Arecibo, Puerto Rico

​Birth of the New World

 

A monument designed by a Russian artist honoring Christopher Columbus finally found a home in Arecibo, Puerto Rico.  This huge bronze sculpture stands in a field that anticipates to someday become a major tourist attraction for this Northern Puerto Rican  landscape. 

   The Christopher Columbus Monument was designed and constructed in 1991 to commemorate the 500^th year of his big discovery. This huge statue has 2750 parts of bronze and steel, measures 360 feet in height and weighs more than 650 tons. It is the tallest statue in North America and the fourth tallest in the world. 

   Since it’s construction in 1991 it has faced many obstacles to find a home. It was first offered to be erected in New York City but was rejected by the City Commissioners and the mayor as it would detract from the much shorter Statue of Liberty and the NYC skyline. 

   Next it was offered to Miami but they didn’t want because activists got their way, citing Columbus was a rapist and murderer. The Indians boycotted it, too. Then there was Fort Lauderdale, Columbus, Ohio and a few other places. Finally it was completed in Arecibo, Puerto Rico because the mayor thought it would be good for their economy. In September, the year after it was erected, Hurricane Maria came calling with a class 5 devastation and delayed the plans for surrounding development. The statue was unmoved by Maria. Not so lucky for everything else around it. 

   It appears to simply sit out there in the countryside attracting tourists and the curious. We stopped along the road and took pictures through the chained gate. Its an amazing sight to see. 

 

Luquillo Beach

​Luquillo Beach, Puerto Rico 

 

   We have rented a two bedroom condo, a beach house known as Bello Mar on Calle 1, Luquillo Beach. We are 24 miles east of San Juan. We are north of the main highway right on the Atlantic Ocean. We have no sandy beachfront, except during a minus tide. Those seem to occur after midnight. Otherwise the surf  is constantly pounding against the concrete wall protecting the grassy backyard. The crashing waves seem to be constant. I have dubbed this part of Luquillo. Angry Surf Beach because of the unending loud noise of the crashing waves. 

   The locals say that Luquillo Beach is among the prettiest. On the contrary, I have seen several beaches that are more appealing. For one thing, this beach is always littered with some kind of shredded sea weed that washes up at high tide. It has the appearance of crumbling fishing net. Very strange. 

   To our east, next door, a beach house still sits abandoned since Hurricane Maria took it out in 2017. The foundation washed out on the ocean side causing the whole house to appear as if sliding down an incline. The concrete house is rather small, with a concrete slab floor holding the house at an angle resembling a teeter totter on a playground. 

   This whole area from the highway to the beachfront is residential. It resembles a second world Barrio, with lots of chickens, crowing roosters and numerous barking dogs, about half roaming freely on the 3^rd world street. It’s always a chore walking the street with my Guide Dog, Toronto, just to cut across a basketball  area to get to 

a sandy beach. It’s like running a dog gauntlet. 

   Once on the sand the dogs are gone for the most part. A few yards down is a snack shop with chairs and benches.  This open air shop is a pleasant place to order food and drinks.  The menu is limited but what they do have is very tasty. 

   Farther down the beach is the Rio Grande river that dumps into the Atlantic.  At times it is not too deep.  Toronto and I crossed it twice already.  On the opposite side the forest canopy is thick and grown over.  There are many coconut trees around here.  One must be careful to not sit under a tree full of them!  You might end up with a smashing headache!  

   Farther down the beach, about a quarter mile is the huge Wyndham resort. We considered staying there for our month-long vacation, but decided it was too rich for our budget. At $400 a night plus amenities and $50 to $75 per couple for meals, one can see a huge invoice here!  We are frugal spenders, staying in more affordable places while still demanding clean, comfortable and spacious rooms.  So places like the Wyndham are nice but and necessary. Debby has always been our trip planner and does a great job for us. We enjoy traveling with Ron and Nancy Pinkerton, our traveling buddies. We do well together and enjoy visiting new places. Together we have traveled to more than 35 countries.

   Luquillo Beach is known for its60 kiosks right out  here on the highway. Driving by, they appear to be shacks but once inside, they are clean and well done. Many of them were for eating various food creations, while some are shops. As we returned home Sunday afternoon from Vieques, we were in awe at the number of cars parked at the kiosks. They are very popular and many people recommend their food. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast at one of the kiosks a few days ago. If we had our own car, we would probably eat there more often.  

