Caribbean – Diary – Page 22

02.05. – 08.05.2024

Do what moves you…

In the morning, we set off for San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico. The crossing to the inner harbor basin takes about six hours. When we arrive in the late afternoon, the limited anchorage is already well filled, and we initially do a bit of anchorage, trying to find a firm hold in the limited space and the muddy, poorly holding ground. Only after several attempts do we finally get the anchor in the bottom.

The next day, we set out to explore Old San Juan. Rain is forecast, but we hope it won't be too bad – experience has shown that rain in the Caribbean is heavy and short. We easily reach Old San Juan by public bus. Our first stop is the tourist information center, located directly across from the bus station. Armed with plenty of useful information, we begin our tour and just manage to make it to Burger King before the rain. Here, we seek shelter...

Then a downpour of the highest order begins, and there's no end in sight. Water runs in torrents through the streets. The people who enter the building after us have water running from their hair. After an hour at Burger King, I'm – in true American fashion – chilled to freezing temperatures. We can't stay here any longer. I stand in the lobby to thaw out, and Bernd orders an Uber – with this bad weather, the mall is our only escape route for heroes...

In Puerto Rico's largest shopping center – Las Americas, according to the lady from the tourist office – we find plenty of opportunities to spend money. It's brimming with special offers, and Bernd indulges in a shopping spree: new shoes, new swim shorts, new shirts – we urgently need to sort things out on the boat; space is running out...

Afterwards we storm the supermarket and, heavily laden, take an Uber back to the marina.

The dinghy has filled up with rainwater during our absence, so the first thing to do is pump out the water…

After finally reaching the boat and packing away the rich haul, we're pretty exhausted; it was a tiring day...

Saturday we set off on a tour of the Castillo San Felipe del Morro and wait for a weather window. "You have to shoot to the right," advises Bernd. "Then it will look like we have nice weather..."

Well, it actually rains here on and off, and Sunday is drowning in water. The weather forecast isn't very encouraging either. We want to explore the El Yunque rainforest – the only rainforest in the Americas – by car, and we find a weather window for Monday. Not that it won't rain on Monday, but not as much, and at what seems like the right time... One becomes humble.

The drive from San Juan to El Yunque by rental car takes 45 minutes – even the rain regularly commutes between the rainforest and San Juan…

A road leads through the rainforest, and there are several waterfalls to explore—but parts of the area are still inaccessible since Hurricane Irma, which also caused devastation here. Nevertheless, it's a worthwhile trip, and since we still have time, we add a visit to Bacardi and a shopping marathon at Walmart. Bernd is confident that this will be our last big shopping trip of the trip... I'm not so sure, after all, we're still on the road for almost two months...

Bacardi's headquarters are spacious, and if you book a tour, you'll be taken through the grounds by bus. A one-hour tour with a movie costs USD 40, or USD 80 with a rum tasting... I find these prices, even by local standards, ambitious... We decided not to participate; at least the gift shop is free, so we bought a few giant Bacardi ice cube trays—you can't really treat yourself otherwise.

On Tuesday we'll be showered again all day, then our patience and enthusiasm for rain will run out and we'll decide to head south again, where it's supposed to be warm and dry again and we'll be able to go swimming again - nobody wants to do that here in the harbor basin anyway.

Except maybe Jean II – at least he/she hasn't left us yet...

...and the manatees, the sea cows that are supposed to live here – but we didn't see them...nor any of the 50 species of parrots in El Yunque...

At least we ate delicious ice cream and were served beer in wine glasses in the cheerfully colorful old town of San Juan.

Now we're moving away from San Juan – just to escape the rain… the further we get from the rainforest, the drier the weather becomes…

For six days, we shared the rain with the rainforest – we now declare our solidarity over. Tomorrow, we sail on – first back to the Spanish Virgin Islands…