Fergus and the Grand Banyan

Yes, Erin and Fergus arrived in GTMO safely on Wednesday.** It was a long day for all of us, those who were waiting, and those two who were flying. Evidently, Fergus did pretty well on all three of his flights, and we were just extremely glad to see both of them when the plane landed.

So far, we have been busy getting Fergus acclimated, and showing Erin the sights. This photo above is the banyan tree close to our yard -- Erin gets credit for the by-line! Banyans are amazing trees, apparently a relative of the fig family, and this tree is even referred to as a "strangler fig." They are known for their spreading root system -- and it's amazing that this particular tree is only about 50 years old. We've seen photos of our neighborhood dating from 1956, and this tree was not even in the picture.

Today we took Erin snorkeling. We started at one of the beaches, thinking it might be easier to "walk in" the water, instead of climbing down a ladder. But, the winds weren't as favorable, making the water somewhat choppy.

So, we drove to nearby Phillips Dive Park -- and Erin did extremely well. In fact, she was much quicker at getting her face in the water than I was! We had a great time watching the fish.

I think I saw a "Puddingwife" -- no kidding, that is the name of a fish!


Behind Erin and Fergus is Dexter, a 1991 faded brown minivan. We decided that it was necessary to have a vehicle here, so this is our "GTMO Special," proudly named after his previous owner. Vince thought it would be a nice touch to put the spare tire on top to give us more room in the back -- now all we need is a stuffed iguana riding on it! Dexter overheated during our first drive, but Vince thinks he has diagnosed the problem. Luckily, we won't be driving Dexter any great distance, and since there are always security police around, I should have readily available help should I need it.

**I don't want to repeat an incredibly long story (that doesn't sound like me, does it?), but some of you may not be aware that Fergus was not able to fly with me to GTMO on October 1. Through a series of bumbles by Northwest Airlines, he was prevented from using his $229 ticket. The only way we could get him here was to have him accompanied, so Erin took time off from work, and acted as his escort. After many phone calls to Northwest, Vince was assured that this time Fergus would be properly accepted by the airlines.

Getting Around in GTMO

Some days it is just slow going. This sign says it all. The "normal" speed limit on the base is 25 mph with some notable exceptions here and there.

We still can't figure out what this sign means.

And what is the speed limit when it is NOT a "special event" .......and, just what are special events?

Can you proclaim your own special event, which is what Vince wants to do?









And, this is a sign you probably won't see back in Lincoln, Cincinnati, Tulsa, or Birmingham.

As anyone knows who has moved to a new location, it just takes a while to know where everything is, and their hours of operation. Here at GTMO, we are working on developing more patience, because we are often kept guessing. This is because either the traffic or the service is moving at a snail's pace, or because just when you think you know something, it CHANGES.

I finally came across a pamphlet at the library that had a list of facilities with operating hours. Of course, one challenge for me is that times are listed in military fashion, so when it says "1700" or "2100," it takes me a moment to subtract and figure it out.

Logic would tell you that it would be so nice if most places were open the same days, and the same hours, But, no.....it's complicated. For example, the bank is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. That is what I was told when I called. But, then I found out that if you want to open a new account, which is what we wanted to do, you can only come in on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

The post office opens at 9:00 a.m. some days of the week (I can't remember which ones!), other days at 8:30 a.m. But it's definitely closed weekends and holidays. Which leads me to explain something about our mail system.

Mail is not delivered to homes here. The post office apparently can't handle that, so each entity that exists on the base has one or more employees designated as "mail orderlies." These lucky folks get the opportunity to go to the post office between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m. to pick up and deliver mail for their organization.

So, what happens in our situation is this:

Mail arrives at GTMO by plane on leeward side of the bay.
Mail gets ferried to the post office on the windward side of the bay.
Mail orderly for air traffic control picks up the mail at the post office, and takes the ferry BACK to the airport on the leeward side.
Mail is placed in individual's in-boxes at the office.
Vince will pick up our mail there, and then he takes the ferry BACK to the windward side.

Whenever we do get mail, it is well-traveled and has gone back and forth across the bay numerous times!

Beauty in the Deep

I've now been snorkeling twice now and I cannot say enough about how amazing it is to peek into another world. For not being a "beach" person, a "water" person, or an "ocean" person, I seem to have adapted fairly well in just a few weeks to some of the opportunities here. (All you folks out there.....never say NEVER!!)

