Have you missed me? A lot has been happening since we landed in San Juan. Like, A LOT. Here are some of the highlights:

  • The dogs are four weeks into their quiet recovery period following a multi-night stay at the animal hospital to treat their heartworms. Since the introduction of the worm-killing poison, its been our job to keep their heart rates as low as possible for 4-6 weeks, so the worms will disintegrate gradually. They are doing great – you’d never know there is something wrong with them. We’re thrilled about that, of course, but it’s also kind of a problem because, guess what? It’s a total pain in the ass keeping two energetic dogs quiet, especially when there’s a stray cat living under every car and bush when we take them out to do their business. It’s a frustrating time for everyone, and we can’t wait to move past this chapter in their lives.
  • While the dogs were in the hospital, Brian and I sprang into action mode to secure an apartment. The San Juan Bay Marina is a noisy/busy place with lots of activity to bark at, and we worried about their recovery (Marigot especially, being the protector of the two) in that environment. We settled on the Old City, found a furnished home built in the 1500’s for rent, and scrambled to pull together the insurance and documents necessary to close the deal.  As New Yorkers accustomed to a cutthroat real estate climate, this seemed totally normal to us, but our broker and our landlord seemed taken aback by our sense of urgency. We signed the agreement, hopped into our rental car, drove over to the vet, grabbed the dogs, and brought them home to our new place in Old San Juan. Mission accomplished!
  • Nico is reveling in land life. We’ve never seen him so happy. It’s making me feel really guilty about forcing him to live on the boat.
  • We are using the Masters of Memory method to finally learn Spanish.
  • We were inundated with inquiries from potential buyers for Nightingale Tune. I was feeling overwhelmed by it all, until out of the crowd emerged the most perfect family who couldn’t wait to fly down for a walk-through. They came to see her, fell in love, and now she is under contract. I am feeling all of the feels over this new development.
  • Brian flew back to New York for a week to attend a family wedding, and I stayed home with the pets. While he was gone, I worked the soil on a biodynamic coffee farm (more on that soon), attended a fun Cinco de Mayo party on my neighbors’ rooftop, finally got my hair styled and colored, did research for the business I’m starting, and enjoyed a girls’ day out with Jennifer from s/v Corpse Pounder. It feels weird to be keeping a calendar again, but I’m enjoying how it feels to be busy.
  • We’ve had a steady stream of cruiser friends visiting as of late. Some are passing through San Juan Bay en route to the Bahamas and the US, while others have, like us, stopped cruising and put down roots here in Puerto Rico. We are so grateful for all of these friends, who have helped keep us sane in the face of craziness by reminding us to stop and enjoy our new surroundings. After all, it’s the Puerto Rican way.

Which brings me to my last point – a question that keeps coming up – what shall become of the blog? Honestly, I’ve been struggling for inspiration lately. Do you, my readers, care about this next chapter and our increasingly normal lives?

Cómo se dice “Spanish lessons?”

Last baths before their heartworm treatments for quite a long while.

Post treatment mutt butts. There’s a shaved spot for each injection they received during their stay at the vet.

And speaking of new hair styles, I finally made it to the beauty parlor. This was taken after she chopped off 6 inches!

Our block

Nuestra casa

Living room

The apartment is long and skinny. We separated it with a gate to give Nico his own space where Cole and Marigot cannot bother him.

Pineapple plant on the porch

One of many neighborhood cats that visits our porch

A fantastic day out with the crews of s/v Selah and s/v Ruby Rose as they passed through San Juan

Old friends turned marina neighbors – Jennifer, John, and Jack of Corpse Pounder. It’s been beyond awesome that we all decided to settle in Puerto Rico!

We hosted a gathering with a mission to finish all of the beer left in our boat fridge. We were joined by our friends Marjolaine and Mike – who used to sail on s/v Basta (way back when) who recently settled in Puerto Rico, Alli and Dave of s/v AlliOop, Cheri and her husband Alan (not pictured) of s/v Consort

We’d been so busy getting settled, a whole month flew by without us setting foot on a beach. We decided to change that and met our buds from Corpse Pounder for lunch in this beautiful little spot.