Back in the land of iguanas, lizards and crabs

We arrived back in Puerto Rico three weeks ago, exactly four weeks after leaving for what we thought was a week long trip. Echo was in great shape and it certainly felt good to be home. We were fortunate to visit with so many friends and family yet there were so many more that we missed…

Upon arrival in San Juan we knew we were back to the islands.   The plane arrived at the gate but the key to the jetway could not be found so we had to sit on the plane and wait for a bit.  This served to get us back into the island mind set where everything takes time…lots of time.

Back at Palmas Del Mar the palm trees were all wrapped with Christmas lights and the koki frogs chirped the night away. The golf carts are donned with lights as they zoom around the marina and Santa is on many of the rooftops while snowmen adorn the yards; hard to get your minds around when it’s so warm and sunny. Our “cold weather” clothes have all been vacuumed sealed and stowed in various nooks and crannies around the boat to be searched for next time they’re needed. We have reprovisioned and waited out the latest front which brought rain, high winds and high seas. We are now ready to start the journey “down island” and hope to set out tomorrow morning for Culebra then on to St. Thomas Friday.

The flight back from Detroit reinforced how amazing our journey has been to date and how anxious we are to get moving once again. As we flew back we passed over the east coast, the Bahamas and lots of wide open ocean. It served to amaze us with how far we have traveled and made us long for getting out on water once again.

The weather is much more tolerable now, the highs are now in the 80’s rather than 90’s with somewhat less humidity. We have done lots of walking, Jeff is now up to about four miles in an hour, not bad for a guy who had open heart surgery six weeks ago. We visited with a new cardiologist here in Puerto Rico and shared all the records from the surgeon; we feel confident with this doctor and will continue with him while we are in the Caribbean since it’s easy to get to PR from any of the islands.

Brian, Katie and Katie’s parents are due to arrive in St. Thomas in early January and we expect to spend time in the British Virgins with them. Joe and Cheryl Keefe arrive in St. Lucia on February 8th and will spend a few days aboard Echo before their checking to the Sandals Resort there. Sarah and Kristi then arrive in St. Lucia February 11th for a week. Mary’s brother Bill and his wife Julia just booked for a trip to St. Thomas in early February and we hope to connect with them for a bit before heading off to St. Lucia ~ weather permitting.

The folks at the marina here at Palmas have been great and we will miss them but it is time to move on.

Thanks for sharing our journey!
Jeff and Mary