BIENVENIDOS A PERTO RICO!!

Bienvenidos a Puerto Rico!

Well, I’m back at sea and therefore have loads of time to write and think and think and write. So…happy reading. I thank all of you for the comments and local news updates.

For those of you tracking me on the map:
As of noon today (1/26) our Latitude is 15 degrees, 30 minutes N. Longitude, 063 degrees, 08 minutes W. Distance to Salvador: 2755 nautical miles; average speed 20.6 knots (doubled since we last sailed, making for a smoother ride); ocean depth, 6320 feet; water and air temperatures are the same, a comfortable 78.8 degrees. Winds from ENE at 11 knots, making for light seas with a swell of about 5 feet.

We arrived in port on Monday morning (1/23), just before 0800 (local time). I woke at around 0715 and our boat was just pulling into what I would call the San Juan Harbor, though I have no idea of the official name. What a site. The city of Viejo (old) San Juan is a vibrant, eclectic, and diverse place to visit. While sailing by the old city, the buildings stand out like stars in the midnight sky on a clear night. Painted in striking hues of color: sienna orange, majestic red, mint green, pale purple, and aqua blue. Before disembarking, you could just tell that this old world city is always bright with life and culture.

The ship was docked at Pier 14, commonly referred to as the Navy Frontier Pier. The reason our ship was not docked where all the “normal,” luxury liners dock, is because we are staying in port for three days. Upon arrival, US customs boarded our ship to prepare for face-to-face inspections of EACH person on board. During this time, the Secretary of State from Puerto Rico gave us a briefing on his job as Secretary of State, what Puerto Rican Culture is like, and how historical events shaped this city’s culture to the present day.

Upon disembarkation, I of course didn’t waste anytime. I had a field trip planned for 1300 hours to the El Yunque Rainforest; however, I was able to get off the ship around 1030ish and was NOT going to just sit around while in port. My neighbor and I decided that we were going to walk into the city and get a local experience on the way. It took about 20-minutes to find our way into the heart of Viejo San Juan. Once there, we were both in awe over the stunning architecture, variety of residents, and overall persona of the people that surrounded us. There was a sense of happiness all around. In the brief time that we had to explore, we found our way to a little restaurant with a courtyard where we enjoyed the most AMAZING nachos of our lives. The salsa was like nothing I had ever had before; it was incredibly tiny bits of tomato, onion, and spices with a flavor that I could not pin point for the life of me…regardless, it was thoroughly enjoyed and devoured.

We headed back to the ship around 1230, and were ready to depart for El Yunque. With my bag on my back, hat on my head, and binoculars around my neck, I was ready for the jungle adventure of a lifetime. It took about an hour to get there. I boarded a bus with 22 other students and we were off. Our tour guides name was Raymond and our crazy driver was Manolin. Manolin liked to talk and tell us incredibly irrelevant things, which was fine because it was entertaining and made the ride go by quicker. He took us the “back-way,” supposedly, and because of that our eyes were exposed to the poverty that makes up 60% of Puerto Rico. In the distance you could see the mountain we would be exploring. At the base, we began our drive to the top on a crazy, snake like road. Around each corner Manolin had to lay on the horn because they were so sharp that if a car or van came around there is no question, there would be a collision. This was quite comical.

Once at the top, we jumped out and were ready for the trail. At almost 3000 feet, from some parts you could see all the way to the ocean. Upon entering this thick, dark, plush forest of vibrant green…my eyes were readily awaiting the flora that I had dreamed of seeing and the animals I had only read about in books. To my disappointment, I only saw three different flowers, and the only live animal was a snail that could have a spiral shell in up to 3 inches in diameter. The most predominant flower was the “Mira Me Linda,” or in English, “Look at me Beautiful.” To me, it looked like an Impatient…nothing really special. There were three colors, white, pink, and magenta. The two other forms of flowers I saw were tropical in their appearance and demanded my attention with their bright yellow and orange hues.

What is so amazing about the rainforest is that everything is growing ontop of everything. There are small trees growing off of big trees and rocks are engulfed by ever-spreading moss that is as soft as a shag carpet. The soothing sound of flowing water was a beautiful reminder of how this forest can get up to 200 inches of rainfall a year!!! What makes the vegetation in this forest so amazing is how it all works. Barely any light reaches the floor of the plant-carpeted forest, and yet light is the essential ingredient plants need to make food and grow. This is where adaptation and nature comes into play. There is a reason why little trees are growing out of big trees and tiny plants grow up the stems of bigger plants. By attaching themselves to a bigger or taller plant, they are able to share the food and energy needed for Photosynthesis (the chemical reaction that turns sunlight into chlorophyll, which in turn, feeds the plants). These plants would never be able to survive if it wasn’t for the big guys who can get hit by the sunlight and further the advancement of plant life. This is just one of the amazing ways that nature has learned to adapt and find ways of expanding and growing…all the time.

