Cool Change is a 27 ft Catalina with a single hander, Juan Cuartas. Juan's Father is Cuban and his Mom is Colombian. His home is in Augusta, Georgia. Juan is getting ready to leave Ponce this week behind Ike. He needs to get back to the US. He has traveled to Margarita Island, in Venezuela, where he was boarded by bandits, beat up, robbed of clothes, money and auto pilot. David Smedley, is from Kemah, Tx. Where he was a realtor for many years. Then he moved to Dunedin, Fl for 9 years. It is a small world, he knows Laurel [View Full Entry]

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This is the picture that Debbie sent us of Jonner in full scuba gear along with his Dad, Donnie. We understand they were after lobster. This was Jonner's 1st dive. Think we were told he was down 22 feet. [View Full Entry]

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As I described the event in the Labor weekend page, I will not go into more details. Just posting pictures on this one. [View Full Entry]

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This is Labor Weekend, here it is called Dia del Trabajador (Day of the worker). There is a tradition in Ponce for this weekend. It is called Cruce Nado. Basically, there is an organization that puts on a swim crossing from Isla Cardona to Playa Ponce. This is the small island to the West of the channel coming in. 16 countries participated this year. The organization lines up "Lanchas" ( small power boats) to take the swimmers out to the island, then they swim to the shore. There is a small park in front of the Customs building with steps going [View Full Entry]

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We are very busy. We dodged Fay, eye went over Ponce, lot's of rain, no wind. Then Gustav went South of Ponce. Now watching another low... We have taken small day trips. Sunday we went to Caguas, visited my cousin and her husband. Emilio cooked a great meal, Silvia made an out of sight salad. Last week, Lucy and Eduardo showed up at the Club with a 100 avocados, they all ripen up at the same time. I ended up with 10. Gave away a few...We eat them like water, Breakfast and dinner. They also brought plantains, green ones, they are [View Full Entry]

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They live in Guayaniya. They also have a Kioske on Sundays. They asked to come by, so we did. Hector gave us tour of the area. There is a bar and grill called the Aeropuerto. Planes land by water. Interesting concept. So we spent the afternoon with them. Several of their friends came by to visit and of course a domino game crept up. Domino here is double 6, and there are rules to follow and they pay you by points each hand, playing to 200. [View Full Entry]

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When taking a trip to the Junque, spend the night at Ceiba, experiment with Guayama area and Punta Patillas. Fajardo is a must, West Marine and Skippers Marine and the ferries. Skipper cheaper than West. As in most towns of Puerto Rico it was founded on the Christian ideas and faith statements of the Catholic church which prevailed in previous centuries through Spaniard tradition. The town still maintains a central Catholic church which can be found in the town square. Ceiba (sai-EE-bah) is a small town in northeast Puerto Rico. It is named after the famous Ceiba tree. Ceiba is located [View Full Entry]

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This is a sad story, I am writing this on the 31st of August. About a month ago, Oracle III, a Canadian Fountain Pagot, Venezia model, came into Ponce anchorage. The Club has kind of appointed Maribel to receive the visitors. So I make my way over, explain the ins and outs of the area...Make them feel welcome. There is a couple Soto and Mike, and their sons, Dantes 6 and Mateo 9. We have become friendly with them. Both Mike and Soto are Reike Masters. Soto's family came in from Canada to visit, they rented a condo in Loisa for [View Full Entry]

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Fajardo (fah-HAHR-do) is a small but popular city in Puerto Rico located in the east region of the island, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, north of Ceiba and east of Luquillo.Fajardo is spread over 7 wards and Fajardo Pueblo (The downtown area and the administrative center of the city). Fajardo is the hub of the majority of recreational boating in Puerto Rico and a popular launching port to Culebra, Vieques, and the American and British Virgin Islands. It is also the home to the largest Marina in the Caribbean, called Puerto del Rey. The town contains various hotels; the El Conquistador Resor [View Full Entry]

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Today we drove to Salinas. Visited with Julio and Joy for awhile. On the way there we stopped for lunch at La Lechonera, for fish that was out this world, and cheap. After visiting for awhile, the 4 of us decided it was time to explore a bit more. We climbed aboard their minivan, and off we went to another adventure. This time we headed East on #3. We went to Guayana, where across from the Cathedral, San Antonio de Padua, who happens to be Maribel's Saint. Guayama is known as "La Ciudad Bruja" (witch city) or "Pueblo de los Brujos" [View Full Entry]

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