May 2009 - Caribbean Compass

MAY 2009 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 20
DESTINATIONS
Splendido, anchored in San Juan Harbor off the fishermen’s dock where we found a friendly welcome
Give Puerto Rico a Chance
by Jeremy Smith
I’d never thought of Puerto Rico as a very welcoming
place. Whenever it was mentioned in conversation, the
first image that would pop into my head involved a
shady character selling stolen Rolex watches in a dark
alley. I had been to this island many times, although
my experience there usually consisted of nothing more
than grabbing a meal at the airport’s food court while
waiting for a connecting flight.
In December of 2007, I sailed to Puerto Rico’s capital
of San Juan on S/V Splendido, a Beneteau 57 on
which I work. Splendido’s owner, Michael, and I were
to spend New Years’ Eve there with several friends who
were flying in to meet us for the holiday.
We anchored near the San Juan Bay Marina and took
the dinghy to shore for the evening so we could get our
bearings. As we walked out of the marina and through
a Sizzler Restaurant parking lot, our preconceptions of
Puerto Rico were almost immediately confirmed.
We began walking along a dirty four-lane highway
toward downtown Old San Juan. Along the two-mile
walk through a ghetto, we walked through several
floods as raw sewage bubbled out of manholes. We
were approached by beggars and offered various
creative substances as we walked along the pitchblack
street. Michael and I thought, “Yup, this is
Puerto Rico.”
QUIET CLEAN POWER
Generating 135 hp at a modest 2600 rpm in a 6 liter engine ensures
a long life in a bullet proof package.
This naturally aspirated engine boasts premium engine features for reliability, minimal down time and
service costs. It’s operator and environment friendly with low noise and low emissions achieved with the
new 'QUADRAM' combustion system and fully closed breather system.
The M135 is an excellent repower choice. One of the most compact packages in its class, it has been
designed to permit a wide range of operating angles and also offers easy access to all routine servicing
points in either single or twin installations.
High capacity heat exchange equipment with cupro-nickel tube stacks ensure low component operating
temperatures for exceptionally reliable and durable performance. Leak free operation is ensured by an
integral plate oil cooler and special crankshaft seals giving protection in the toughest conditions.
Competitive engine and parts pricing, extended service intervals and exceptionally low fuel consumption
make the M135 a cost effective choice with significant owner savings over alternative engines.
Call us on (284) 494 2830 for a dealer near you.
M65 M92B M115T M135 M225Ti M265Ti M300Ti
Sabre M135
The next day, we mustered up the courage to make
the trek to Old San Juan again and became determined
to find a way to anchor Splendido closer to the
downtown area prior to our guests’ arrival. We had
been impressed by Old San Juan, but weren’t so crazy
about the trek to get there from the marina.
We came across a fisherman’s village, Villa Pesquera,
near Fort El Morro and noticed they had a small dock.
We approached the locked gate and asked a fisherman
if we would be allowed to use the dock for our dinghy. At
first he was a bit hesitant, as he explained in very limited
English that they had a dangerous watchdog and
their dock was broken. Eventually, he agreed and we
later moved the boat so it was anchored out of the shipping
channel and in front of their property. We anchored
in front of the fishermen’s village at GPS coordinates
18.27.740N, 66.07.196W. The location is approximately
three quarters of a nautical mile up the channel from the
first set of markers and on the port side.
Within a few hours, the fishermen had gone out to
the local hardware store and happily made us a copy
of the key to their gate. They spent most of the next
day repairing their dock specifically for us and did a
beautiful job. Throughout our weeklong stay there,
they were as friendly and helpful as they possibly
could have been. We developed friendships with many
of them. We even bought some treats for their dog,
Bong-Bong, but unfortunately he never showed too
much enthusiasm.
Little did we know, our great experiences in Puerto
Rico were only beginning. Whenever we went out in
town, the friendly locals almost constantly greeted
us. If we needed information about something or
even looked like we might be lost, someone was there
to help.
To ring in the New Year, we went into Old San Juan
with our guests, expecting a party resembling Mardi
Gras. After all, we assumed, “This is Puerto Rico.
These locals all must be party animals!” We were surprised
to see very few people out on the street, and
many of the bars and restaurants were actually closed.
We learned that the Puerto Ricans actually view New
Year’s Eve as a holiday that should be spent at home
with their families, not the typical partyers’ paradise
seen in so many other places. There were no wild parties
to be discovered, but it was refreshing to find a
place that still prioritizes family values over drinking.
Once the holiday was over, Michael and I had to visit
San Juan’s US Coast Guard Base to take care of some
administrative business with our captain’s licenses.
Concerned about the red tape we were about to
endure, we went to find the office, get fingerprinted,
and fill out a couple of forms. Security reluctantly permitted
us to enter the complex and directed us to the
appropriate office.
We entered and sat across from a man who, at first,
seemed like a strict administrator. We started making
conversation with him, and before we knew it we had
learned much about his family and culture. The whole
bureaucratic process would normally have taken no
more than a half hour, but instead we were in the
office for almost three hours socializing. Before we left,
we had become his newest friends.
We returned to Puerto Rico again in December 2008
and visited Fajardo, a port on the island’s eastern coast.
—Continued on next page