Day 4 - Camuy Caves and Caguana, and oh yeah a Tow Truck

We left early and went to The Camuy Caves, the third largest underground river and cave system in the world.  We took a trolley down some 500 feet into a sinkhole seeing all the plants and trees that flourish in the moist damp air.  At the bottom of the sinkhole our tour guide took us into the cave.  It was dark and deliciously cool compared to the outside temperature.  He pointed out different structures inside, and explained that an inch of a stalactite would take hundreds of years to be created.  The water trickled down the sides and sometimes dropped on us.  We saw bats flying around, plus the river almost 200 feet below.  It was very cool.  We went to a different area that is open to the outside at the top, the light shines down and there are waterfalls on the sides.  After visiting that cave we got back into the trolley to go to another sinkhole.  It was big enought to fit the El Morro Fort inside of it.

After leaving the caves we took the scenic rout to Utuado by way of Lares.  The road was curvy the entire way.  Almost like a roller coaster with blind curves going up and down.  The lane barely big enough to fit 2 cars and people are passing you.  It was a bit scary.  We made it to El Parque Ceremonial Indigeno de Caguana, and i was a bit dissapointed.  There was no one available to give the tour in English.  The kids had no interest in listening to someone that they didn't understand so it was us listening then translating quickly before he moved up to the next thing.  The rocks with the petroglyphs were worn down and barely visible.  The guide then kept reiterating that none of the Bohios were original, they were just what the archeologists thought might have been and it was just a dissapointing visit.

We left Caguana and noticed that the battery light in the car we had borrowed, for me to use, was on.  The entire 30 minute trip was downhill and even more steep,blind curves.  The air conditioner died halfway down, and when we finally got to the bottom of the road into the intersection to get back to civilization, the car died.  So there we are hot, sweaty, and stuck in and intersection in the middle of nowhere.

One and a half hour later the tow truck arrives to tow the car and us back to San Juan, 80 miles away.  The five of us squeezed into the back seat of a tow truck cabin.  The kids fell asleep and after 2 hours we finally got dropped off in Old San Juan.  It was the end of another fantabulous adventure.

Can't wait to see what's in store today.

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 04:44:00 -0700

Day 3 - Puerto Rico

Yesterday afternoon we went to the beach at El Escambron.  The water was nice, the sun was bright and we loved swimming in the ocean.  The kids were exhausted by the end of the day.

Today we went on an adventure to Las Cabezas de San Juan.  It's a nature preserve that has 7 different ecosystems.  We traveled to the Lighthouse in Fajardo and were able to go to the Observation Tower.  It was raining in the distance, but we were able to see Vieques, and the other Keys just off Fajardo.  The next stop on the tour was a Rocky Shore.  It was filled with black rocks and corals.  The last stop was a tour through a Mangrove.  The guide pointed out the 4 different trees that grow in the mangroves in Puerto Rico.  We saw crabs, millipides (esp?), and spiders.  We also saw Anemones, Sea Cucumbers, Hermit Crabs and Giant Lizards.  It was so much fun, except that it started raining, but that just made the adventure even more 'au natural'.  Definitely a good trip. 

On the way back we stopped in Luquillo and had some dinner.

Tomorrow it's off the Caguana and the Camuy Caves.

Wed, 31 May 2006 15:52:00 -0700

Day 2 - Puerto Rico

We flew into San Juan yesterday.  The day started with us flying out of Myrtle Beach at 7:00 AM to go to Charlotte.  From there we flew direct to San Juan.  We arrived in San Juan around noon and found my parents.  We drove from the airport to Piñones, this little beach type area with lots of local eateries.  I was dying to eat an Alcapurria de Jueyes (crab filled cake, deep fried). After eating myself silly we went to the Supermarket and bought the things for us to eat during our visit here. 

We finally made it into Old San Juan and got to my parents place.  A nice little apartment in the old town.  We took a walk down to La Plaza de Armas, one of the plazas surrounded by stores and little food shops.  The kids had fun chasing the Palomas, pigeons, and shooting them with water guns.  After that it was back to the apartment to shower and go to bed.

Today they woke up early and had had enough after 2 hours of watching TV.  I offered to go on an adventure so we ventured up to El Morro, on of the original forts built by the spanish to protect the city back in the 1500's.  We walked all up and down exploring the light house, Garitas, cannons, and dungeons.  We walked down scary stairs, and climbed on every imaginable wall that we could climb on to take pictures.  After about an hour we were overheated and dying for something cool to drink.  We left El Morro and found a Piraguero, a snow cone cart.  We each had a Piragua and sat on a shaded bench while watching a ballet class.  Finally we walked back to the apartment.  What a great adventure we had.

The kids did complain awhile so i changed the subject by getting the to come up with their own explorer names.  I was christened Captain Cool (obviously), the boy chose Captain Hold, and the girl chose Hot Hottie (cause she was so hot).

More to do later today.  I'll update on another occasion.

Tue, 30 May 2006 08:01:00 -0700

Well waddaya know!!!

I got a refund check from the Y.   It arrived on Friday May 19th, envelope postmarked May 18th.  So much for "it's already been mailed out".