   To get to the sandy beach to the west requires much more walking. It’s probably about 2 miles to the first kiosk. The beach along the west is very nice. it is more popular with people than the beach to the east. There are also more stores and places to eat towards the west.

                                                                                                                                                                                   

The Black Pearl

              ​Vieques   

 

   An hour’s ferry boat ride off the Southeastern coast of the Puerto Rico mainland is the island of Vieques. Somehow Debby found an apartment near the beach through a friend from our church. One of those daughter of a friend of a friend things. This little community is called Esperanza. We are not far from a beach that’s called Black Sand.  We found it’s location and parked our unique little rental car and walked the six minutes it took to reach Black Sand Beach. We were warned to not let our cell phones come into contact with the black sand. It is rich in iron and the charging port of a cell phone is magnetic. You can imagine the problems that might cause!  

   We joked a lot about our rental car. We got it not from a rental agency, but through a private person… You know, a friend of a friend of a friend kind of thing? The car was a little red Ford Bronco and had a few problems. The door hinges needed a soaking in WD-40. The brake pedal squeaked every time it was released. The car needed to have a new muffler. It sounded like a Harley Davidson going down the road. But the air conditioner worked, the car antenna wasn’t bent much and it never broke down. We felt good about that. 

   The 4.5 x 20 mile island is home to more than 2,000 free range Paso Fino horses. You could see them grazing along the streets and highways, in fields and on beaches checking out the surf. Three of them came to our hotel every morning to drink. The owner always had a bucket of water ready for them. The mare was pregnant and usually kept the two boys back away until she was ready to share her water. We could also pet them so that was fun. 

   Mosquito Bay is well known for its bioluminescent water. Our night-time boat ride on the bay was interesting. Each time the water is stirred, with a stick, a kayak paddle or a boat propeller, the water would glow. I don’t fully understand the scientific properties that create this phenomenon, like the calm conditions, salinity, temperature, vitamin B-12 and such, but it’s apparently a rare condition. There are only 5 places in the world with bioluminescent water and two of them are here in Puerto Rico. 

   Mosquito Bay was not named because of mosquitoes. Apparently, back in the 1800’s, a pirate with a small ship hid out in these waters. When a British or French vessel showed up, the pirate would sail out into the deeper water to be seen by them and then turn and lure them into the shallow bay. The larger ship would take chase and run aground in  the muddy bottom. The little pirate ship would ram the larger ship into its side with its sharp stern  causing it to take on water. The crews would panic and thinking they were sinking, bail  out to swim for shore. He then could plunder and steal all he wanted. His pirate ship was called the Mosquito. Thus the name, Mosquito Bay. So apparently, Hollywood took this story, place and time, embellished it somewhat  and created the movie, Pirates of the Caribbean. 

   We drove all around the island, visiting beaches, taking pictures and soaking in the warm sunshine. The Vieques port town was the largest settlement.  It is patrolled nightly by fancy cars and bikes booming loud music and roaring engines.  Loud horns seemed to Blair for no apparent reason, scaring the codgers walking along the sidewalk.  There were numerous food carts, trailers and grilles set up along the streets and parking lots of popular areas, selling tasty treats to tourists and locals.  Here, one could rent cars, bikes, golf carts and kayaks.  

   It was fun to explore this island and beautiful beaches.  Here, one s find white sand beaches, black sand beaches and brown sand beaches.  All of them were unique and beautiful.  The ocean was warm and inviting. It’s one of those places where  you could spend some time. 

Rainforest

​El Yunque National Forest

   The only tropical rainforest in a U.S. National Forest.   It is located outside of Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, a U.S. Territory.  Today we went to the Visitor’s Center to get a glimpse of this pristine rainforest.   

   El Yunque is a 28,000 acre block of public land located in the Sierra de Luquillo Mountains in northeastern Puerto Rico.  This lush jungle rainforest gets more than 200 inches of rainfall annually. Entrance reservations are required as this area is very popular with locals and tourists. Entrance tickets are free with a National Park Pass.  There are miles of hiking trails, waterfalls teeming with plant life, high canopy, wild tropical fruits and flowers. 

   At one time, according to the park’s staff member, native parrots were near to extinction, down to only about 60 remaining. They were captured and placed in an Aviary to be cared for by the experts. Today there are more than 600 in number. Soon, the parrots will be released back into the wild.  We were able to observe two of them at the visitors center through a blue veiled screen. 

