Potato

No, this is not about the vegetable. It is to introduce you to Potato aka Tater. He is a one year old Chiweenie and belongs to mom and dad, Jenna and Ron next door.

Tater is a gentle, happy, and very lucky dog. He is also very well behaved.

They all travel as a family and Potato likes long days running on the beach and hiking. He is here on a month long holiday.

After leaving the island on January 11th, they will return home to the Mt. Shasta area of California (cold there now) and then head to Baja until the end of March.

Some days Tater just comes home dog tired.

Who said a dog's life was hard?

New Years Day with truly beautiful people

Ron with his 'son'
Tommy
Luisa
Annie's cousin and I am sorry but could not catch her new-to-me Spanish name. She was head chef. Her husband managed to escape the camera all evening.
Jenna
Monique and Iphraim dancing
Christ
Annie
It was quiet on the island, not suprisingly, as the majority of the people were partying well after I left at 2:00 a.m. (that was early).

In the afternoon Tommy came and asked if I wanted to eat dinner with them. I graciously accepted. I wasn't expecting others, so just went up as I was. Made my way up to their home, carrying my camera and a bottle wine. There ended up being eleven of us.

My neighbour Jenna had spent the better part of the day trying to breathe some life back into Ron and wasn't quite sure if he could make for dinner (he did).

Annie had her cousin and husband over from the big island.

A fellow named Iphraim who does some work for Annie was there.

Two sisters from New York, Monique and Christ, attended. They were renting a hotel in San Juan and only came to Culebra for day trip and ended up renting at Annie's for two nights instead of going back to San Juan.

Luisa, a friend of Annie's originally from Panama also attended.

We were definitely a strange assortment, however, it was by far the most delightful New Year's day I have ever had. We were dressed informally, to say the least. No, not informally, it wasn't even up to casual, but take your pick among sleepwear, beach attire, or loungers. But, there was such a good feeling among all of us that it was hard to believe we were all almost strangers. Hugs and wishes of Happy New Year were said so sincerely and the hugs were real, not just those things that pass for hugs at many affairs.

An interesting twist came about. A couple from Mexico who couldn't decide whether to rent Annie's last unit or not earlier in the day came back and wanted to, but it was gone to a couple from Holland. As everything on the island was full or way too expensive, after much chattering in Spanish it was decided that Luisa would rent her house to them for three nights and sleep at Annie's. The Mexicans were happy and Luisa made a few dollars.

Breaking bread with this group on the first day of the new year surely must be a good omen of things to come. Dinner was turkey,stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, homemade spiced applesauce, cranberry sauce, and sweet potato and marshmallow casserole. The aromas were divine, the food delicious, the company splendid.

I received a New Year greeting from B&D along with a request for this photo

This post is dedicated to Bonnie and Don who both have a serious issue with toilets. For some reason they insist on western style toilets and in addition the toilet must be fitted with a seat! You could never imagine how distraught they were last month while on a day trip from Varadero to Havana. They had a hotel for a few hours (no, not that kind of hotel stop???) to freshen up before the Tropicana show. Well, they had a toilet, but it had no seat and they are still joking (traumatized) about it.

They know that some of the places I travel to have considerably different toilet designs.

My dear friends have told me, in no uncertain terms, that they wouldn't travel with me and will stick to nice resorts.

Now all the places I have ever rented have had B&D approved toilets, with the exception of the one the locals built for me on the beach in what will remain an unnamed island. No, that is incorrect it did have a seat. Sorry, my error.

So, here is the photo you requested of the toilet in my current place. It not only has a seat, but it flushes,too.

Same Ferry Dock Area

A week before the party -

The Crowd

The people started coming down around 7pm. With only a few people the ferry was clearly visible. There were many tables and chairs set up, but some of them had been brought down earlier by families and were reserved with the family name written on a paper taped to the table top. When they started arriving it was a sight to see. They brought in coolers, small to super large. Some were carried and others were on wheels, just like luggage. They brought all manner of drink and displayed it openly along with so much food. Many tables had a whole buffet set up. There were babies, children, teens, adults, grandparents, and great grandparents. A live band was booming out the tunes. The shops selling food and drink were all open, but they didn't mind almost everyone bringing their own as their were enough tourists to keep them more than busy. The line up for drinks where Tommy works was never less than twenty. As the evening wore on more and more and more people came. It was truly a family affair. The people at my table were from Puerto Rico and included four generations. They told me they come every year and spend five days in Culebra because they love this party so much. There was a lot of drinking, dancing, and eating. Everyone was well behaved. It was such a pleasure to see roughly five thousand people gather like this and there be no problems.

I simply cannot describe it all. Words fail me and so do the photos. I took about seventy and most are useless. I will post a few and a couple of poor videos which will have to suffice. Oops, I can't seem to post my videos without them going on YouTube which I don't want. I'll try again later.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

The scene was set. An angel, sailboats with masts lit like Christmas trees, and fireworks.

Incredible

Yes, that is what tonight's party was. It is almost 2 am and I am pooped. Went there at 7 and that is a loooooong time for a gal like me.

Stay tuned. I hope I got some OK pics and I will tell you about New Years Eve in Culebra.

Happy New Year 2012 everyone.