Closing it out....La Vida en Puerto Rico

~With mom and Naomi gone, our last excursion was to take the boys for a sailing lesson off the distant East coast of the island at a place we had never been, Palmas del Mar. Like all the other unexplored areas we have traveled, it was a beautiful drive through rolling hills and scattered mountains. Palmas del Mar is one of the islands more beautiful self-contained golfing and marina communities with a school, church, and shopping facilities all within the gated entrance. I had hoped this would be a big brother/little brother memory and shared activity, as they learned to sail together. It was this, and more! Hunter and Wyatt were two of only three students this day so they received more than what the lesson originally entailed.  I knew we were in for another one of God’s blessings (they keep coming right up until the end of our journey) when they climbed aboard the 44 ft. sailboat and were greeted by the captain and instructor, Jose, another of Puerto Rico’s warmest and most sincere personalities. He explained to me that the boys had an option to increase the half day lesson to a full day, at no additional cost, and sail to the island of Vieques - a $495 excursion! I had paid only $25 ea., with a 60% off internet coupon, for the half day. (GROUPONS are terrific. Try them!) We didn’t hesitate. When Jose asked me to come along, the boys were glad and asked me to get on the boat with them. I set back and watched as my two boys, 9 and 17, received the most amazing nautical lessons and sailing adventure aboard a 44 ft. vessel that anyone could imagine. Jose was hands down the best “teacher” of a craft that I’ve ever seen or heard. His passion for sailing and teaching young people is electric and my boys were on the receiving end! They learned how to read the various maps along with nautical terms and symbols, the layout of the vessel and safety precautions, and then they got to sail, from hoisting the main mast to steering the huge wheel and keeping us “in the groove”, not too leeward or windward. We didn’t get too far off the coast (we were sailing toward the Virgin Islands) when we were soon approaching a weather “system”. I’ve only seen photos of large sailboats turned nearly on their side when fighting the wind, now I was in one and there’s a name for that. It’s called “heeling”. We “heeled” a little too much for me and I was soon sick, holding on to nauseous the rest of the way. The only lesson I remember Jose teaching me was not to look down, but to keep my eye on the horizon in order to hold my stomach til we could see land again. The boys had an awesome day, and that to me was worth getting sea sick. The day, from start to finish, was a blessing: learning, sailing, and being on the waters of the Caribbean once again.

~The weekend after the sailing lesson, we made our final trip in to Old San Juan to see the annual reenactment of the battle with the British of 1789. Reenactors flew in from all over the world, representing various militia groups of the period and reenacting the day of April 17, 1797 when 60 ships from the British Navy arrived off the northern coast of Puerto Rico. The following day around 6000 British and German troops landed on Puerto Rico soil and headed for San Juan. As the troops marched west towards San Juan, several of the British ships positioned themselves near the entrance to San Juan Bay establishing a blockade. The British found the impressive fortifications of El Morro Fort impenetrable and were unable to take their fight into San Juan’s protected port. The ships had to remain out of reach of the canons of El Morro. With the lack of progress from the water, the British and German troops would spend almost 2 weeks trying to force their way into San Juan. The Puerto Rican fortifications at Fort San Antonio and Fort San Gerónimo proved resilient and with the continuous reinforcements of Puerto Rican soldiers the British troops retreated and left the shores of Puerto Rico on May2, 1797.
*adapted from http://www.discoveryingpuertorico.com/

~In between these last two adventures, Hunter has been finishing up school at the academy. We will attend a small graduation ceremony this Thursday of about 10 boys who are either signed to play ball at various small universities across the United States, or who are still awaiting an offer. Wyatt and I have been so very busy with his school and mine in the mornings, and taking care of errands in the afternoons in order to close things out at the apartment and get everything in order to come back home. Hunter will play summer ball back home and attend various college camps or tryouts, although he says he would rather stay in PR and continue his training. Don't know if we'll ever get him away from here completely. He likes it that much.

~I want to leave you with some photos of things we will miss most about the island. We’ll miss our church where we would meet every Sunday with all of our “first friends” on the island. We'll miss the people of PR in general. Puerto Rico is the most unique blend of culture and color on the faces of its people. You can have one that looks like he’s from Zimbabwe, one that looks completely Anglo, and another your typical Latino, but they’re all Puerto Rican. We'll miss their warmth and hospitality, from the stranger in the grocery store or restaurant to the friends at our church, and their love for their island home and the fact that they know they are in a beautiful place; their love for family, tradition, and a good time; the history that abounds in this little part of the Caribbean and is part of our United States; and what we came to know as “our places” near the apartment; our evening walks, sometimes several miles without us even knowing it, enjoying the quaint little back roads and a stroll along the shops and restaurants; morning reflections on the beach, and the sound of the coqui at night. 

Our church said goodbye us just as warmly as they said hello so many months ago at the start of our journey. Here Pastor Bill is leading the congregation in a farewell prayer for mom and Naomi (along with another member who was moving to New York). The other photo is our family at Easter with Pastor Bill, his wife Vicki, and daughter Ashley. 

Images of Puerto Rico....

A young mother in the park with her girls...



Kids buying ice cream in the park (the man in the background is actually exercising...looks kind of funny, but there are always people running or working out).



High school seniors on a field trip



A father walking on the beach with his baby. Watching the dads here with their kids has been amazing... in the park, walking them to school!

Can never get enough of the flora and fauna of the island!

Loved to see the man selling flowers on the corner every Saturday morning...



Not too sure I'll be seeing so much green when I return to Texas!



The incredible scenery driving into the mountains to get Hunter each week at the baseball academy.


Declare is glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples....Psalm 96:3

 * one more post to go before closing out our adventures in PR. Check back on Thursday..............