Once Around an Island

Yesterday was Sunday Funday at its best around here. Friends came by and picked me up off of the houseboat to take a little sea spin. I had no idea we would be doing a Culebra circumnavigation but that is just what happened. The sun was shining, the clouds were drifting along gently as we set out, getting a wonderful reminder of how incredibly beautiful is this place I call home.

I love this boat!

This classic beauty was coming in as we were heading out

Hello, St. Thomas!

Just a little place

The clouds were gorgeous

Lava, baby!

The geology of Culebra is varied and fascinating

I missed the exact moment these two sailboats on either side of this islet
looked like the hats worn by the flying monkeys in The Wizard of Oz. 

I noticed the line. Ann denoted the pyramid of Culebra.
I don't know where the door is.

This plane flew over us a couple of times.
If you were outside around here, you probably saw it,
huge, gray, low.

Hello, big island!

Hello, Vieques!

Kayaking snorkelers. I hope they all saw beautiful things,
stepped on no corals and fed no turtles. 

I've never seen so many boats in this harbor. Party time!

Love these rock formations

And these too.

We came in right behind Buddy John, who built and
sails one of the prettiest and fastest trimiran's ever. 

 After being dropped back at the houseboat, I jumped stepped into my dinghy and headed to town. A brief stop at Dinghy Dock and we were off again, to see friends at an end of the island we'd gone by in the boat only a little more than an hour before.

This may be a common sight, but I've never seen so many pomegranates
on a tree before. They look beautiful but I forgot to take one home to taste it.
Word is, they are as delicious as they are beautiful.

Are these the same two sailboats we saw earlier?
I don't think so but they looked very serene, gently going down the way.

Bidding adieus, we headed back to a good porch for watching the sunset. We missed the actual 'set' but we caught a whole lot of beauty.

At last it was good night to Sunday Funday.

Yes, there is grimness in the world, But there is also a lot of beauty and peace to be found. It all needs to be interwoven because people with their heads exploding is not pretty. I'm very thankful to have had the day I had yesterday, with good friends, doing good things.

Off my bucket list is my first trip from town back to the houseboat in the dark. The universe continues its kindness, with literally glass like waters. Without the moon it was dark and the flashlight needed a few hundred more lumens to be much use, but the possible obstacles were firmly in place in my head and nobody moved the chess pieces. Going about as slow as possible just in case I was wrong was not a bother at all; the stars were spilling out all over the sky, winking and blinking and mesmerizing, the water so still they were reflected on its surface. 

Home. That's a good word.

Have a make it all matter Monday. Do something mile-stone like.

What Happened Next?

Hooray, a connection! Quite a bit has happened since last being able to get on this extraordinary machine reaching out to the cosmos. An inauguration, women's marches all over the world speaking out for rights and against wrongs (and as extraordinary as it all was, may this be the figurehead event for every day choices and actions), the transition from holiday crowds to the mellow lull of long standing winter friends and 'live here' folks catching up on our lives together and apart. 

A gathering of happy oldies
(photo credit: Alicia Moore)

Having some great apps at Seabourne

Nice to be able to cross the street and have ceviche and truffle fries.
And incredible lobster dip. And...

Another gathering of the ladies

The wind finally abated and has left us with glassy still mornings, a very dramatic change. I could finally unanchored all the things that were blowing around inside the houseboat. Soft breezy late mornings and afternoons with amazing clarity. Did you see St. Croix? Nope, but I saw the top of El Junque! 

While we might have qualified as having the smallest Woman's March anywhere in the world, march we did. 

Digna and Benjamin spoke; old hands at realizing the power of a handful
over the Goliaths in the world.

Maybe the smallest but maybe the most beautiful geographically!

A few of us retired to a town porch for chat and laughter. Too much serious angst, even for the best of purposes, needs balance. The canal show is always a good one.

Hello friends and families!!

I read a comment today where a woman said this "Imagine with me if you will, what an amazing day of change it could have been today, if all the protesters had rallied together and instead of marching volunteered to help those in need. Imagine, a project where children were clothed, animals protected, forests replanted, music & instruments were donated to the underserved... why, there is so much need I could go on & on. Imagine if the time, money & resources for these rallies had been directed toward doing good deeds in the name of your cause. Now that would have been "Real Change"." 

My response is that both are valid expressions of beliefs, but it is a great reminder that both are needed. One day of expressing unity is an incredible, beautiful thing. Every day expressing compassion and putting belief into positive action binds those cords of heart truth steel ever stronger. Talk the talk, live the walk.

Have a scrumptious Sunday! Do something soothing. 

