Transition to Land

While in Culebra we rolled around a ton of ideas and variations on ideas of how to spend the months that Tangent would be dry docked. None of the plans we tried to put together were working out and the clock was ticking. On a day quite close to our deadline we came up with the idea of roadtripping in the US. The more we talked it over, the more excited we became and felt like we could actually pull it off! It seemed like a natural extension of our "cruise" and we really hoped that our theoretical plan could take off. Many days we trudged to the Culebra library where we did as much research and planning as we could until it was time to go.

On our pre-arranged date, we sailed to Puerto Del Ray Marina and spent a few hectic days organizing, packing, cleaning, polishing and prepping for haulout. What a pain. But we got almost everything done on time and moved ourselves and a bunch of our crap into a rental apartment. We thought it would be super fun to be in an apartment on a little island with its own ferry, two pools and a playground. But it's not so charming when it's hot, you're lugging a ton of stuff back and forth, and it takes forever. Another one of those moments when you wish hindsight was foresight.

The apartment became our headquarters for planning our big summer road trip and our base for going to and from the boatyard. Most days were spent at the yard finishing up a few projects and securing everything. Mornings and evenings were spent tackling the insane amount of logistics it took to get us on the road. It was really weird to be, essentially, homeless. The boat was off limits, the days on the apartment were limited, we only had what we packed in our duffle bags, and our plans for a truck and trailer couldn't be secured until we set foot in the US. A very strange feeling!

First ferry ride to the apartment. It looks like I'm glowing but I'm actually sweating profusely. 

Kids not pulling their own weight at the marina.

This pool was the one open during the week. We could see it from our rear balcony. It looks nice, right? So inviting! And a pretty setting too. Wow! Can you see from here that the filters don't work and the milky water is filled with swirling balls of hair? You're better off. The balcony at the front of the apartment overlooked a crystal clear, absolutely pristine, enormous pool. That one was only opened on the weekend. When the weekend came around, we counted about 80 people in it at any given time. Someone then puked in it which created a little no-go zone but didn't reduce the number of people in the pool. As the hours passed by people just started swimming through the blob. We chose the pube pool over the puke pool. None of this was the reprieve from the hot, dusty boatyard that we had counted on.

The ferry was pretty cute when we weren't schlepping everything. Puerto Ricans have mastered the art of the schlep and do it every weekend. Coolers, groceries, tents, blankets, grills, towels, family members, pets.....every weekend. I don't think we'll ever embrace it. 

Up and out on her scheduled day! We managed to get almost everything done. 

Powerwashing all of the growth off the bottom.

This is getting old.

We managed to squeeze in a belated birthday gift for Cubby and took her on a trail ride. We had to wear hair nets under our helmets. So flattering. You can tell we have weird head issues in this family. Andy's is extra large so the helmet just rests on top. Cubby's head is long so the helmet gets pulled back. Drew's is large also so his is a squeeze. And mine is tiny so the helmet covers my eyes. But it's ok because Cubby was really happy!

The horse breed is called paso fino. They have a particular kind of gait which is a bit bouncy. Especially when they run. Which the guides like to get them to do and which would cause the two little girls in our group to scream bloody murder and the horses to get very fresh with each other. So relaxing!

Cubby had the nicest horse. Drew's horse bucked a lot and mine was a biter.

Cubby got to feed an apple to one horse. They had to bring out a horse that had lived in the US because the ones who have only lived in Puerto Rico have never tasted apple and wouldn't eat it. No joke!

The outside of the apartment building. Looks nice in photos, doesn't it? Don't stay here.