   Today was a cloudy, overcast day with misting rain. It was a good day to visit a rainforest.  Even though it was cloudy and a bit foggy, we enjoyed the awesome views from the top of the nearly 600 foot high Yokahu Observation Tower.

Puerto Rico

​Puerto Rico.  

   Once again the Thomas/Pinkerton foursome are heading out of country for a while to bask in the warm sunshine of Puerto Rico, an American Territory in the Caribbean.  We leave behind the chilly, icy miserable cold of Northwest Arkansas and rough it for a couple of months in the warm tropics  of the Caribbean.  Our first stop for about 4 weeks is a beachfront condo on Luquillo Beach, just east of San Juan.  

   Here we go, up before the chickens to get to the Bentonville airport by 0430 for a United flight to Houston and then San Juan.  We boarded our plane at XNA and was told that due to a ground cancellation, we had to get back off and wait for a couple of hours until the FAA restores air transportation.  Apparently, a computer glitch shut down FAA’s computer system and all domestic flights were canceled for about two hours.  At 9:00 AM eastern time, the FAA would hope to have the computer problem fixed and we could resume.  It wasn’t only us experiencing the problem.  All domestic flights across the United States have been grounded until cleared by the FAA.  We didn’t really know why, so a myriad of thoughts hit us like a ton of bricks.  Was there another 9/11. Did Korea fire off a Ballistic Missiles   to our shores?  Did China get upset over high tariffs or lack of sales?  We were not happy about this as we thought we might miss our 10:30 flight from Huston to San Juan.  Fortunately that flight was also delayed two hours so we made it on board.

   We ]finally landed in San Juan about 8;:30.  We grabbed our luggage and called for a ride.  Taxi service to Luquillo Beach would cost us $186 according to an airport staff member. I checked on UBER. A minivan for 6 was $65. That was more like it!  The ride took about 20 minutes. Soon we were at the gate trying to find our key fob to gain entrance. 

   After finally locating our keys in an unmarked box that should have been marked 306, we were inside checking which entrance door opened with our key, as nothing was marked again. Luckily there were only 4 outside doors. Our key fit the third one. 

   Once inside, with no elevator and assuming Unit 306 would be on the third floor, we began carrying our luggage up 6 short flights of stairs to the top.. At the third floor landing, our key needed to fit one of two unmarked doors. The second one opened and we went inside our condo. 

   After checking our home for the next 4 weeks we called it a night and headed for bed. Fortunately it’s a two bedroom unit. We soon fell asleep, lulled to sleep by the sound of crashing waves, barking dogs and a noisy refrigerator motor. 

   Morning came and we were awakened very early by the sound of crowing roosters, barking dogs and crashing waves. After coffee we got an Uber and went to McDonalds for breakfast. Can you believe it?  McDonalds in Puerto Rico?  

   The grocery store was next on our list as we needed to stock up. Prices are very reasonable here. We relaxed a lot today. Hoping for a good night’s sleep. The local roosters vbegan crowing at 1:30, every hour until sun-up. If this keeps up, we may be having rooster for Sunday dinner!  

  

Biloxi Blind Rehab

​       

Taking a back seat. 

   As we all know, COVID-19 is blamed for the failures of nearly everything. My nephew, David, told me that no one has died of old age for the past 3 years!  Well, we all know  that isn’t true but whenever our medical institutions are financially compensated for COVID-19 related deaths, why not make a few bucks by reporting it that way?

   The VA-run Blind Rehab facilities across the US are serving our blind, legally blind and low vision Veteran’s by teaching various things that gives them confidence in performing everyday tasks that sighted folks often take for granted. So we can officially blame COVID-19 for delays in getting certain kinds of help. 

   As Macular Degeneration continues to take my central vision, I find myself drawn towards this kind of help. Somewhere along the way, that independent spirit of, “Get back. I can do it myself”, starts to take a back seat. That independent spirit doesn’t completely fade away.  We simply hide it away until we feel the need to try it on once in a while. We are learning to rely more and more on help from caretakers, spouses or friends.  We try not to be proud, as difficult it is, so we even accept help from medical professionals and perfect strangers. 

   With all that said, in 2018 I found myself applying to attend a Blind  Rehab facility in Tacoma, Washington. I spent two months inside this rehab facility learning skills to help me be more useful around the  house, more independent in walking around town; to best use my  remaining vision through magnification, lighting and image enhancement. It was an amazing adventure, opening up a whole new world to me. 

