Back in San Juan

Welcome back to San Juan.  As I step of the plane it feels good to be warm again.  It was 31 degrees when I left Nashville this morning; I walk out of the terminal the heat and humidity washes over me like a well needed shower.  The 87 degrees makes me feel clean and ready for a new adventure on this magical tropical island.

I have been to Puerto Rico many times; but this is a special trip.  Our son is marrying a wonderful woman here on the Island.  He is in the coast guard and she a school teacher from Miami. You may remember, it is a special time.  Falling in love and deciding that you want to spend the rest of your life with someone.  It is always a good time to be alive when this is happening.

In the next few days we will be headed to new exciting places on the western side of Puerto Rico. Renting a house on a Coast Guard Air Station visiting places called Crash Boat, Blue Hole, and Rio Camuy Caves.  So grab your snorkel gear the cool caves and warm water awaits.

Flying to Puerto Rico

Taking  off from Tampa it is a clear day as we head north.  We make a sweeping turn towards the southeast.  I can see the airport below us as we pass over the Bay of Tampa.  Flying over the peninsula of Florida it is flat with farms and lakes intertwined like green Swiss cheese.  Canals cut across the greenness like a knife cutting through a cake.


In the distance is the Atlantic Ocean and the east coast of Florida.  The Ocean approaches fast, shortly we are over the a turquoise Ocean glimmering in the sun.  The Caribbean is upon us.   With the Bahamas below now I know I'm half way to Puerto Rico.  

Ida (2014) A movie from Poland.

Ida (2014) A movie that brought back memories of Poland.   When I visited, it was a  beautiful country that was in the grip of significant change.

Traveling in Poland in the early '90s, every crossroads, street, park, and/or town would have a small monument to the dead.  There are so many of them that it is not practical to see them all.  You have to understand 33%; or in human terms, 3 out of 10 Poles were killed during WWII.  This movie Ida (2014), brings an incredible look at a small part of this suffering.  Rarely to me has a film been so moving and visually stunning. 

Set in the backdrop of communist Poland delves into a girl, and her aunts struggle to discover the truth about there family during the war.  Without saying it is much more, just wait until you get to the stained glass.   For myself, it brought back rushing emotions of land that I once visited.