The Second Web Address

The Christmas presents included the aforementioned bottle of sunscreen for the whole family with a web address. The presents also included a bottle of bubbles which had a web address.  The bubbles were for Allie and Caroline, and the web address was for a Scuba company on Vieques, Isla Nena Scuba.  Bryce stayed with us in Puerto Rico for one week, and after he left the girls stayed on for 2 additional weeks.  It was that first weekend with only the girls that we hopped a ferry from Fajardo to the tiny island of Vieques on a Friday evening to stay through Monday.

Jon is scuba certified, and the process is deservedly intense. He encouraged the girls to become certified, but with school and activities that proved to be challenging.  Never to be deterred, Jon signed the girls and he up for a one day instructor-led dive that can be done without being fully certified.  They were up at 7 am and headed to Mosquito Pier. This pier is a gift to Puerto Ricans and tourists alike from the United States Navy.  It's a jetty that extends a 1/2 mile into the ocean.  To the Navy it is an unfinished project, but to marine life it is a playground - therefore, likewise to snorklers and scuba divers.  

Allie started the day very excited and Caroline a little more afraid that equalizing the pressure in her ears would be a challenge.  Jon reports, "She had nothing to worry about!" The instructional part of the day consisted of a two hour tutorial on how the gear works, underwater communication, effects of pressure, and how to handle emergency situations.  From there, the trio and their guide did two dives. The first dive at 25ft remained instructional in nature.  Putting their new skills to the test by getting comfortable underwater, learning how to adjust their buoyancy and finding that sweet spot where your breathing is both controlled and relaxed. The second dive was the reason you go under.  Going further out under the pier and below water from 30 - 45 ft, Jon and the girls swam with sea turtles, saw octopus, and tons and tons of fish. Their favorite was the bold and goofy puffer fish.  Other fish steer clear of the human invaders, but not the puffer fish who swims right up to humans to get their own good look.

As any parent to teenagers knows, the moments you genuinely enjoy your experiences with them can be hard to find.  Jon was thrilled to get to engage in a truly unique experience with the girls and hopes it ignites their flame to get fully certified and experience more locations from under the sea.

Since we're talking about fish and other wildlife....

Things to know about animals on Vieues: 

• there are wild horses EVERYWHERE.  And people still keep their own horses as a means of transportation. On the Malecon (Spanish for boardwalk) - there are locations to tie up your horse while you get a drink, have dinner, or browse.  
• Cats, cats, and more cats.  There is no shortage of cats in Puerto Rico, but we got even more up close and personal at our home away from home, The Esperanza Inn, as they are a cat sanctuary.  One cat adopted us and spent most of our stay in our room.
• And the Roosters...  Those of us who have not lived next to roosters are led to believe that they are countryside alarm clocks, crowing at dawn so we may all get up and seize the day.  Not so!  Roosters crow all day and night long.  In order to get some rest after the first night of learning this fact the hard way, the windows were closed, and the AC was on.

From Vieques - for so many reasons, you don't need a watch.

I apologize that this entry does not have photos.  Caroline has a GoPro underwater camera and did take some really cool shots. The camera is with her in Maine, and when we are reunited, I will add photos to this entry.