  The paddle back home had some mild cross wind, but was very manageable, though the starboard waves got me a little wet.  

Puerto Rico - Luquillo /day 3

 Our last day in Puerto Rico.  We couldn't leave PR without checking out the only US national rain forest: Yunque National Rainforest.  The rainforest was in the mountains just south of us, so we didn't have far to drive.  Thinking it was Monday and not very crowded, we were surprised at all of the traffic.  Finding a parking spot near the trailheads and lookouts was nearly impossible.  We headed to the end of the road where we found parking for the Mt. Briton trailhead.  The single track concrete trail was quite crowded.  The trail wound through the higher altitude damp forest.  The air was much cooler than down below, and misty clouds threatened rain but never delivered.  A mile trail brought us to a lookout tower surrounded by lush green hills.  On our way back, we stopped in the small village of Palmer to do some shopping and fish tacos.  Back at the apartment, a nap and a final evening walk on the beach provided the Puerto Rican finale for this Pacific Northwest couple.

Puerto Rico - Luquillo /day 2

 

We decided to stay put for a day and enjoy our accommodations and the surrounding area.  After making breakfast in the apartment, we took a long walk on the beach.  Then it was reading and blogging for a few hours before a swim in the waves.  Within walking distance in the opposite directions of our walks is probably the most popular beach in Puerto Rico.  Thousands of people cram into a small area where dozens of street restaurants blare their music while vehicles inch their way in the narrow street.  Though this is hardly the atmosphere that we enjoy, there was a recommended pizza restaurant that did not disappoint. A full moon escorted our walk back to the apartment.

Puerto Rico - Luquillo

 

We packed the night before, so we were all ready to disembark.  Choosing to self-assist and being right next to the gangway, we were surprised to be the third party off the ship.  We hailed the first taxi and were at the airport before mist of the rest of the ship disembarked.  Even though our pick-up time was 10am, we were able to get our car by 8am.   Unfortunately, as soon as we left the lot, we notice a low tire pressure light; so we turned around and were quickly given another car.  Then it was off to Starbucks, Goodwill and TJ max.  Our apartment in the beach town of Luquillo was not available until 4pm, so we tootled around the vicinity until check-in.  Our apartment is right on the beach, with the bulkhead 20 ft from our balcony,  The rocky shore ensures a perpetual sound of waves crashing.  The immediate vicinity of the apartment is somewhat sketchy with a lot of run down homes; but 100 yards down the beach and across the shallow lagoon, there are multiple five star resorts and miles of sandy beach.  We took a 3 mile sunset beach walk and ate dinner at a local hamburger bar.  The evening was spent on the balcony catching up with whats been happening in the world since we were without Wifi for a week.

Cruise Day 6 - Sea Day

 Our only sea day of the cruise was getting back to Puerto Rico from Barbados.  We lazed the day away with eating, reading, playing games and napping.  Several rounds of deck walking gave us a little exercise.  While we enjoyed every day of the cruise, we were ready to get off the ship and get back to a more normal diet.

Cruise Day 5 - Barbados

 Our island tour began at 10:00.  There was quite a walk from the ship to the terminal.  This was our first port where there were additional cruise ships in port.  The tour bus was quite a contrast to the previous day- a cushy coach with air conditioning and a good sound system. Our tour guide was an Italian woman who moved to the island.  Barbados is by far the most populated and developed island of our cruise.  Being consistently controlled by the British for over 300 years, the infrastructure is quite established and there is evidence of generational wealth.  The lee shore, west side of the island is much more populated, with calmer waters and long coral beaches.  Native African vegetation abounds, including mahogany trees dating back 300 years.  We caught a sighting of the African green monkey of my Nigerian childhood as there are prolific on this island.  Sugar cane fields dominate the somewhat level landscape, unlike the other more rugged Caribbean islands.  Barbados is the easternmost island of the Caribbean. We had a few stops, predominately overlooks, and one stop at Bathsheba, with its rugged coastline and violent Atlantic waves.  Early afternoon saw us back at the ship and reluctant to venture back into the city after lunch.  A nap and lots of reading kept us busy until evening dinner at the buffet.

Cruise Day 4 - Dominica

We woke to the lush hills of Dominic towering over the port city of Roseau on the western shore.  We tanked up with a late breakfast, knowing that our long excursion would not give us an opportunity for lunch.  Our tour started at 11:15, so we took some time in the morning to explore the city.  The narrow streets with French style balconies were lined with shops and the addition of small street vendors.  Buildings were well worn, but clean.  The resident population is almost entirely of African descent.  Traffic was tight, but respectful.  Being part of the British commonwealth, cars drive on the left; only on this island, the driver is on the right as you would expect.  We found out later that almost all the vehicles are reconditioned cars from Japan.  Our tour was on a small bus.  We first drove out of the city and up through lush tropical forests towered by looming hills to a place where we hiked to a waterfall and natural pool.  We were prepared with swimming suits on, so I plunged in and enjoyed the cool fresh water.  Back on the bus, we drove back down to Roseau and up another road to a spectacular waterfall called Trafalgar Falls.  We happened upon some people who were repelling down the falls.  The tour’s last stop was the botanical gardens and a city overlook.  We were disappointed that the shops were closed at 4:00 as were were planning to grab a souvenir from Dominica.  Since we were hungry, we grabbed a slice of pizza because our dinner reservations in the dining room were on the late side.