Sorry, no photos. Taking photos would endanger my life. While driving around Puerto Rico over the last few years I've noticed some unique road rules. If you want to blend in you need to follow them. If you have been here please add to the list!
InchWorm :
This game is played at each and every stop light. There is usually a willing player. At the red light take your foot off the brake and go an inch. The next player will do the same. Continue until both of you are in the middle of the intersection or the light turns green.
PassUpBackUp:
This one is crazy since it is a real law that is just not exactly followed. If you pass up where you want to turn (an exit, a food stall, place to buy roadside stuff) you just back up. Yes, even on a three lane highway you just do it. If there isn't a shoulder to do it in you just do it. If it is unsafe and you can make people swerve all the better. No back-up lights? Score an extra 50 points.
BlinkyBlink:
If it is starting to rain, getting dark, the sun is rising, the wind is blowing, or whatever, you can start your own parade by driving with your emergency lights blinking. Everyone does it. For extra fun you can "even steven" with a blinkyblink and hold your own event. Or you can join in someone else's parade and swerve behind them and pop the button! Don't worry about a real emergency, no one stops for ambulances, police, fire trucks, or tow trucks. Wait, tow trucks? Yes, they not only have blinky blinks but also blue swirly lights, strobe lights and other seizure inducing flashes.
Pinball:
This is played by driving as fast as you can to get around people by going in the left lane or past the left lane in the breakdown lane or shoulder...bouncing off the curb (not really) and cutting across at least 2 (better to cross three) lanes of traffic to exit the highway all in the space of about 3 minutes.
SuperSwerve:
You must go slow and look like you are pulling over on the right but really you are making a SuperSwerve and taking a left.
RedRover:
Just like the childhood game. At the red light it is red rover red rover come over come over - at least 5 cars (or as many as will fit the intersection) run the light and form a car-chain to block the intersection.
TextNow:
Text now is also dial now. At the red light it is the perfect time (if you have no reflexes) to start trying to see those little numbers and letters on your phone. You have to be first at the light though so you can hold it up enough so that only you get through the light.
EvenSteven - My favorite game of all. For this you must drive as fast as you can to reach whatever car is ahead of you. Then you reach them and go the exact same speed - even steven - so you can block everyone else. Even Steven is best when you even up with someone going at least 15 under the speed limit.
So there you have it, the best rules ever! Makes driving a pleasure.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Cueva YuYu on Saturday
This is a nice cave we have been in more than a few times. It is really neat but full of water and very cold. There was a short section of cave we hadn't finished surveying and that was the point of the trip. This cave is probably the furthest from our house - about 2 hours. There is no good way to get there by car and even the jungle walk is kind of convoluted. We drove, parked, hiked and arrived later than usual due to a later start. Tom, Diana, Brett, Jeff and I were on the trip. There is a rope coming down the "wet" entrance. There is also a "dry" entrance to the cave that isn't really dry...just drier.
After we were all down the rope we found the first station and started the survey leap-frog style. I'd find the station, Diana would come and take over, measurements would be taken and recorded and I'd hop to the next one.
The water in the upstream section was only ankle high - just high enough so we'd have wet feet the whole time. The water in this cave is very cold. Here's some nice flow stone. Photographing in this cave is hard because it is so wet and misty. It is hard to survey because the water is loud and you can't hear yelling over the water sounds. More formations.
I thought these layers were very interesting. Wish I could make a waterfall like this in my yard! Flow stone always looks like dripping candle wax or ice cream sundaes to me. The rock is wet, colorful and at interesting angles. More ice cream cone stuff.
What started out as a "short" (we know better) trip turned into a bunch of hours as we fully explored some previously unexplored little holes. Brett is coming down this one. I went up it and Jeff got tired of waiting for me and left. I went up, and up some more, and over in a small crawl and up some more, up some more and it was very interesting. I got to a place that went up again but I needed some rope and someone else around if I were going to scale it. It was a vertical rock about 6 feet tall that might have gone even further up! On the way out it was difficult since it was muddy, I was alone, it was part breakdown (which is like a maze) and hard to go down things I had come up since I could only fit feet first and with my stomach to the rock - which meant I couldn't see. Thankfully Brett was there as I was working my way out. He answered my calls and then fit through this hole to shine his light so I could work my way out! Then we both backed out and joined the others. These small spots always seem ok going in but are difficult coming out of! There is something creepy about coming down when you can't see what you are doing and it is too small to turn or anything. You just have to commit. Here's the river level passage.
