Hotel Treasure Island Cidra

... high above the castle, where sentry boxes or garitas dotted the outer walls.

The informational guide told of a well that led to an underground cistern holding 220,000 gallons of water, enough to sustain a fortress under siege for one year. One word in particular caugt my interest. I thought back upon yesterday's adventure at Jacinto's Well, smiling. Reading on, I learned of other highlights including chimneys ...

Our original game plan for today was to get some last minute time at the pool and beach before heading home. We had a late afternoon flight, so in theory this would have been a great plan...however the weather decided to not cooperate. The weather was awful and it rained the entire day! As we were stuck in the hotel we made use of the time by ...

... which I climbed to the top of, and at 3,412-feet it's about the same height as Ben Wyvis in the highlands of Scotland. I've climbed the equivalent of a Scottish Munro in Puerto Rico, and I'm feeling quietly pleased with myself. The lack of rain was a near-miracle by the way, as the El Yunque area receives about 12 feet(!) of the stuff every year. The bird calls that you hear as you climb through the forest aren't made ...

... San Juan (about a twenty minute walk from our ship) at a local restaurant that he recommended. I had an amazing chicken dish with Mofonga. Mofonga is a local dish of friend plantains mashed with garlic. It was great. Most people in Puerto Rico are SO nice. They go out of their way to help you. I've really enjoyed talking to the locals about everything from their political parties and thoughts on independence to what kind of ...

... Rican Salsa, then Puerto Rican folk dances, then the African dances, followed by more Puerto Rican dances. It was great. At the end, they had 2 CDs for sale ($10 ea), which we bought since we enjoyed the show so much. It was a great way to end our PR holiday. We walked along the outer parts of the fort for a little bit, up towards La Perla (where it is advised you don't go into), then back into town. On our way, we found a ...

... to have the wedding where it was originally planned. The bride and bridal party was 30 min late for the wedding, fashionably late? Not so much. Every thing went gorgeously, and then the deed was done. We came back and partied at the hacienda packed up and headed to our next destination, a hotel in San Juan. The surfriders foundation ( ie my surf possy) all stayed in the same hotel, we partied at salsa ...

... highway, and told Victor that we would pay for his speeding ticket, just get us to the boat fast. To that, he replied that he would go to jail if he got one more speeding ticket. Sweet. We made good time anyway, but as we neared San Juan, traffic started to back up. Of course there had been an accident. Why shouldn't there be one in this sequence of events? We had been belly laughing the entire way home, and this made us double over in ...

... but oh well. Day 1 was okay, I'm too shy for this whole meet and greet thing but I'm doing fine. All day today we've had meetings ranging from student affairs to safety issues to the speech by the student conduct affair (an ex-Minnesota patrol officer who was also in the Army). He is intense.

Classes start tomorrow, which I'm kind of excited about because they aren't accounting classes. I'm taking a film class, an art ...

... new and old. I like Old San Juan better. Capital hall is down there, and a bunch of other buildings, like El Morro, a fort. It was all very beautiful, and colorful, and very very warm. We had to stop and buy water and gelotto after a while. All in all, it was a great first port, it kind of baby stepped me into things. I hope all of you are doing good. Six days 'til Brazil! P.S. classes are doing well, too. Yes they are making us think and work

... By the time we arrived the seas had grown and the turn into the anchorage was fraught with whitecaps. We skated in, picked up a free DNR mooring and ate quickly as we watched a Fountaine Pajot bounce out and several large motor yachts rock their way out. We were crushed to have to rush as the setting was spectacular. I would highly recommend a spring or summer visit here. The forecast was for accelerating winds so we headed down the Culebra coast to Ensenada Honda where we ...