Boqueron - Nightlife

Today the first order of business was to get ourselves checked into Puerto Rico. We'd been told we had to go to Mayaguez, but it was Sunday so we thought we'd try calling in since we are registered with a US Customs Decal. We got the number for San Juan, who told us to call Mayaguez, who told us (only in Spanish) that they were closed and to come in Monday. Not satisfied with that answer, we called San Juan back (each call was at a minimum 50 cents so I had to keep going into a liquor store to get change -- the clerk thought I was crazy) and after answering their questions about home port, last port, people and food on board, we were finally given our clearance back into US waters. We used up our stock of laundry quarters ($6) but we saved the $30 cab ride to Mayaguez, so it worked out well. People here have been very friendly, one lady overheard Kevin asking "habla usted ingles" on the payphone and asked if we needed help translating, and we met Ida who is a bartender at one of the pubs and she gave us some info on where live music would be playing and where we could get free internet. Not to mention the nutty, Spanish-mumbling elderly gentleman we met in the park who kept making baseball motions and showing us baseball cards while pointing at himself. We finally got it when he pulled out his wallet and showed us a black-and-white photo of his younger self in a baseball uniform, had to have been more than 60 years ago since the guy looked to be about 80. After it was clear we understood his pantomime, he hopped on his bike and rode away. Surreal.

Went for a walk along the beach and a swim in the afternoon and then dinghied into town around dinnertime. Even for a Sunday night, the place was hopping. Boqueron is a resort town and college kid hangout so it's chock full of bars and restaurants. We had dinner at one of the waterfront places and watched the birds flitting to and fro after the sun had set. Birds? Wait, no...not birds -- bats. It took us awhile to realize it because they were flying by so fast. Guess there's a reason the Bacardi emblem is a big bat. After dinner we wandered into a couple pubs and clubs and it also took a few moments for us to catch on that the guy to girl ratio in most places was way off. Also a dead giveaway: most of the guys were extremely well-groomed and had nicer highlights in their hair than me. Anyway the music was loud and fun so we just kicked back with a couple Medallas (local beer) and people-watched for the rest of the night.