So after all our investigating we headed back up the ropes. After an error on the rope I lived my 9th life I think. I thought Tom was off the rope, and he was but his pack wasn't. The pack was stuck and I headed up a loose rope. Thankfully the carabiner on it was wedged firmly between a couple rocks and there was a ledge for me to teeter on so I could get off rope, dislodge the pack, he could pull it up and I could get back on and continue up. It was precarious on the ledge and I will be much more careful listening for "off rope" and shouting "on rope" next time. There is always someone on the trip who is "insurance" (the person things happen to) and today it was my turn. Stupid me. Here Jeff is coming up. Once we were up we wandered around the jungle looking into different cracks and holes that didn't go far. When we were tired and hungry we worked our way to the cars and off to the mofongo mobile. It was a long day but very interesting!
After we were all down the rope we found the first station and started the survey leap-frog style. I'd find the station, Diana would come and take over, measurements would be taken and recorded and I'd hop to the next one.
The water in the upstream section was only ankle high - just high enough so we'd have wet feet the whole time. The water in this cave is very cold. Here's some nice flow stone. Photographing in this cave is hard because it is so wet and misty. It is hard to survey because the water is loud and you can't hear yelling over the water sounds. More formations.
I thought these layers were very interesting. Wish I could make a waterfall like this in my yard! Flow stone always looks like dripping candle wax or ice cream sundaes to me. The rock is wet, colorful and at interesting angles. More ice cream cone stuff.
What started out as a "short" (we know better) trip turned into a bunch of hours as we fully explored some previously unexplored little holes. Brett is coming down this one. I went up it and Jeff got tired of waiting for me and left. I went up, and up some more, and over in a small crawl and up some more, up some more and it was very interesting. I got to a place that went up again but I needed some rope and someone else around if I were going to scale it. It was a vertical rock about 6 feet tall that might have gone even further up! On the way out it was difficult since it was muddy, I was alone, it was part breakdown (which is like a maze) and hard to go down things I had come up since I could only fit feet first and with my stomach to the rock - which meant I couldn't see. Thankfully Brett was there as I was working my way out. He answered my calls and then fit through this hole to shine his light so I could work my way out! Then we both backed out and joined the others. These small spots always seem ok going in but are difficult coming out of! There is something creepy about coming down when you can't see what you are doing and it is too small to turn or anything. You just have to commit. Here's the river level passage.
So after all our investigating we headed back up the ropes. After an error on the rope I lived my 9th life I think. I thought Tom was off the rope, and he was but his pack wasn't. The pack was stuck and I headed up a loose rope. Thankfully the carabiner on it was wedged firmly between a couple rocks and there was a ledge for me to teeter on so I could get off rope, dislodge the pack, he could pull it up and I could get back on and continue up. It was precarious on the ledge and I will be much more careful listening for "off rope" and shouting "on rope" next time. There is always someone on the trip who is "insurance" (the person things happen to) and today it was my turn. Stupid me. Here Jeff is coming up. Once we were up we wandered around the jungle looking into different cracks and holes that didn't go far. When we were tired and hungry we worked our way to the cars and off to the mofongo mobile. It was a long day but very interesting!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Cueva Mucara
Ron Richards invited us to join him on a trip to Cueva Mucara in Aguas Buenas near Caguas. The trip would include Tom and Diana, Jeff and me, Ron and his son Ben and Eddie. We all met, departed on time and entered the cave after a short walk. Ron wanted to survey a large collapse area/entrance. While he was getting organized we took a short tour around since Jeff and I had been here before. We showed Tom where the drop to the river was, where another entrance/ exit was, and then investigated some short tunnels. Jeff then went to the bottom of the collapse, dropped into a hole and went for a bit until he got to a very low spot where he'd have to crawl. He doesn't like that. He came out and encouraged me to take a peek and, well, low and small is my specialty! I did my investigating and came back for the others. No one seemed interested. I ended up going into the area at least 4 times with people who then came out and would tell others to go in! So here we are going in. Ron is up above at the drop-in spot and Diana is making her way down to the main tunnel. It looks like a pipe on the right but it is a root...a BIG root.