Of course there was a lot of depressing news that came from this trip also. The state bird of Puerto Rico is native to this region; however, because of industrialization it is on the verge of extinction. Also in seeing this forest, I learned where all my notebook and computer paper comes from…trees, trees, and trees. For those of you that think I’m liberal now…be prepared for when I get back!

I took 200 plus pictures in the rainforest. After the tour we boarded the bus and headed back to the ship. Our tour guide was generous enough to give us some great recommendations for dinner and nightlife. For dinner we took his number one recommendation and went to Punta De Vista, Point of View. This was a great local place right in the main pier region. I had the best black beans and rice in my life along with some great tostados (or it might be toastanos), which is like a Caribbean French Fry; they are a flattened plantain fried to perfection to please the palette. From there we headed to Calle de San Sebastian (San Sebastian St.) for some local pubs. We ended up at a local bar called El Café Seda. I have no idea what that means, the bartender said there really was no translation. The local beer was called Medalla and it was comparable to a Coors Light or Bud Light. At a buck-fifty to two bucks a beer, it made it even better.

The following morning, I was up and at-em and raring to go. Unfortunately, not everyone wants to take full advantage of a port and slept until around 1030. It was a good time for me to do some personal journal reflection and make a few phone calls. Once the ship woke, we headed into town for some more exploration and a bit of shopping. I was unpleasantly surprised at how few street vendors there were. Even right in the region of the cruise ships there was an unimpressive amount to choose from. Our plan was to find food and head to San Cristobal, a fort built by the Spaniards on the early 1500s to defend their newly founded colony from those crazy Brits. It took us a while, but we found our way to this vast and amazing defense structure. Something that really stands out in my mind is that back when the little city of San Juan was founded, there was no natural fresh water resource for miles and miles. So, in their genius ways of architecture, underneath this massive fort is a 718,000-gallon storage tank that holds all of the rainwater and run off. All of the exterior flooring was pitched in the direction of narrow gutters or channels that fed the storage tank with the precious water. The fort was also laden with tunnels, secret passageways, dungeons, and prison cells. In walking down some of these tunnels I had to set the scene for myself; unfortunately, the tunnels were lined with handrails and lights…but I just had to make it a bit more exciting. Just imagine, you are a Spanish solider and your fort is under attack. You had spent the night drinking the great native rum and were abruptly awoken from your drunken sleep by the sound of canons attacking your fort. It’s the middle of the night…you and hundreds, sometimes thousands of other soldiers need to get from one side of the fort to the other. In your bright red or white uniform you don’t want to be running in site of the enemy. There are no lights, no night vision goggles, and no handrails, just instinct and rage feeding your veins. Sometimes the enemy outsmarted the Spaniards and dug their way into their tunnels. They’d set gunpowder bombs and explode them from two sides; this screwed the Spaniards in more ways than one. If anyone was in-between the two blasts, they were trapped or killed, and now there was no underground out of site access to the other side of the fort.

It really blew my mind to try and relive, and perhaps think of what it would have been like during that time of battle.

To end the time at the fort, I stayed to watch the weekly performance of some great dances and wonderful native music. What a performance it was, and my can they dance!!! Well, this really put me in the mood for some great local music and salsa dancing.

Back to the ship I went and got ready to head out to a club called New Yourica (not sure about the spelling). This club was in a little alley way and right across from it was a little tiny bar that sold beer for a buck fifty as opposed to the four to five dollars inside…it was perfect. Once inside the club, I salsaed the night away…truly invigorating. Funny story, I teamed up with my neighbor Amanda who had learned the basics of salsa the night before. We started creating a killer salsa routine. Well, she had her bag on her shoulder and at one point I spun her around and because of it, her bag cleared the counter and knocked over a bunch of beers and drinks, onto the floor they went…we just kept dancing and no one seemed to mind. I think it was because we looked so damn good. It was great.

Our last day on land, Wednesday, we spent at the beach. It was wonderful. Isle Verde (Green Island) was a beautiful beach with a perfect surf and great rays. I was a good white boy and covered myself with sunscreen, only SPF 15. Just so you all know, I haven’t burnt once. My skin has been sun-kissed since I headed south and is going to continue that until we get to China.

I’ve already learned so much in the short time I have been away. But the most important thing that I learned was that traveling in huge groups really sucks and when you do that, you are really restricted in what you can to do. There was so much more that I wanted to do but couldn’t because of conflicting opinions and desires. I didn’t want to be the rude piece of shit I can be in the first port because it’s the beginning of the trip and I have to live with these folks for the next 94 days or so. However, I have decided that from now on, I’m going to get done and see what I want to, and if people choose to join me, so be it. If not, then I’m sure I’ll find a taker or two somewhere else that wants to join me in my adventure of choice. I’m just thrilled I learned this right off the bat.

Enough bitching.

Well, I’ve gone on long enough, and it’s still not all in there! I’m at sea for the next seven days until we reach the stunning port of Salvador, Brazil. Expect lots in that report, we are there for five days.

Back reporting soon!