 

Sun, 21 May 2006 08:39:00 -0700

Just venting and ranting

Being a responsible mom, and considering we're spending 3 weeks in Puerto Rico, I signed my kids up for swimming lessons.  This was back in February.  I visited the Y and saw the place, and i was offered private lessons for just a little more than a group class would have cost.  I was supposed to start the next month.  March rolls on by and i get a call the last week in March to start classes.  By this time, baseball was in full swing, but since i had already paid, i figured i could squeeze it in.  I was willing to make the effort and drive to the Y, which by the way was a 35 minute drive each way.  Classes were the same day as Baseball Practices, which meant i left my house at 2:20 to get to 3:00 swim lessons, left at 3:40 to come back and have dinner before 5:30 baseball practice.  It was a heck of a day.

The second class the teacher is not really teaching my son, more just waiting for him to swim to her.  What he's really doing is going underwater and taking in water.   The third class i ask the teacher about the way that my daughter had learned 2 years before and she put a life jacket on him, then took it off and he took in more water.  By this time i'm thinking my son will probably just drown, because she's not really teaching him or telling him what to do. I talk to the director of the swimming program and she says that she'll watch the next class to see if there is anything the girl is not doing.  The fourth class comes around and the teacher shows up 30 minutes late.  I'm pissed.  I find the director and ask her what is going on, and what is up with the style of teaching swimming.  She tells me that swimming is now taught by discovery.  They let the children "discover" how to swim.  They don't tell him what to do, but let them figure out what they need to do.  Forget pissed, by this time i'm ready to yell.  I laugh in her face, mainly because if i didn't i would have shouted, and tell her that i paid to have someone teach my son to swim.  You don't give a 16 year old the keys to the car and let him discover how to drive, you don't put a child in the water and let him discover.  Plus the teacher was late.  The director sees that i'm not a happy camper and offers to let me start over with a new teacher.  I say fine and wait for her call.  I wait, and wait and wait some more.  By this time it's May and i'm leaving in 3 weeks.  She gives me some story about how the new teacher is going to call me that evening.  Surprise!!! she doesn't.  I'm beyond pissed now.  I call and leave the director a message saying i just want my money back, no one has called me and i'm not interested any more.  The new teacher surprisingly calls me a few hours later and tells me that she called the night before and it was busy.  HELLOOO its a cellphone.  If i'm on the other line it goes straight to voice mail, get a new excuse.  So i'm supposed to get a refund, but they need to see my receipt to see how much i paid and blah blah blah.

I find my canceled check, and i call and talk to the person in charge of accounts and tell her the date it was posted, the amount and all the info she needed.  She says that once the director signs off on it i'll get my money.  10 days have gone by and i still don't have any money from them.  Not even a phone call.  So i called today spoke to someone who was not the director, she couldn't come to the phone.  The nice lady i talked to took my name, and verified my address.  I asked her when the check would come out and she said "The director says that the check has been written and mailed out"  so i ask her why she's asking for this info if it's already been mailed out.  Did it really get mailed, or is it going out tomorrow??  she didn't know the answer to that one, so i'm expecting that on friday i'll get a refund check from the Y, with a letter postmarked tomorrow.

We'll see.

Wed, 17 May 2006 14:42:00 -0700

Smoking is bad for you, you know....

We went out to lunch for Mother's Day and to celebrate the girls First Communion.  We were at this really nice restaurant and ate some great food.  When we're outside, waiting for my husband to get the car we're waiting outside trying to stay away from the rain.  My son, in all his 5 years, finds a covered spot right in a corner.  On a bench next to him is a woman, probably 80 years old, smoking.  He looks at her square in the face and says " Smoking is bad for you you know."  She smiles at him, probably didn't hear him, and i laugh and call him over.  No need to have him standing next to her sucking up her second hand smoke.

You go Boy!!!

Sun, 14 May 2006 18:23:00 -0700

Da Day Da Cockroach Camea Flying

Since i've had nothing really funny, or even mildly amusing happen lately, i will share something that happened last year. 

While we were still living in Hawaii, some friends came to visit from the Mainland.  We invited them over for a cookout.  The children were playing outside, the men were sitting together talking and me and my friend were chatting on the couch.  I hadn't seen her since we'd moved to hawaii and she was catching me up on all the things and people that i knew.

All of a sudden I see something black.  I know what it is.  Having lived in Hawaii, you learn to recognize the quick movement of the Ginormous B-52 (i.e. the Flying Cockroach.)  It took an instant, but before i knew it I was leaping off my seat across the couch and on top of my friend, all the while screaming like a little girl being chased by a ghost. 

Nobody else had seen the cockroach, so i must have seemed like some crazy, deranged lunatic.  My friend just looked at me like if i had lost my mind, and our husbands were probably trying to figure out if they needed to separate us or cheer on the brawl.  Needless to say the cockroach alluded me that day, but my friend never forgot the day that she came to visit her and i jumped on top of her.

I was so embarassed, but i can't say that it was the most embarassing thing to happen to me.

Tue, 02 May 2006 07:13:00 -0700