Inside this tunnel were some neat formations. This cave is similar to Sistema Vientos in San German with the grey limestone, flow stone and general "look" of the place. You can also see the water-line which is about head high (mud line). The sides of this slot had some neat calcite formations. Then it kind of narrowed and got lower. There were some side tunnels that didn't go far or were plugged up with sediment.
Inside this tunnel were some neat formations. This cave is similar to Sistema Vientos in San German with the grey limestone, flow stone and general "look" of the place. You can also see the water-line which is about head high (mud line). The sides of this slot had some neat calcite formations. Then it kind of narrowed and got lower. There were some side tunnels that didn't go far or were plugged up with sediment.
Then came the crawl. Jeff stopped at this point. People don't like to crawl unless it is going to go somewhere and often it is hard to tell. A lot of the time the REALLY small places just get smaller and end. This one, however, opened up after a 6 foot belly-crawl. It wasn't even that tight. Ben is making his way through.
On the other side of the crawl was a big room with some very interesting mud. It wasn't exactly mud. I'll call them transition materials. Tom thinks the room was filled with with this material and over time water has removed a lot of it. Very interesting. This room had a few bats in it. The bell holes were very wide and not initially created by the bats. Bats are opportunistic and started living in existing indentations and further eroding them. See the bats? More mud.
Returning out the tunnel the ceiling decorations were more obvious. Kind of like a line-up of teeth. The mud designs were just fascinating! The striations kind of looked like photos from Mars. Here Eddie is looking at some of the fossils and flow stone inside the room. Formations...
Eddie and Ben near a wall. After these odd mud designs the room ended. There was a small pool of water that may have been a sump on the left. There was an upper stand-up chamber that didn't go anywhere and didn't have water dripping or anything.
Elsewhere in the cave the rooms and passages were very large and open with light grey colored limestone. This was a nice change from the dark broodiness of Hell. Here Tom is straddling some rock to take a measurement. Here's a nice open passage. It looks like Tom might have found some more fossils to look at. Here's a final shot - Ron going out the little tunnel from the lower room!
On the other side of the crawl was a big room with some very interesting mud. It wasn't exactly mud. I'll call them transition materials. Tom thinks the room was filled with with this material and over time water has removed a lot of it. Very interesting. This room had a few bats in it. The bell holes were very wide and not initially created by the bats. Bats are opportunistic and started living in existing indentations and further eroding them. See the bats? More mud.
Returning out the tunnel the ceiling decorations were more obvious. Kind of like a line-up of teeth. The mud designs were just fascinating! The striations kind of looked like photos from Mars. Here Eddie is looking at some of the fossils and flow stone inside the room. Formations...
Eddie and Ben near a wall. After these odd mud designs the room ended. There was a small pool of water that may have been a sump on the left. There was an upper stand-up chamber that didn't go anywhere and didn't have water dripping or anything.
Elsewhere in the cave the rooms and passages were very large and open with light grey colored limestone. This was a nice change from the dark broodiness of Hell. Here Tom is straddling some rock to take a measurement. Here's a nice open passage. It looks like Tom might have found some more fossils to look at. Here's a final shot - Ron going out the little tunnel from the lower room!
Afterwards we all headed out for sushi. I had some alcohol (a couple lemon drops - I love lemon drops and don't find them often). Jeff and I went to Starbucks for some chocolate cake (we shared) and I had an espresso shot with whipped cream. Lots of yummy food after a great caving day! On the drive home there was an amazing sunset. I had Jeff stop the car several times so I could photograph it!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Winter On The Island - No Time To Be Lazy!
