Tiny Home Tuesday and Other (fair warning: birthday beaches etc. photo heavy)

I had a project in mind for yesterday afternoon to go around and take as many photos of containers used as homes here as I could find, but then the rain came. And then I lost my momentum, so here's a teaser start. 

There have been people using these as homes for a long time around here, either stand alone or part of a build. This is one I've posted before but it's just gotten a nice paint job and is looking pretty spiffy. I'd love to see the inside, but it's a weekend/party home and when someone is there there is usually way too much activity for me to just go introduce myself and ask for a look see. One of these days!

There is a locked fence so this was the best I could do without trespassing.

The deep porch makes it great for outdoor living. 

It's not hard to imagine that the container came first and maybe then the porch, with the back part put on last. There is a path in there somewhere leading to a good dock, from the other side you can't see the house at all so it's set back pretty far. A build like this would be illegal now, most likely. Supposedly. According to law anyway...

The 'other stuff' are some photos I took yesterday at three of our beaches and from Dinghy Dock. Sun and badly needed rain that came in a dramatic fashion complete with lightning and thunder, it was an altogether gorgeous day!

This was the first thing that caught my eye on the way to the beach. Fun coolness!

 I love Melones, both sides but especially the beach to the side. It was full of dead sargassum so walking was mainly in the water and not very far with a high tide.  

I was just about to leave when pelicans having breakfast caught my eye. After a few shots, I just sat at the table, a front row seat to a pretty funny show. I never knew gulls were such t'eefs!

At first I thought the gull was just hitching a ride.

But he was actively trying to get the fish the pelican caught.

Hop skip and a jump

This gull was so brazen! Incredible!

Peli wins!

The dynamics of a pelican...how do they do it??

Two pelicans. So awkward and so agile and precise at the same time. 

A picture of hope.

Ok, that was way too many pelican photos, I know. I'm addicted; I could have stayed there mesmerized all day, but breakfast was over. and they were gone It was time for me to move along to the next beach. You're welcome.

Every time I see this I'm reminded of the first time;
there is never not an echo of that 'ooooh!' factor.

Median decor

 And yet another beautiful beach!

Magic mirror wavelet

Flasher Gull

Beach number three (after a gull flashes you, it's time to head onward). It was early and there weren't very people around. Down at the Shark Pens there was NO one around. The water was flat, the water was a perfect temperature. Birthday sea bath indeed. 

The tank from the other side

I wonder if the rain will green up this hillside

For those who don't know this spot, the water, all the way out to the pilings,
is probably only four feet deep with a clear sandy bottom. Perfect for lolling.

Every time the sun and clouds moved, the colors would change. 

I was ready to go and just in time, as a couple were heading my way and I knew they would be just as delighted as I was to have it all to themselves.

On the way home, because there was no traffic, I could finally take a photo of what is the first sight for every person who lands at our little airport (unless the wind is funky and you come in up the bay, but this is the usual view). Not a bad welcome to Culebra, if you didn't mind the rather interesting descent over the beach, through the hills and down with a twist.

The original plan was to check out the Krusty Krab for lunch, but when we saw the storm coming in, we quickly agreed that a dockside seat at Dinghy Dock would be well worth the delayed gratification of a meal in a new spot. We don't get wild rain storms very often and this one promised to be spectacular. It was! 

Drama-rama

What a fantastic storm! Much welcome sheets of rain fell.

Thanks, Universe, for a spectacular day, for family and friends, for life and for Culebra, not necessarily in that order.

Have a terrific in tiny Tuesday. Do something textured. 

A Wedding(s) Day in June

Today is wedding day! Playa Flamenco wedding day at that, as all three weddings will be there. I mentioned that yesterday, but a phone call later on added to the story a bit.

Me: Hello?

Caller: Do we have to chase you all over the island?

Me: (figuring from the "we" that this was no lovelorn swain, that, in fact, it must be...) Jimmy! Hey, what are you all doing here?

Jimmy, of Coqui Fire Hot Sauce: We're here to cater a wedding, been here since Thursday, when can we find you?

Me: Weird...you're on Culebra to cater a wedding from Vieques?

Jimmy: Yeah. There is a wedding planner from Vieques who also puts on weddings here and the couple wanted to get married on Culebra. They know us from the restaurant, so, here we are. We've been cooking meals for them and cocktail hours, and the wedding on Saturday; great people.

Me: That's fantastic! Well, I'll be at a wedding and then a reception, and you'll be busy too...looks like, let's count on Sunday?

Jimmy: Sounds good! See you then.

Me, after hanging up: (knowing I'll be eating great food myself) Can you bring any leftovers? Mexican food, cooked by you and Patty? *sob*

Once again, the power of small comes into being. How many places can you live where three weddings on the same weekend is 1) a big deal 2) you know two of the wedding people and 3) you know the caterer from another island for the third one? I always say the islands are just a big neighborhood - meet one new person and they are connected to five people you know already. I like it! But, I guess you know that already.

One day shy of full moon

Is it the full moon we will have tonight, this plethora of nuptials? Did these couples plan their weddings this way, or was it just happenstance? Will the power of La Luna have an effect on the events, or even the marriages? While I'm not a certified heebee jeebee hoo doo voodoo sort, I do believe in the power of the moon and in certain consequences from actions in our lives that go beyond reasonable logic.

No matter. But if you find yourselves feeling a little more romantically inclined tonight, look up to the Belle of the Sky for the reason.

Omar...we hardly knew ye (thankfully)

While other islands in the Caribbean took some smashing hits from Omar (though none directly as we supposed) we got lucky in the last chance moment when Omar took a turn to the east and left us unscathed. People went to sleep and woke up wondering what was going on...and the answer was a solid nothing except for two brief periods of intense wind.

We lucked out. Again. And now the sky is blue and and the water is beautiful. Only a handful, and I mean that, of tourists are around to enjoy it. So while they don't have much choice in dining as most restaurants are closed for a couple of more weeks, they can *own a beach* for a day.

I took a long walk yesterday on a couple of our beaches. One, Playa Flamenco, is a beach that comes straight out of the classic Caribbean postcard for a perfect beach. In almost a mile, there were two other people there. I picked up a lot of plastic debris that had washed in, first because I hate litter, but second, the sand was so pristine, I couldn't stand marring the visual.
There were only two tents in the campground (which is stretched out along the beach behind the small dunes, shaded with coconut palms and seagrape trees, among others). If I wasn't housesitting, I'd have gotten my own tent to put up for a perfect day or two of quiet, with only waves and birdsong for background music. It's good to live where you want to vacation!

Wild flowers on Flamenco

Walkway over the dunes in the campground

From the camping site I where I stayed during my first trip to Culebra
(no wonder I moved here 3 weeks later)