Friday the 13th! My Lucky Day! (maybe)

In the way of things sometimes consistent, this should be Free Range Friday. I would post photos of the first soup I've made using calabaza, or local pumpkin.  It's definitely been soup weather around here!

Discarding recipes that said to roast it first, I just cut up that slice into chunks, added a cup of chicken broth (finally, a soup for one!), added lots of onion and garlic, salt and pepper and a dash of allspice. Next it was boiled down (that took only about 15 minutes to tenderize the calabaza; I was surprised) and pureed in a couple of batches in my little baby blender. It was incredibly pretty and really delicious. I wondered if not using milk or cream would lessen the taste but it didn't; it was rich and thick and I'm going to make it again very soon. Total cost was probably 2 bucks, a fabulous deal. But...no photos. Next time!

But! since the internet is actually allowing me to connect somewhat today, I'm going to try to do a bit of a round-up of photos from the very, very windy last days around here. Because I can. I think. We'll see.

Last Friday night at Dinghy Dock. 

A shiny afternoon at Punta Soldado

There are a couple of little ponds out that way. These birds were enjoying it.

Overlooking Dakity

Some gorgeous clouds during sunset overlooking Vieques

Mirror moment. That didn't last long.

The other evening, as the moon was rising, I heard a whoosh whoosh and saw this guy zooming back and forth in front of, around and behind the houseboat. He was very good or very lucky or both as I swear he only missed the stern by a foot or so on a super fast pass. 

From the dock where he had launched, good old rock and roll was being played loudly. Luckily for me, it was music I liked. While I was shooting photos of him, Brown Eyed Girl played. I thanked my little and big Universe for giving me a sweet gift for my eyes, ears and soul. 

The wind has been crazy, the visuals sublime.

Of course I took a lot of moon photos last night as it played in the clouds.

So far, so good! Let's see what happens next. 

Have a frankly fortuitous Friday the 13th! Do something flighty.

The Boaty Life for Me

Ah, life on the water. The murmur of wavelets slapping the hull. A swinging panorama of views. Being lulled to sleep by gentle rocking. Really bad connection on the internet. One of these things is not like the other. Bear with me, I'm working on it!

Back to the Ship!

If you've lived on or traveled the islands much, you've heard the cry "Back to the ship!" along the main streets of the bigger island towns, calling shop-weary cruise ship passengers to taxis, to those little boats,  a clarion call that their journey is moving on.

For me it means another housesitting gig is over, another vicarious pet will do the happy dance on her owner's return. As usual, this has been a great time for me, different views, wandering space, amenities of the first world in abundance. 

But home is home and a fine place to be. My 'ship' is not temporary, it is home. It is knowing where to reach in the dark for the light switch, the comfort of tossing around a thing or three, and being pretty sure of what is in the cupboard. 

This time my cupboard will have a new addition. Thanks, Abe and Sue, who sent me some Old Bay seasoning after reading my crab cakes post! My next batch will be perfect now (plus, I just like to use it as a seasoning on other foods, it smells like my childhood). 

Thanks and thanks! 

One amenity (of a few) that I can't get (yet) on the boat is speedy internet. In posting a blog with lots of photos, it is a priceless boon - and I mean that. I don't know if there is a price I could pay to get a great connection out there. That I get any connection has surprised more than a few and I'm grateful, but it can also just disappear. There ya go.

So here's a recap of the holiday so far; Three Kings Day is still to come.

Why I keep being surprised when I hear the gobbles, I can't explain.

This view is almost a pure perfect winter day.

The hibiscus blooming here have been a daily pleasure

I so hope this pig can be contained. 

The orchids are doing well 

Islands in the sky

Lots of glorious rainbows!

This color is much more of a bronzy gold in reality.
Very different, very beautiful

Because it's fun to say frangipani

Oh! The Christmas parade!

Gotta get a Bloody Mary from Fede next. He makes the best!

I'm not sure what was more crooked, the view or me

A trip back to the boat mid-way through.
So much wind! So much beauty.

Framed dawn

Leftover NYE debris.
The grapes we (okay, me, since I was hostess)
forgot to eat at midnight. Can't imagine why.

Egrets at the airport

Yet another stunning dawn

And today's dawn. Last one from this view for now.

I hope you were awake early to see the sky today. I saw a number of photos from around the country where it was a really scrumptious dawn and sunrise. Of course, it's not 10 degrees here, so going out to see it is a lot easier. Indeed.

No matter how your seasons and reasons change, keep an eye on the beauty.

Have a weatherproof Wednesday. Do something winsome.