Yes...winter. A time for hot chocolate (maybe) and lazing around (not quite). The cats like the cooler nights and hot days and find time for lazing around but for people it is time to harvest and clean up the yard and paint and seal the roof and everything else you can't do when it rains. There really are seasons here and it is winter. Finally the Hobo tree has finished dropping fruit down the driveway and finally the leaves have dropped. Let the clean up begin!
The Carambola tree had 100 fruit on it so we shared with friends, dehydrated some, made carambola pudding and bread and just ate some. Now I can clean up the rotten ones. Tuca has been snoozing during the daytime. The parcha is finished for a while.
Mini has started to hang out all day and night in her basket or cat bed. She is getting friendlier.
When you have bananas you have hundreds and then nothing for a while. Why do all the bananas fruit around the same time? Dehydrating and freezing are ways to use them so they don't go to waste. Don't want to waste these tasty manzanas... Rip hangs out in his little tent, under bushes or on the cool floor.
I picked the slim harvest of oranges. We are so spoiled to have all this fresh, free fruit. Sometimes we take it for granted. The Heliconias are blooming and will be colorful for a couple months at least.
There are now 11 more chicks on the property. I have slowly been relocating gallos y gallinas from the yard. None of them are ours - they have all come here from somewhere else. I don't feed them but they jump for our bananas and are comical to have around until they crow. Right now there are still 4 roosters and we'd like that to be one...Big Red. So part of my day is trying to entice the males into a cage for relocation.
Blanco has been hanging around a lot in his own bedroom, on the platform in the tree and on my lap. Now, after 2 weeks, he is off on an adventure and we haven't seen him for a couple days. They do that.
The Carambola tree had 100 fruit on it so we shared with friends, dehydrated some, made carambola pudding and bread and just ate some. Now I can clean up the rotten ones. Tuca has been snoozing during the daytime. The parcha is finished for a while.
Mini has started to hang out all day and night in her basket or cat bed. She is getting friendlier.
When you have bananas you have hundreds and then nothing for a while. Why do all the bananas fruit around the same time? Dehydrating and freezing are ways to use them so they don't go to waste. Don't want to waste these tasty manzanas... Rip hangs out in his little tent, under bushes or on the cool floor.
I picked the slim harvest of oranges. We are so spoiled to have all this fresh, free fruit. Sometimes we take it for granted. The Heliconias are blooming and will be colorful for a couple months at least.
Now is the time to put plants out. Here I've got the vining spinach (we don't like it that much unfortunately) and eggplant starts. These are the peppers I planted but I don't remember what kind - surprise surprise.
Our first pineapple! Hopefully the other two will produce something soon. We have a few pomegranites...
Here's a photo of the whole pomegranate shrub/tree. There are some corazones getting plump. Lately the birds have gotten to them before we spot them.
It looks like my lime tree will be producing fruit this year. I have a bigger tree that isn't doing anything (no fruit or blossoms yet) but this one smells so good and fruit will be a bonus!
All year I look at the ratty trinitaria (bougainvillea) and think about ripping it out...and then it blooms! Beautiful, unnatural colors cover the hill coming up the drive.
So that's winter in the Caribbean. The light switch switched one day and it became dry, things start to lose leaves or bloom and it is time for major yard clean-up! For the cats it is a time to snooze during the day, run around wild in the wind and snuggle close at night!
Our first pineapple! Hopefully the other two will produce something soon. We have a few pomegranites...
Here's a photo of the whole pomegranate shrub/tree. There are some corazones getting plump. Lately the birds have gotten to them before we spot them.
It looks like my lime tree will be producing fruit this year. I have a bigger tree that isn't doing anything (no fruit or blossoms yet) but this one smells so good and fruit will be a bonus!
All year I look at the ratty trinitaria (bougainvillea) and think about ripping it out...and then it blooms! Beautiful, unnatural colors cover the hill coming up the drive.
So that's winter in the Caribbean. The light switch switched one day and it became dry, things start to lose leaves or bloom and it is time for major yard clean-up! For the cats it is a time to snooze during the day, run around wild in the wind and snuggle close at night!
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