The last leg…..finally. Hard to believe we’ve finally gotten to this point but here we are! Eight of us boarded the Cape Air flight at San Juan International Airport for Vieques Island. Each of us upon check in had to give our weight as well as have our bags weighed so the weight on the plane could be evenly distributed…..I wonder if any of us told the truth???? When we got on the twin propeller plane, the pilot announced that someone needed to take the vacant seat behind the pilot so Jim kindly offered his services. That left a seat open next to me as well as one behind. Now, you have to understand that the other couples all seemed to be either newlyweds or had just met, as evidenced by the constant hand holding and fawning over one another. Well, the couple to my left and behind me were no exception: No sooner was our tiny plane air bound than the guy next to me stretched his leg out between the seats in front of us and eased back into his seat and partway into mine while his blonde love interest put her leg up on his and proceeded to give him a scalp massage. I say scalp massage, but it was more like mental foreplay by the look of ecstasy he had across his face. And there I was, not really wanting to look out the window too much for fear of triggering a spell of vertigo but at the same time feeling like I needed to avert my eyes from their intimate bonding and all of this taking place in a space about the size of my 1980 Honda Civic! Aye Carumba……..anyhoo, the flight was about as long as the flight seeing tour we took over Seattle on Kenmore Air, about 22 minutes. Not too high, which I liked because it provided a beautiful view of the blue green Caribbean Ocean where you could see the reefs and other interesting underwater topography as you flew over and the weather was nice and calm which made for a much smoother flight for sure. There were a few thunderheads as we flew into Puerto Rico which you can see from the pictures here, but these didn't cause any problems......
At any rate, before long, Vieques came into view and as we banked and turned, the airstrip appeared below us and we were on the ground, which was a good thing since I was beginning to think the oxygen level in our little airborne canister was going to be completely depleted. I guess on these small planes they can’t really open the windows and there didn’t appear to be any sort of ventilation system that I could tell. Ah, fresh air!! Fresh…..hot….sticky…..humid air! Hmmm……how much aspirin could we take to thin our Northwest blood, which likely had the consistency of clam chowder, I wondered??? Our bags were cheerfully delivered to us from the nose of the airplane and we proceeded into the one room terminal. After a short wait Jess showed up with her 18 month old to pick us up. Jess and her husband Rory have been running La Finca for the last five months or so, and from all appearances have been doing an AMAZING job. After greetings were exchanged, we headed to the pickup truck. Yes, the vehicle that La Finca owns is a standard pick up truck with two very small seats behind the driver and passenger, and it was into this small space that I squeezed myself, sharing the space with Avery, the 18 month old while Jim sat up front with Jess. Packed in the back like a sweaty sardine, I did my best to participate in the conversation as she updated us on some of the things we needed to know about the truck:……when you drive the truck, try not park on a slope since the emergency brake doesn’t work…….we took the fuse out that operates the windshield wipers and the speedometer because it keeps beeping even when the truck is turned off - but it’s #25 and you can just pop it back in if it starts to rain - we keep it here in the cup holder…….the clutch will probably need to be replaced in the next few months…….as my brain cells began to wilt from this litany of automotive terrors, I reassured myself with the knowledge that at least I could remember how to drive a stick shift if I thought about it! Sounds like the weather in the tropics can be pretty rough on vehicles.
The rest of the afternoon was fairly uneventful…..we got settled in our place, drove to the grocery store to stock up on essentials - peanut butter and jelly - and several bottles of wine…..and vodka…..
We had been under the impression that La Finca had gotten the wireless system set up before we arrived but sadly, that was not the case. Rory, Jess’s husband, had set up an air card to use for the internet, but as we got to press, that’s all they have. Works fine, though, and we’ll just share the air card until they leave next week. I do think this will be something we’ll have to explore further, though.
It’s’ going to be an interesting 3 months for sure!!
At any rate, before long, Vieques came into view and as we banked and turned, the airstrip appeared below us and we were on the ground, which was a good thing since I was beginning to think the oxygen level in our little airborne canister was going to be completely depleted. I guess on these small planes they can’t really open the windows and there didn’t appear to be any sort of ventilation system that I could tell. Ah, fresh air!! Fresh…..hot….sticky…..humid air! Hmmm……how much aspirin could we take to thin our Northwest blood, which likely had the consistency of clam chowder, I wondered??? Our bags were cheerfully delivered to us from the nose of the airplane and we proceeded into the one room terminal. After a short wait Jess showed up with her 18 month old to pick us up. Jess and her husband Rory have been running La Finca for the last five months or so, and from all appearances have been doing an AMAZING job. After greetings were exchanged, we headed to the pickup truck. Yes, the vehicle that La Finca owns is a standard pick up truck with two very small seats behind the driver and passenger, and it was into this small space that I squeezed myself, sharing the space with Avery, the 18 month old while Jim sat up front with Jess. Packed in the back like a sweaty sardine, I did my best to participate in the conversation as she updated us on some of the things we needed to know about the truck:……when you drive the truck, try not park on a slope since the emergency brake doesn’t work…….we took the fuse out that operates the windshield wipers and the speedometer because it keeps beeping even when the truck is turned off - but it’s #25 and you can just pop it back in if it starts to rain - we keep it here in the cup holder…….the clutch will probably need to be replaced in the next few months…….as my brain cells began to wilt from this litany of automotive terrors, I reassured myself with the knowledge that at least I could remember how to drive a stick shift if I thought about it! Sounds like the weather in the tropics can be pretty rough on vehicles.
The rest of the afternoon was fairly uneventful…..we got settled in our place, drove to the grocery store to stock up on essentials - peanut butter and jelly - and several bottles of wine…..and vodka…..
We had been under the impression that La Finca had gotten the wireless system set up before we arrived but sadly, that was not the case. Rory, Jess’s husband, had set up an air card to use for the internet, but as we got to press, that’s all they have. Works fine, though, and we’ll just share the air card until they leave next week. I do think this will be something we’ll have to explore further, though.
It’s’ going to be an interesting 3 months for sure!!
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