Wal-Mart, Highways, and Chili’s

After 36 hours at sea, we anchored in Bahia de Rincon near Salinas, an area known for its manatees or seas cows. The water is murky brown, and they scared Angie while surfacing next to the dingy, looking very much like water cows. She could see how boats kill many of them every year; you can’t see them surfacing.

After an $8 “toll free” call to customs, we were told to call back later. After several walks to a local restaurant, to use their phone we were “conditionally” cleared into our own country. Unlike all the other countries where customs is on the water so they can inspect your boat, in the U.S., you call the airport and no-one ever sees you, your documents or your boat. We need the all important a Home Land Security decal to be allowed in. The insuring drama to obtain the decal was a study in government efficiency and took Angie 4 frustrating hours.

In an effort to preserve its remaining shorelines, no waterfront construction is now allowed in Puerto Rico. Away from the shoreline, corporate America has been busy super-sizing and “malling” the territory. Parker and Sabrina were ecstatic! Look, Burger King, Home Depot, Staples, Mobil-mart, Kentucky Fried Chicken, isn’t it grand!? After a family meeting, the majority vote went to Chili’s for fajita Monday’s. A first since we left Atlantis in Nassau, the restrooms worked and had… soap and toilet paper and paper towels.

I had no trouble acclimating to being behind the wheel of a car on a highway, accelerating up to 10x boat speed!!! A bus tour of historic Ponce was our home schooling lesson of the day. The center of the historic city was bustling with activity. Shopping!! Everyone but me found a little something to buy. They didn’t have Crocs in XXL in PR.

Now that we had been cruising several months, though, we realized how little we really needed. Our rental car agent dropped us and our trunk full of plastic shopping bags back at the dock from Walmart. That evening, we weighed anchor and motored our way to Vieques, a PR island to the east.