Celebrations

Jan. 10, 2009

Although Culebra is not exactly a hotbed of social activity or cultural institutions, we have been here for some major celebrations that have given us memories we will always hold dear. First there was the exciting challenge of preparing for and celebrating Christmas in a campground (Santa left gifts and filled our stocking hung in the little 'porch' of our tent); then the huge New Year's party we danced the night away at, along with the rest of the island's population (those Latin dance lessons on the cruise ship could not have been timed better); after that we learned about and shared in Three King's Day; and then the following day was Cachell's 9th birthday.

Because we usually prolong birthday celebrations over a couple of days, we decided to take a trip into Fajardo on the mainland the day before Three Kings day to get supplies for the birthday 'party' and see a movie as part of the celebration. This involved getting up at 5:00 a.m. to catch the 6:00 ferry to the mainland; getting ready to go anywhere is always a challenge as the biggest mirror in the campground is my 2" x 3" make-up compact, but at 5:00 it was impossible to even see to put my contacts in!

Our main excitement on the mainland was furnished by grocery shopping in Wal-Mart, a place I usually avoid like the plague, but which was a cornucopia of choice after the bare bones provisions offered at Culebra's little shops! We then went for a birthday lunch at a Ponderosa restaurant, which was exactly like the one in Regina Mitch and I remembered going to as kids, right down to the salad bar, and seemed a major treat after our camp meals. (Puerto Rico seems to be largely like the culture
of small-city Saskatchewan in the 1970's.) The highlight was supposed to be going to a movie in the theatre next door, our first in six months... but the birthday girl didn't see much of the show. I had been surprised that none of us had been sick in any way despite all the changes in water and the exposure to new strains of illness that travelling inevitably produces -- until that day. My first inkling that all was not well was when Cachell refused any popcorn as the movie started; the next thing, she and I were running to the bathroom where she was very sick. This was repeated at least six times during the movie, in the taxi on the way to the ferry, at the ferry station, and then on the ferry... where she finally fell asleep. Poor little girl. Lochlan was sick once in the night, so I don't know what they ate or were exposed to, but thankfully it didn't become the full-fledged family epidemic I was afraid of!


Cachell was well enough to go to the Three King's celebration when she woke up, and then the following day we invited our friends from Argentina over for a birthday lunch. I'm not sure what they think of Canadian cuisine, as we had all the party food Cachell asked for, including jello (a bit of a challenge with only a cooler, but I managed!), and biscuits baked and slightly singed over a fire! But it was a fun time, and then we spent the afternoon swimming and playing on the beach. When I think of the hassle and work that go into the normal birthday party or Christmas celebration I marvel at how much fun we can have so simply...




Jan. 18, 2009

One of the great things about Culebra is its simplicity; it is largely undeveloped, and the one attempt at an up-market resort-style complex was reportedly cursed. Clearly it is affected by something, as it is big and beautiful... and largely empty. We met an American tourist who drove out there with her daughters and found it completely deserted and strangely eerie.

The most popular place in town is a strange little hotel and bar/restaurant called "Mamacita's", which is sort of a hodgepodge of pastel-coloured buildings. Every Saturday night (since apparently forever), a trio of local guys get together here and play amazing drum music.



We decided to make a night of it and for the first time, headed into town for supper. We all gamely started to walk in the three miles, but we got picked up by a passing vehicle as is usually the case on our hikes into town. (We would never have considered a three-mile walk when we started this trip, but now it is really no big deal, and we are in such good shape!) The "Dinghy-Dock" is another one of the town institutions we had heard about, so we headed there for supper. The menu was very simple, but it was all very good, and the freshly caught red snapper was absolutely superb. The main attraction, however, was the fact that we were sitting right on a dock with the water below, and swimming in the water were a number of huge four-foot fish called tarpins, which looked very much like small sharks. They kept the kids amused through supper, and then we walked over to Mamcitas in time to get excellent seats for the drumming.


We actually had met one of the drummers named George (pronounced 'Yorhay' in the Spanish fashion) when we stopped at his shop to admire his artwork, and he was very kind and chatty with the kids. And man, could those guys play. By this time it was after 9:00 p.m., and after a day of playing in the water the kids were pretty tired, so we just sat back and watched and clapped as others danced and whooped and hollered -- it was great fun. To our surprise and delight we actually knew several of the people who were there, and it was such a warm feeling to be welcomed and chatted to like old friends. We are as much a part of the community here in four weeks as we were after four years in Edmonton... it is so sad that this old-fashioned sense of community doesn't seem to exist in North American cities anymore. It's really something to strive for -- why else are we on this planet?