WEATHER: Partly sunny with occasional showers (downpour)
As with all housesits, we have to learn about different gadgets and unique situations. In the middle of the night last night, a buzzer went off. We finally realized that it was the dehumidifier alarm, telling us that the water bucket was full. Electricity here is very expensive, about 5 times the cost as in the USA, so we are careful with the A/C. At night, it cools off enough to turn it off. During the day before we leave, we close up the curtains to keep the bright sun from warming up the house too much.
Our house is perched on a hill in the middle of a jungle. We have a wonderful view of the airport landing strip below. This is the view from our deck. We like to sit outside when it is not too hot. The jungle noises are so cool. In the evening especially, it is fun to watch the planes land. There are a lot of private planes.
We set off for the island's brewery where we had an appointment for a tour. The owner/brewer is a college professor, and runs the brewery at night and on weekends. He said when he moved here 20 years ago, there just wasn't any good beer, so he decided to go into home-brewing. It grew until he built this brewery. He sells his beer to 3 restaurants in town and can't keep up with the demand. So, he is building a new, larger brewery and will retire from his day job. We tasted 4 of his beers and chatted a long time.
CREATURE #1: The brewery is located next to a harbor. We strolled around and met up with a group that had just returned from a scuba trip, diving for spiny lobsters. They had caught two. They are a real delicacy here, costing about $45-$50 in a restaurant.
Then, we had a real island experience.....we went grocery shopping. We went to a place called Cost-u-Less. It is like a low-class Costco. It was absolutely packed, as people were doing their Christmas shopping. People were yelling at each other for cutting in line. It was quite a show. Food is very expensive. Everything has to be imported. I noticed our eggs come from Super Value stores in Minnesota!
CREATURE #2: We have seen lots of little lizards around, and today spotted our first large iguana. It is really ugly! This one was on the roof of our neighbor's apartment.
We spent a lot of time in the PM on the computer planning our next leg of the trip. From here, we are going to San Juan, Puerto Rico for a few days. We reserved hotels and flights. From San Juan, we decided to go directly to Phoenix to pick up our camper and truck. It is very challenging making all these arrangements, trying to find good deals figuring out the best places to be. We had an especially difficult time reserving hotels in Puerto Rico. They were either "budget" hotels at $100/night with Trip Advisor reviews complaining about cockroaches and dirt, or luxury places at about $300-$1000/night. We don't need a swanky place, but I do draw the line at roaches.
Our little dog Teddy is a sweetie. His favorite treat is carrots. Every time either one of us goes to the kitchen, he runs to the refrigerator door, hoping for a baby carrot. It is a good treat for dogs!
DINNER: George grilled a steak on the BBQ grill on the deck. I made some sautéed artichoke hearts with onions, and a salad.The new downstairs renters arrived this evening. We introduced ourselves and oriented them a bit.
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