Priorities

We took the dinghy out to explore the bay and look for a new beach to take Lucy to.  We checked out the shipping yard and a buoy tower in the middle of the shipping channel then found a blackish sand beach.  We didn’t think we would spend much time here just let Lucy run for a bit while we walked the beach, but we became engrossed finding sea glass hiding in the rocks.  This beach was very rocky and the water murky.  We spent at least an hour maybe two finding smooth, pretty rocks, exploring, and adding more sea glass to our ever-growing collection.  This is something we have been doing since our first beach visit.  We comb the shoreline looking for glass that has been fogged and smoothed over by the ocean.  After a very successful beach combing outing we jumped in the dinghy and as we were pulling away I asked Preston if he had the camera.  He quickly reminded me that I had it last, trying to take a picture when the battery died, and then I put it in my pocket.  Well guess what?  It was no longer in my pocket……..dun dun dun…..  Over the last hour I had dropped the camera somewhere on an extremely rocky shoreline where the waves had been crashing consistently.  The mood immediately went from fun and happy to mad and stressed.  We walked the shore searching for the camera and found nothing.  Of course it is a black camera and we are on a black sand beach with mostly black rocks.  We rushed back to the boat to get our masks and snorkels then back to the beach where we searched in the murky water for at least another hour.  We decided to come back at midnight during low tide hoping that the waves would be smaller and we could search with our underwater light without being crashed into the beach.  The next few hours were agonizing.  We were both upset that we had lost the camera looking for rocks, I mean what's more important our camera or some rocks?   We were searching so hard for this camera because it is the smaller camera we take almost everywhere and we knew it could withstand the crashing waves because it is waterproof, shockproof, dustproof……  so we knew if we could find it, it would be worth it because it would still work.  Anyway we went back at midnight to find the tide lower, but the waves were still crashing.  We searched another hour with the lights and were walking out of the water and back to the dinghy.  We stopped to talk about if we should come back in another hour to see if the waves had calmed at all.  We decided it was just impossible, like finding a needle in a haystack and that is when Preston’s eagle eyes honed in on a red strap barely peering out of a pile of rocks.  He just sat there, with his light shinning on OUR CAMERA!!!!  He didn’t say anything just sat there with his light on the pile of rocks until I looked over and started screaming, “NO WAY, NO WAY, NO WAY, IMPOSSIBLE! AHHHHHHH! IMPOSSIBLE!”  I am still in shock that we found it.  It has definitely been tested to the max.  Scratched up and gritty we all, Preston, myself, and the camera, went back to the boat with big grins on our faces.   It still works great and from now will be accompanied with a bright orange floating strap.

We spent our weekend at the boardwalk listening to live music and talking with the locals.  Something about us screams tourist and we always attract curious locals.  The boardwalk is filled with all ages, kids to senior citizens and everyone is dancing, chatting or just enjoying the scenery.  We also explored a little more of downtown Ponce.  The old firehouse, a local mansion, an abandoned hotel, and an observatory in a cross on the hill are a few things we checked out. 

We made some new friends last night on the dock.  We were headed to dinner and were tying up the dinghy when Jose stopped by to see where we were from.  As all Puerto Ricans have been he just wanted to help us find a good place to go and we got a talking and didn’t stop till midnight.  Jose and his wife Marga just bought a killer boat and are starting their adventure much like we did.  They both knew motorboats and power, but bought their sailboat with the unknown of sailing.  As we did they jumped into boat projects and are learning as they go.  The reaction we get from most people when they find out we sold our house and everything we own to buy a boat and sail around is always the same.  “We wish we would have done something like that when we were young, before we had kids.”  They were no different and it is fun to share stories and dreams with people that understand what living on a boat is like.  We have yet again made some friends that we hope to stay in contact with.  They were very generous and inspiring.  We enjoyed our night with them and hope to run into them in some anchorage, at some island, somewhere. 

We had to go back so Preston could stand in the "P"(and it was on the way to the Marine Store)

Preston trying to do a doughnut with our 3-cylinder rental. (Holly it was a Mitsubishi)

 Old Ponce Firehouse