Thursday, December 30, 2010

From The Birds’ Nest

Greetings, from the most recent stowaway aboard Sandy Dreams.  The weather is beautiful, wish you were here. 

So much has happened the last two weeks. Re-uniting with Ryan, Jen, Marilyn & Sissy has been great. They have made me feel welcomed & comfortable. Sandy Dreams is just as I remembered her, roomy, clean, and very sea worthy.  Have met lots of new friends, from Canada, Chris & Jackie aboard “Higheeled”, Tony & Rosemary aboard “English Rose” from Ireland, Nick & Wendy also from the Great White North, in a nice cat, Matt & Mary Liz, from FL & DC, as well as Dick & Jane, Carl from the Netherlands, and a great local named Tony who keeps a nice sloop here in the marina & has invited us over for a New Years bash.  Marilyn has 3 girlfriends visiting this week, Sandy, Debbie & Diane from Texas are enjoying the sun and the stars.  Oh yea, & don’t forget the Geraldo Rivera sightings in the marina tiki bar.  He glides the Hinkley in from his island every couple days for a cold one.

As for high sea adventures, you must be patient, as we are still securely docked in Salinas, Puerto Rico.  Between morning yoga, reading stints, & poolside libations, I have managed to escape for a few shore excursions.  El Yunke Rain Forest, Coamo Hot Springs, several walks/drives to town for hardware items, groceries, & breakfast beers @ the bakery.

The boat is in great shape, we are caught up on maintenance etc. & ready to leave Salinas.  However, we are currently being held hostage by the US Postal Service. One of the three boxes our new water maker was to arrive in is MIA. Must have got held up in one of the blizzards up North, eh?  Oh well, that’s life in the tropics.  No need to have a fixed schedule when you are cruising, in fact, attempting to keep any hard schedule while cruising could be detrimental to health & well being.  Going with the flow, remaining flexible, slightly buzzed and keenly optimistic is the rule.   

So…………guess that’s it from the nest for now.  Hope you are having a wonderful holiday season.  Happy New Year to everyone.  

Cheers, Douglas

aka, “Strangebird”

100_0815

Christmas potluck, Salinas tiki bar.

 

100_0829

Sandy Dreams under sail.

 

100_0835

Ryan rides a Puerto Rican “dog sled”.

 

IMG_1103

AM walk to town for supplies. Marilyn, Ryan &  Chris.

 

IMG_1106

Local bakery for breakfast and yes……beer.

 

IMG_1119

Dingy maintenance.

 

IMG_1130

Look out Jimmy B.

 

IMG_1143

Doug & Marilyn conquer El Yunque.

 

IMG_1155

El Yunke is USFS’s only tropical rain forest……no rx burning here.

 

IMG_1181

Sissy relaxes on the forward deck……a dog’s life for sure.

 

IMG_1206

Chris & Jackie from HIGHEELED.

 

IMG_1204

Captain & First Mate….oh yea & Sis too.

 

IMG_1170

Just another day at the office.

1 comment:

Gabi Sven Julia and Carlos Oltersdorf said...

Hi guys...thew weather here is not as good as we hope for, but never mind its nice to dance with the boat too. We miss you and the same as you we are kept hostage by the windless company and hoping that they send us our parcel as soon as they open on monday morning....maybe we still get to catch up with you before we are heading down south....we wish you a good start into the new Year and all the best may the wind always blow into the right direction....big hug to all of you