BACK IN BEAUTIFUL PUERTO RICO

     We love Puerto Rico! It's one of our favorite places to revisit. In fact, Ricky has a great pole- vaulting buddy, Edgar Diez, who stayed with us in Baton Rouge while training with Ricky at LSU when Danielle was only two years old. I can still see Edgar dancing around the house with her, Salsa music blaring. Ricky refers to Edgar's mom, Mrs. Esther, as his Puerto Rican mother. She has opened her home to us many times. And so, coming back to Puerto Rico is a little like coming home.
     Always Sunday docked in San Juan Bay Marina this trip because Ricky needed to get some work done, and I decided to visit El Morro again. El Morro is a sprawling Spanish fortress built in the 1600's to protect San Juan Bay. It was expanded and enlarged for 10 generations and over 250 years. Spain controlled Puerto Rico from 1508 to 1898. We watched dozens of children flying kites out on the parade grounds where battles were fought with the Dutch and English over the great wealth that Spanish Conquistadors brought to the island before sending it on to Spain: gold, silver, gems, spices and furs from Mexico and Central and South America.    
     And then there's Old San Juan's beautiful architecture of brightly colored houses and shops lining the narrow cobblestone streets with ornate grill-work on the balconies and amazing stucco details. It's a city that's easy to fall in love with!!!

El Morro is a very popular tourist attraction

Beautiful Old Cemetery
Cementerio Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis

 

Del Cristo Street Chapel was built in the very spot where Baltazar Montanez was riding in a horse race in 1753 and lost control. Both horse and rider plunged over the edge of a steep cliff. The horse didn't survive, but Montanez miraculously lived. That same year, he built this small chapel to encourage others in their faith in God. 

Parque De Las Palomas is a charming little park in Old San Juan with gnarly old trees and amazing views of the bay. It's a park set aside for pigeons and those who want to feed them. Men sell bird seed outside the gate, and bird lovers are free to throw the feed, or try to entice birds to eat out of their hands. We watched one pigeon land on a girl's head.

     We looked online for fun things to do while in Old San Juan, and were excited to find Flavors of San Juan Food & Culture Tour. Our group met downtown at 5PM on a pleasantly overcast Friday evening, ready to walk, learn some of the city's history, and taste some new foods.
     Our first stop was Princesa Gastrobar, a restaurant built right under the historic city walls. We had margaritas, then sampled a wonderful grilled eggplant dish topped with shredded chicken, along with a pair of delicious fritters made with 22 secret ingredients the chef prepares from recipe dating back over 200 years. Next, we walked to the very popular Senor Paleta, the city's first artisan ice pop shop where fresh fruit pops are made daily. Our flavor was mango. So good!!! At times, the line of waiting patrons goes down the block and around the building.
     Walking a few more blocks, we stopped at Cafe El Punto, a restaurant know for its use of fresh ingredients from the local farmer's market. We sampled grouper ceviche marinaded in chopped vegetables and topped with just the right amount of lime juice. Absolutely my favorite taste of the day!!! Then, our main courses were served at Rosa de Triana, located in the city's original town hall built in 1523. Here we were given a wooden pestle filled with chunks of cooked green plantain, and learned the art of making Puerto Rico's signature dish, Mofongo. Using a mortar, we pressed until the plantains were thoroughly smashed, then we filled the center with stewed chicken. The staff also brought out red beans and rice for a side dish. Everything was very good.
     The group walked on into a huge city square where soldiers used to drill and parents brought their unmarried daughters to try to find a suitable husband. Girls who were not married before their sixteenth birthdays went to the convent as old maids. Yikes!
     Last but certainly not least, we finished at Casa Cortes Chocobar, where the Cortes family has been making chocolate in Puerto Rico for many years. We enjoyed chocolate bars served with cheddar cheese first, then sampled their amazingly rich hot chocolate drink, truly a sweet ending to an amazing night.

Our group at Princesa Gastrobar

Fritters and Eggplant Dish

Mango Pops - Yummy!

Ricky making Mofongo

Casa Cortes Chocobar - beautiful presentation

Our last day in Puerto Rico, Edgar, Legna, and Seba (short for Sebastian), came out for a day of sailing, sun and hot dogs on Always Sunday.

Legna teaching me to fry breadfruit chips - so good!

Captian Saba at the helm

I love all the vibrant colors of the houses in the oldest part of San Juan.
Can't wait to go back again! 