   Fast forward four years and I find myself once again applying for a refresher course at the Gulf Coast Blind Rehab facility in Biloxi, Mississippi. I spent one month sharpening my skills in computer, Mobility,  Visual, Living, and Manual Skills classes. 

   At any one time we generally had 8 Veteran’s taking classes. We were all in varying conditions of health, abilities and eyesight. Two were totally blind while probably three or four were legally blind. The others were low vision.  I’m not sure what that means as one man had his car with him which he drove himself home on weekends. Some were in wheelchairs, some with walkers, two used the white Canes but could readily walk without help. Each of us were taught one-on-one, learning skills tailored towards our own needs. We learned at our own pace and were fitted with devices that best suited our own needs. 

   Overall, the staff was great. There were a few nurses who did not impress me. They probably knew how to do their jobs  but they failed  to meet my expectations, as compared to my previous rehab. Because I had an excellent experience at the American Lakes Blind Rehab in Tacoma, I was probably more critical at first . I was looking for anything less than Tacoma. I soon let go and relaxed my expectations.  For instance, I mentally criticized the house keeper for doing a poor job of cleaning my floor. Every time I removed my shoes and walked barefoot I could feel a sandy grit. This went on for ten days.  I was about ready to complain until I realized I was tracking in fresh sand every time I took my Guide Dog outside to do his business. After that, I was more careful to clean my shoes and the floor got better because the cleaning lady was doing her job. 

   The food was another story. Everyone complained about the food. Rightfully so because it was consistently tasteless, bland and often cold. The morning coffee was watered down and usually lukewarm. I will refrain from going into great detail. The staff already knew about the food from previous veterans and apologized that nothing has been done about it. I will say that I lost 4 pounds the first week!

   Our instructors were everything except bland.  Their personalities were genuine.  Their knowledge was on target and we found it easy to learn from them.  Although my computer skills instructor was legally blind, she was amazingly sharp.  I was desiring to learn keyboard shortcuts for Windows and Zoomtext.  She also taught me shortcuts for a program software called Fusion.  It is similar to Zoomtext but with so much more potential.  Her name was Rena.  She was of Cambodian descent; a brown skinned beauty whose parents barely escaped the Khmer Rouge back in the day.  She was born in this country and has never visited her homeland.  I told her about Cambodia farmlands that I could see from the air on  our recon missions back in 1970.  I think she liked hearing about her homeland.

   Brandon was my Living Skills instructor at the beginning. My schedule got changed on my second day and Brandon turned me over to Jessica, a young lady just getting started as an Intern.  The staff really liked her and she will probably find a good home at this place.  Jessica was teaching about the use and care of domestic skills, especially cooking.  I used an air fryer for the most part, although I cooked a delicious omelet on the electric range.  My shrimp kabob’s and cinnamon rolls turned out nicely.  I enjoyed the fruits of this class as my cooking was on the level of chef status compared to Biloxi hospital food!  I complimented Jessica on her knowledge and professionalism; the respect she showed me and the patience she had with us as we made mistakes in the kitchen.  She also had the perfect voice.  As an old timer, my hearing is fading.  The sounds hardest for me to hear are the higher pitched tones of a woman’s voice.  She had a dusky voice just perfectly pitched for my ears.  She also spoke slowly and distinctly.

   All of my instructors were very good and I gave all of them high praise.  Destin, Megan, Crystal, and Jean were  all amazingly patient and understanding.  Their knowledge was of the highest standard and more importantly, they were eager to share their knowledge with us. All of our questions were answered which completed our training. 

   The nursing staff watched out for us.  Sometimes they would enter our room to take our vitals, weigh us, do a COVID swab or simply to check and see if we needed anything.  

   On the afternoon of my second Thursday I came down with something that gave me chills without a fever and nausea for a few hours causing me to toss my cookies.  My gut feeling was that I had a reaction to the flu shot that they gave me a day or two before.  I blame the nausea part on that hospital cuisine.  At any rate, I called in the nurses.  Two of them came to my room for a checkup.  With my blood pressure and other vitals in order, they brought me extra blankets to help me keep warm.  I snuggled under those all night except when I got up to toss a few more cookies.

