Once again, our winter in Amsterdam provided a great opportunity to meet new friends, catch up with old ones and meet in person some we’d only corresponded with. Several we saw at METS, the Marine Equipment Trade Show held annually in Amsterdam, and others we met in town or on Dirona. Click any image below…
Amsterdam Projects
As with last year, Amsterdam was a great place for us to spend the winter and complete many boat projects, ranging from large jobs such as changing the wing engine PTO clutch, bolting the Freeman hatch in place, replacing the hydraulic steering rod end and upgrading our replacing our old 46-inch flatscreen with a modern…
The Coquí
“I wish I had never gone traveling. Said no one ever.” ~Anonymous
On our first night in San Juan as we walked along the street we could hear a sound we didn’t recognize. I wondered what type of bird was making the noise we heard. Later during our time in Puerto Rico we found out it wasn’t a bird, but a frog. The sound the little tree frog makes is “Co-kee! Co-kee!” This sound is what gives the little frog its name, Coquí.
Puerto Rican Food
“In order to really get to know a place and the people, you’ve got to eat the food.” -Emeril Lagasse
Puerto Rico’s cuisine is a unique merging of ingredients, cultures and recipes. The native Taíno Indians, the Spanish conquistadors and the African slaves have all influenced what has come to be known around the island as cocina criolla, or Creole cooking. The local dishes usually incorporate different types of meat, garlic, olive oil and rice. They often contain the starchy staple plantains, whose taste is a cross between a banana and a potato.
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Final Week in Amsterdam
Between Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis, we spent a final week in Amsterdam before departing for destinations south. We completed a few boat projects with parts we brought back from Seattle, did some final provisioning, met some new friends and enjoyed a “second annual” Valentine’s Day dinner at Bistrot Neuf. Below are trip highlights from…
Hurry Up and Wait
The Red Head crew has been busy getting ready for their trip to the Bahamas. Dylan, Dee Dee, and Dora have carefully watched over provisioning. Dylan still isn’t sure there’s enough dog treats but then what really is “enough.”
Mom and Dad procured a red wagon to help Dylan make the 1 mile trek to and from the beach and have been practicing. They’re not anticipating problems with the “to”, however, at nearly 13, Dylan may find the “from” more challenging.
Dora has been working out at the dog park with Izzy every morning to ensure she is in top physical condition.
There’s been a dinghy ride to make sure all is working well with the crew’s local transportation.
Jasper, docked behind Red Head on OHOL, had his dad capture the event.
With all preparations nearly done, the crew is now waiting for good weather. While we had hoped to leave Stock Island Marina Village by March 1st, weather has us waiting. But no one is complaining. What better place to wait than Key West!
Feb. 19 – Old San Juan, PR
“Live with no excuses and travel with no regrets” ―Oscar Wilde
We began our day like we did yesterday…coffee and guava pastries at the little coffee kiosko in the Plaza de Armes. After breakfast we headed east to explore a little beach close to the El Capitolio (Puerto Rico’s Capital building), it’s a beautiful area of town with lots of official buildings. From there we visited Castillo San Cristóbal.
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Feb. 18 – Old San Juan, PR
“You have the brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And you are the one who’ll decide where to go.” -Dr. Seuss
Today we walked up to a little coffee kiosko in the Plaza de Armes for breakfast. We enjoyed a very good cup of coffee, a guava pastry and a nice visit with a local enjoying the same breakfast…to us it was the perfect way to start our day. After breakfast we headed up to El Morro. One of two forts that were built by the Spanish to protect the city from pirate attacks from the French, Dutch and English. Castillo San Felipe del Morro, (El Morro) sits atop a high promontory overlooking the entrance to the San Juan Bay. Construction on El Morro began in 1539, but the six-level fortification was not considered complete until 1787. El Morro is an immense fort with 18-foot thick walls, dungeons, barracks, outposts, ramps, and mazes of tunnels that protected the city from foreign invasion.
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Feb. 17 – (Part II) Old San Juan, PR
“The life you have led doesn’t need to be the only life you have.” —Anna Quindlen
Check in at our apartment in Old San Juan (OSJ) wasn’t until 4:00 PM, so after our tour at the Bacardi Factory we drove over to OSJ and parked near the Coast Guard Station. We left our luggage in the car and explored the city a little, did a little shopping and had lunch at Café Madolin. After checking in we went back and got our bags. We walked from the parking lot along the Paseo de la Princesa to the Puerta de San Juan (San Juan Gate) and up to our apartment.
Feb. 17 – (Part I) Bacardi Rum Factory
“Drinking rum before 10am makes you a pirate, not an alcoholic.” -Unknown
Our time in Puerto Rico is coming to an end…today we move to Old San Juan, so we will be closer to the airport. We have a condo rented for the next three days, but we couldn’t check in until late in the afternoon, so we decided to spend a little time at the Bacardi Rum Factory. Puerto Rico is called the “rum capital of the world”. Over 70 percent of the rum sold in the U.S. comes from Puerto Rico.
