I am posting this again, as the first upload seems to have failed.

R401 Part 4

HELLOOOOO SAN JUAN, capital of Puerto Rico! A US territory but not a state (I dunno either).

Bye bye cold water from the taps.

THIS is sunshine. Proper. Blue sky. Much humidity. Good breeze.

Even the roof is now mended and open! Let the holiday commence!

I have wanted to see San Juan in Puerto Rico ever since I was a little girl and my mum gave me the Broadway recording of West Side Story on cassette. 

Puerto Rico,

You lovely island . . .

Island of tropical breezes.

Always the pineapples growing,

Always the coffee blossoms blowing . . .

Puerto Rico . . .

You ugly island . . .

Island of tropic diseases.

Always the hurricanes blowing,

Always the population growing . . .

And the money owing,

And the babies crying,

And the bullets flying.

I like the island Manhattan.

Smoke on your pipe and put that in!

I like to be in America!

O.K. by me in America!

Ev’rything free in America

For a small fee in America!

I like the city of San Juan.

I know a boat you can get on.

Hundreds of flowers in full bloom.

Hundreds of people in each room!

…

When I will go back to San Juan.

When you will shut up and get gone?

Everyone there will give big cheer!

Everyone there will have moved here!

Those were some of the first lyrics I ever learned by heart (excluding songs and hymns at school). I played that song until the tape stretched. So finally coming here felt like quite a big deal to me.

Too hot.  Much too hot. Normally, we’d have built up to this gradually, via sunnier but more northerly climes, such as Bermuda or Madeira or Florida. But the weather has been so grey and miserable, that we’ve built up no tolerance to the sun. And now, it is hitting us, hard. It is FIERCELY hot today, and we’re not ready for it! I’m not anyway.  It was so hot on deck, that Dad thought the roof was still closed! Yes, that stifling.  He came back from his morning recce complaining about living in a greenhouse.  Luckily, as the roof WAS now open – for the first time since the replacement part boarded at Southampton – it wasn’t nearly as humid as it could have been! But the sun was white hot, and beating down like it was trying to make up for three weeks’ of lost time in one afternoon.  Most found it too hot to sunbathe, and retreated to the shade.

Anyway, I ventured ashore alone and pottered on the quayside (read: carried out an air con crawl along the shops).  Although this is, ostensibly/ to all intents and purposes, the USA, it is still an island, so prices were not low.  There were also three other ships in at the same time, so virtually everyone I saw was a tourist, mostly Americans – friendly bunch, as usual.  This is a prosperous town, not ugly but not pretty like the NOLA French Quarter, for example. There are a few forts and things to go and look at but it’s not a particularly historic kind of a place. For example, this was not Aurora’s maiden call here, but there were only seven excursions available to choose from. Tomorrow, in St Maarten, there are fifteen. With a ‘rainforest drive’, a shopping mall, a flamenco guitar show and a ‘gastronomic experience’, they were really trying, but it doesn’t seem a particularly interesting place. The largest property on the waterfront was Señor Frog’s, which is a chain of mahogany-panelled, air conditioned bars. Most Americans just seem to come ashore, stock up on crisps and wine and get back on board! I went into two pharmacies and pretty much all they were selling was Doritos!

Being America-ish, they understand the concept of helping the disabled get around. There are dipped kerbs, and most places are either level or ramped entry. However, they haven’t quite grasped the need for SEATING. Which is a shame. Nor do the elderly or infirm get priority at the tills. Which is just thoughtless.

Then I strolled back along the quayside to the ship, past some perfectly touristy market stalls, which allowed me to buy some souvenirs for friends and a fridge magnet for us.  Getting back on board, into the air con, was such a relief. I felt so ridiculous. I mean, this is what we’re here for, isn’t it?! To escape the fact that it’s single digits in the UK right now?! So why on earth am I grumpy about it being 28 in the shade?! And not just me; virtually everyone I spoke to on board was similarly whingey. Well, mostly because humans are contrary buggers, at the best of times. But also because, unfortunately, you can have too much of a good thing!

Interestingly, when they made the film of West Side Story, four years after the Broadway soundtrack was such a roaring success, Sondheim changed the lyrics of America.

Puerto Rico,

My heart’s devotion—

Let it sink back in the ocean.

Always the hurricanes blowing,

Always the population growing,

And the money owing,

And the sunlight streaming,

And the natives steaming.

So maybe the locals find it a bit hard to bear, as well!

Anyway, hopefully, my system will have learned from today and be more grateful tomorrow in St Maarten. Hopefully.