Phoenix, AZ

[Kevin's Post]Since we last posted, Amanda and I have reluctantly returned to the real world for what we hope will be a brief visit. In three weeks we managed to undo three years of change. We are back in our old house, we have purchased an entire house's worth of furniture and housewares, bought a car, bought new clothes, and are commuting daily with laptops in hand to jobs in the same offices we left 3 years ago. We have spent so much money in the past month that our credit cards have been suspended four times on suspicion of fraud. A lot has happened since Culebra, so here are the highlights . . .

We limped into Puerto Del Rey Marina on Saturday April 26 using just one engine for the 3 hour trip from Culebra. Fortunately there was very little wind so docking in the marina on one engine was no problem. We were pleasantly surprised by the facilities here, the marina is very nice and surprisingly inexpensive. The next day we hauled the boat out at 9 am (yes on a Sunday believe it or not) and were even more impressed by the boatyard than the marina. Benny, the lift operator, actually lifted and lowered the boat twice before he got the lift straps where he wanted them. They were equally careful blocking the boat in the yard and tapped the length of the keels with a hammer to try to determine the strongest parts.

Then the fun really started. We had 3 1/2 days of backbreaking work getting the boat fully prepared for hurricane season. We completely stripped the boat of anything that might be damaged by hurricane force winds. Sails off, dodger off, trampoline off, wind generator off, antennas off, dinghy and outboard off. If it could be taken off, we took it off and stowed it below. We had to prep the engines and outboard for 6 months of non-use. We had to empty the fridge and freezer and defrost. We had to get rid of all our food that wasn't in glass containers or canned. We laundered all our bedding and clothes that would be staying on the boat. And most importantly we had to strap the boat down to the ground so that it wouldn't blow away. This yard has giant concrete blocks poured into the ground with 1" rebar loops for this purpose.

We know several people that have hauled their boats here during hurricane season and they all recommended and spoke very highly of a boat caretaker named Betsy Risto. So we got in touch with her and arranged for her to look after the boat while we are away. She was very helpful in getting the boat ready and even took our outboard and gas cans to her home for safekeeping. For our last night in Puerto Rico, Betsy invited us to her home for dinner and drinks. Betsy and her husband, Ronnie, are ex-boaters that settled in Puerto Rico many years ago. They live on an incredible 3 acres of land on the edge of the El Yunque rainforest. They have 5 dogs, 2 horses, and more cats than I could keep track of. Their land has to be seen to be believed, it is at the top of a hill with incredible views in every direction. They have banana trees, advocado trees, coconut palms, and orchids everywhere. Ronnie took great pleasure in showing us around the property and explaining how all of the fruit trees just grew on their own with no help. An advocado falls off one tree rolls down the hill and creates a new tree. We fed bananas to the horses, and watched the dogs chase after coconuts as if they were tennis balls. Betsy and Ronnie made delicious ribs and potato salad for dinner, and we had a great send off.

While all the boat preparations were going on, we also had to prepare to fly back to Phoenix with a cat. Our cat carrier was too big to fit under the seat so we needed a soft carrier. After looking everywhere we could think of in Puerto rico and not finding one, we were kicking ourselves for not buying one we saw in St. Croix. We tried to order one and have it express shipped, but the shipper screwed up and shipped it a day late, then UPS wouldn't deliver it because it didn't like the address (which was correct). So we had to scramble in the last day and finally lucked out finding one at a tiny hole in the wall pet store. Boris wasn't happy spending 15 hours in a tiny carrier, but he survived. Now he has traveled over 15,000 miles by car, boat and plane, and visited 20 countries.

Back in Phoenix, we were pleasantly surpised to find our house still standing after being rented out for nearly 3 years. No rest for the weary though, we only had 4 business days to get our lives in order before starting work full-time. We ran all over Phoenix looking for a suitable car and ordering furniture. It probably would have been fun if we had more time to do it. It's been two weeks now and we are still waiting on most of our furniture to arrive. But we have the essentials: A mattress on the floor, a couch, and of course two 42" flat panel televisions.

Well, that's it for now. We plan to be in Phoenix for the duration of hurricane season. So mark your calendars, the adventure continues in November.

Where is Solstice?:
Location=Fajardo, Puerto Rico
Lat=18 16.964
Lon=65 38.221