   The next morning at 0600, Charlie came in, apologized for what he was about to do, and gave me a deep brain swab for Covid.  I skipped my first couple of classes, took a long, hot shower and visited the head nurse at 0930.  She said I was clean.  No sign of the flu or Covid.  I did feel better but opted to skip my next class just to make sure I did not pass anything while I was in class.  About 11:00 Charlie came in and told me the nurse had decided to quarantine me for the weekend.  They would bring me my meals and get me anything else I would need.  

   It was a long weekend, for sure.  I had no one to talk to but Siri and Alexa.  They were good with me taking Toronto outside to do his business anytime he needed to go. So I did.  Early Monday morning a nurse came in at 6:00 and swabbed me for COVID-19. A couple of hours later they told me that I did not have the flu or Covid and I was clear to go to class.

   Needless to say, I was not happy with the head nurse and her call on this.  There was no need to quarantine me for something I didn’t have.  My health was good all weekend.I give the head nurse, whom I referred to as the Warden, a 2 on a scale of 10 being the best.  She made a bad call and never spoke to me the entire remainder of my days in Rehab.  

   Other than that, things looked up and I completed all of my goals on time.  Brandon, my team coordinator, came by daily to talk to me and let me know what was going on with me.  He scheduled me for classes and let me know when other staff needed to meet with me. 

   Audiology tested me for new hearing aids and gave them to me just a couple of days before I left.  The other devices I received will enable me to be more independent and useful.  The computer with the Microsoft software is already coming in handy as I am in the process of writing my life story.  Other tools will help me read a street sign or gate number for my flight.  Now I have no excuse if I accidentally walk into the Ladies Room at the airport by mistake!

 

  

   

   

 

Endless Vacation

​The Resort. 

   The Thomas’s may not be traveling the world this summer but we are enjoying extended vacationing at the private Thomas Resort in NW Arkansas. This is a working resort and there is always much to do. 

   Debby has been keeping busy in her designer garden. A walkway through the roses has been created using pea gravel and memory stones of special people in her life. Colorful roses and a variety of colorful flowers makes her garden a special place for the senses. A birdbath with a floating solar powered fountain provides a unique option for bathing birds. A white porch swing with its own unique frame provides a relaxing place to stop and smell the roses. The “U” shaped arbor over the sidewalk alongside the garden will someday be covered in climbing roses. It is still in progress. Debby has dozens of pots with a myriad of flowers and ferns. Young plants fill the flower beds,waiting to grow up and fill in the space. 

   I am busy growing my vegetable garden, battling invasive weeds and tenacious Bermuda grass, in whose territory I carved out this piece of garden.   I should have installed the rabbit fence before planting my baby plants that I started from seed. The rabbits especially loved my two dozen tomato plants, half my sweet corn, watermelon, cantaloupe and cucumbers. Note to self:  “Never plant your corn before you plant your rabbit fence”!

   I am hoping to have a good return on my investment, however. The potatoes are looking healthy and currently blooming. Half my remaining sweet corn looks good. I may even get enough to have the Pinkerton’s over for dinner!  I bought more tomatoes and are half the size they should be at this stage. Cucumbers are coming along. Two rows of strawberries never survived. Okra is about seven inches high. One carrot survived. Onions look good. Squash is coming along. I might get enough to make a nice salad someday. 

   I have two varieties of Blueberries. I bought four plants this Spring. The plants are only 14” high but I see 4 or 5 berries already!  Almost enough for a pie!

   My 3 two-year old Concord grape vines are loaded this year!  The birds and I are very optimistic!

   My two apple trees are apparently dwarfed due to the hard freeze two years ago. I bought six Heritage fruit trees from Trees of Antiquity in California. As it turned out, T of A replaced two trees because they never leafed out or had any sign of life. The two cherry trees had a spark of life and produced a couple of leaves but they succumbed to a slow death over the summer. I reported this to aTA but because they had some life in them, they would not replace them under warranty.  The two apple trees are stumped and look damaged. They do have leaves but appear to be unhealthy. 

   Trees of Antiquity gave me credit for the two peach trees so I reordered thus Spring. As an option ordered one peach and one nectarine tree as they can be cross pollinated. I am very pleased to say these two trees are outgrowing the others by leaps and bounds!  They look extremely healthy this first year of growth. I have not replaced the two cherries yet. Still thinking about it. 

   I still mow my own 1-acre lawn. I like my new John Deere riding lawn mower. It’s the only thing they let me drive!  

   We love our swimming pool. It is a refreshing place to cool on a hot day!  It’s like lounging around the pool at a resort!  

   Except for the hard work, it’s like an   endless vacation!