FUN IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

We've sailed by Dominican Republic a couple of times, always in a hurry to get to another destination, but were very happy to arrive to the comforts of Puerto Bahia Marina after two hard days and nights of sailing into the wind with strong currents. I really had no idea how beautiful or how large this island is. We only had a few days, so we rented a car and drove into the lush countryside up to El Limon National Park with the tallest waterfall we've seen at 164 feet. We could have hiked, but decided to ride horses instead. Danielle would have loved it! Our guide was very informative, but instead of riding along with us, he walked beside us the entire way to keep the mule and horse moving at a fast clip. After an enjoyable ride, and swim for Ricky, we returned into the town of Limon for a wonderful lunch of local fare: fried plantains, BBQ chicken, black beans and rice, a hush puppy, and salad. Talk about good! 

After eating, we continued to explore along the coast, stopping to buy fresh produce from several farmers along the roadside: a fresh pineapple, a cocoa bean, passion fruit, avocados, bananas, limes and a large mango. The people were very friendly and we enjoyed speaking our limited Spanish. We stopped to swim at one of the many beautiful beaches, but ended up getting his-and-her massage specials (40 minutes at $30 for both of us!) before ever getting near the water. After sitting on horses for several hours, the massages were wonderful. Then we walked on the beautiful beach...

Puerto Bahia Marina

Lush landscape. Breadfruit tree far left.

Considered the most beautiful waterfall in DR

Our guide offering fresh coconut after we drank the water

Beautiful Javo Beach

I mentioned buying a cocoa bean, and this is it. The cocoa beans are coated in a very sweet white pulp that you can pop in your mouth and enjoy, but don't bite into it as the bean is not good to eat ... yet! I steeped a few beans to make a tea, and scrapped the white flesh coating the inside of the pod that reminds me of coconut flesh. Now I'm going to try my hand at fermenting the remainder of the beans for a few days, then drying them out in the sun for a week to see if I come up with dried cocoa beans that can be grated to make hot chocolate. I'll let you know how my experiment turns out in the next blog!

Everything is More Fun with Willie and Michelle!

Some of our closest friends, Willie and Michelle Lim, met us in Providentiales for one glorious week. Michelle gets sea sick, so they spent the first three nights at a hotel, but stayed aboard Always Sunday the rest of the time. Willie and Michelle are both excellent chefs, and I was thrilled to be able to watch them prepare fish several nights. Willie also loves to try the local food wherever they travel (all over the world), and he had a list ready of the top ten eateries specializing in local flavor. As I've already said, everything is more fun when Willie and Michelle are around.

Amazing Caribbean food at CoCo Van, a food truck with a lovely outdoor setting.

Prince's house on Providentiales

Da Conch Shack
Rated in
Top Ten
Local 
Restaurants

Playing Hands and Feet

Sunset Fishing Trip

All Willie wanted to do 
was catch some fresh fish 
for dinner, but alas, the big
fish weren't biting. No worries. The little fish took the bait.

They might be small, but we ate every fin and tail!
Squirrel Fish, Smallmouth Grunts and Coneys for dinner. Just add Fish Fry!

Learning how to saute ginger and garlic to top pan-fried tuna

FINALLY IN THE BAHAMAS!

We've heard a lot over the years about the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, and Exumas from other boaters, and we could hardly wait to sail there on Always Sunday. At first, I was a little disappointed because the islands were so flat, with scrubby vegetation, very different from the lush, mountainous Caribbean islands we have been visiting. But I have to say, after further exploration, the beaches are pristine and there's nothing that compares to the turquoise waters. We enjoyed many anchorages where there were no other boats in site, we call them honeymooners. 

One of the few islands with towering pines where we could sit in the shade and read. Absolutely lovely!

Are those pigs that Ricky is asking directions from? YES! The uninhabited island of Big Major Cay in the Exumas is famous for its freckled pig population. You can go ashore and visit with them, as Ricky is doing, or they swim out and visit your boat, especially if you're feeding them something good. 

Bahamian Curly Tail Lizard curls his tail when he's excited

 

Boater friends Mary and Steve on Willow hike in the National Park with us. 

Friends flew into Providentiales to spend a week with us. Left to right: Ricky, Robin, Steve and Michelle Delaune, Jamie and Ryan Crane. Had a blast together!!!

This amazing mini-monastery is the main attraction on Cat Island, built by Monsignor John Hawes in 1939, known to Cat Islanders as Father Jerome. He studied architecture before joining the priesthood. Using all local stone, he built The Hermitage on the highest hill in the Bahamas (206 ft above sea level) as his retirement get-away from the world.

          Ricky swimming with JoJo, a friendly dolphin who follows the boats around Providentiales

Always Sunday at anchor in Grace Bay

Banded Starfish

Fresh Mahi Mahi