Finally

Before I get started (again!), a word of advice: Don't press ctrl z in blogger. You'll lose everything. 

We've been busy here--arreglando la casa, dealing with car problems, and exploring the island.

Fun stuff first. We finally hiked to one of the more popular El Yunque destinations--Las Minas waterfall and swimming hole. And we managed to meet up with friends who were stopping at the falls as part of their all-day adventure tour. It was pouring rain when we found each other, so it was brief but memorable. I  felt like we should be exchanging top-secret information. The water was cold, but refreshing, until the downpour. We were shamefully unprepared except for the dry bag for our phones. No umbrellas or ponchos. The kids thought about melting down, but they rallied and did a great job with the hiking. Better than many of the adults we passed along the way.

We also went out on a catamaran (great crew, good food, mediocre snorkeling) with our Isla Verde neighbors. We were shocked to see the water was full of jelly fish at our first snorkeling site, but a crew member picked one up and assured us they probably wouldn't sting. Good enough for us! J rode around on B's back and L enjoyed jumping from the boat and lounging on the net at the front of the catamaran. 

We also spent a night at El Conquistador Resort. It's massive. Something like eight separate pools, and we had to take an elevator and funicular to get to our room. It was about half an hour from the front desk. We were in the kids' section, right next to the water park. We all had a blast, and L roamed around like he owned the place. J and I spent a lot of time in the lazy river, chatting and watching huge iguanas lounging on the banks. 

On the way to the resort, we stopped at the kioskos at Luquillo Beach. I'd been dying to check out these food stands because I'd read it's some of the best food on the island. We tried the Peruvian Ceviche Hut and devoured the shrimp ceviche and yuca mofongo. Definitely some of the best food I've had, and that's saying something. There's no shortage of good eating in PR. The  50 or so kioskos aren't fancy, but definitely worth trying. We'll return soon, and I think La Parilla is next on our list.

The not so great stuff... my new used car broke down, and M accompanied the tow truck back to the dealer in Quebradilla. It's under warranty, which is good, but it's been a challenge having one car and we're sort of doubting the wisdom of buying something used here. The one-car routine is that we get the kids out of bed at 5:50 (Oy!), and get them on the bus at 6:26. (This is with two cars as well.) Then I drive M to la lancha (ferry) in Catano. The ferry takes him right to Viejo San Juan (where he works), and is a relatively relaxing way to get to work. Parts of Catano are kind of sketchy though, and I got lost there the other day. I don't think we were really in danger, but there were some menacing looks. And the streets are very narrow, with lots of deadends and huge potholes and speed bumps, i.e., no quick escape if needed. There's no clue (either a sign or a wider, busier street) to suggest the way back to the main thoroughfares. So, while M relaxed with a beer across from the ferry, I tried to chat with the kids while avoiding stray dogs and eye contact with some nefarious looking characters. It was actually pretty fun. La Perla (a notoriously dangerous area near Old San Juan) might be next on my list of neighborhoods to explore. (I'm just trying to figure out if my mom still reads the blog.)

Puerto Rico is also experiencing a dengue epidemic. This happens occasionally during the rainy season. It's worrisome because we get a lot of mosquito bites here, and since dengue is a virus, there's no treatment except fever and pain management. It's also very dangerous to get dengue more than once because there are four different strains that are 60-80% identical, so the immune system thinks it's got things under control. A more severe case of dengue, dengue hemorrhagic fever, can result. I just read that risk factors for the more severe kind include being younger than 12, female, or Caucasian. Hmmm. Keep your fingers crossed for us. We're good about checking for standing water and using sprays with DEET.

The kids are doing great. Both have excellent teachers and are making friends at school and in the neighborhood. Learning Spanish isn't happening as quickly as I'd hoped though. They both still looked baffled by simple questions like "Como te llamas?" or "Cuantos anos tienes?" J is doing a bit better than L. M' s Spanish is awesome, and he's successfully threatened a used-car dealer and dealt with the cable guy. B can make doctor's appointments and arrange play dates but still has trouble understanding when people speak rapidly and use slang, which they do all the time. Caribbean Spanish is much harder to understand than Mexican. And we've both gotten scolded for using Mexican slang (no love lost there...) such as "Mande?" At least no one calls me guera here. And there's a refreshing lack of machismo, except for the Michael Chiklis look-alike who wouldn't let me pass him on the running trail. It was pretty funny because I was 45 minutes into a 1.5 hour run, and I think he'd just started.

That's about it... B's busy sobreviviendo w/o a dishwasher or dryer, training for the Diva's half marathon in November, and avoiding dangerous neighborhoods. The kids are busy with swim lessons, pond maintenance, and capturing errant fiddler crabs. M is busy smoking cigars, sipping pina coladas, and chilling on the ferry. I'm kidding! He works hard at work and hard at home, and we're thrilled he was picked up for Lieutenant Commander! I don't completely understand the process, but it was very competitive for his OCS class, and we're very proud. Due to seniority and the fact both people below him were passed over, he is dead last on the list, so it will be well over a year before he dons the oak leaves.

Adiosito!

Editor's note: As you may have noticed we update this infrequently, so remember you can put your email in the box at the upper right to be notified of updates. Here's a bunch of photos... in no particular order.