To slip into the pristine turquoise ocean and float effortlessly on the top of the salty water is an incredible feeling. Maybe that is why I like it -- I feel absolutely weightless! And, then, to look down and see fish in all colors, fan coral waving in the water -- it is difficult to describe the euphoria that I have felt. (If any of you readers have snorkeling experiences to share, please feel free to post them!!) We don't have an underwater camera (yet), so I don't have any actual views of what we have been seeing.

But here is a photo of a "Trumpet Triton" which is a highly valued shell. (No, we did not harvest this!) We were in the local dive shop, picking out my snorkeling mask, and a soldier came in to retrieve his catch from the freezer there. You can actually see the snail that is still embedded in the shell. That is one process for removing the mollusk from the shell -- you place it in the freezer.

Tritons are part of a huge mollusk family -- there are over 60,000 species of "gastropodas." One source I checked said that gastropoda means "belly-footed" since these mollusks or snails, if you prefer, move on their stomach.

There are limits placed on the number of living creatures that can be picked up from the ocean floor, and while I am not sure that this is something I want to do ( I guess I can't say "never"), it is interesting to follow how others add to their collection.

So far, I have limited my harvesting to those shells ending up on the shore with the insides all cleaned out for me. The shells themselves are like jewels just sitting on the beach, waiting to be picked up -- they are so beautiful and symmetrical and intricately made by the humble little snail that used to live inside.

Here is a sampling of shells, with a penny in the mix for size perspective.

All I know is that once you start looking at shells, you can easily become addicted.

GTMO cure for scurvy

Some of you may be able to guess right away what we are making in this photo -- it's the lime version of "limoncello!" One of our neighbors has a big lime tree that is loaded with fruit -- after receiving permission to have some of the limes, we proceeded to start steeping our inaugural batch of limey goodness.

For those of you who don't have any idea what I am talking about, last year Vince and I made our first homemade limoncello -- a lemony liquor that is most tasty. In Italian, lemon is "limone" and that is pronounced "lee-moe-nay" and lime is "limetta" (lee-met-tuh). So, I guess this will be called limettcello. I'll let you know in about 40 days how it turns out (40 days of steeping zest in vodka, and then mixing with equal parts of sugar syrup).

Snafu Island

Vince had thoughtfully made a wonderful reservation for us to go on a two hour sailboat ride on the bay, complete with champagne, to jointly celebrate our anniversary and my birthday. He called the marina the day before to be sure that he knew which marina would be our departure point.

We arrived at the marina just before 6:00 p.m., and as we walked up to the building, we noticed a man in shorts and t-shirt on a small bicycle, cap on backwards as is so common these days, just circling around on the sidewalk. He greeted us, and asked if we needed some help -- he was Jamaican and his English was fairly good. Vince said we were supposed to meet Captain Henry and we were surprised to learn that our biking friend WAS Captain Henry. Not that I expected someone in a white uniform with medals and ribbons on it....(or did I??)

Anyway, Capt. Henry proceeded to tell us that the sailboat wasn’t “working.” For Pete's sakes, I thought, don’t sailboats just use the wind -- how can they not “work?” Which certainly sums up my meager knowledge about sailboats. Capt. Henry started mumbling that he had tried calling us all afternoon with no luck -- the number he had dialed just gave him someone who had never heard of us. Naturally.

Capt. Henry’s Plan B was to treat us with a ride on the “Gitmo Queen” -- he proudly announced we might even like this better than the sailboat. And, he assured us, we would pay the same price for the “Gitmo Queen” as we would for the sailboat. It wasn’t what we planned, but we were there, we had our picnic dinner to go with the champagne, and the weather was accommodating, so we decided to go for it. We had to drive to a nearby marina and when we finally saw the Gitmo Girl, my first reaction was “oh my gosh.”

Apparently, the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) actively picks up boats in this area for illegal activities, and sometime the boats end up being confiscated, along with their contents.

The Gitmo Queen was one of these boats, and since her permanent residency in the bay here, she had become a type of party boat available for rental. Needless to say, with all the partying that this boat had seen, she was not in prime condition.





We got on board, and Capt. Henry, with a slight swagger, positioned two plastic chairs on the open deck. He said we could “sit anywhere” we wanted. So, we both sat down dutifully while Capt. Henry steered the boat out of the dock.

Apparently, he was concerned about the atmosphere on the boat, so he proceeded to turn on the local radio station, “The Blitz,” and we were certainly blitzed with loud music (genre = obnoxious). After a few painful minutes, Vince had to ask Capt. Henry to turn the music down....way down.

It soon became evident that no champagne would be forthcoming which was another disappointment. Either Capt. Henry had never received the request, or the language barrier which seems to pop up frequently in the favor of the Jamaicans, had somehow skewed the plan.

Vince and I just looked at each other, with both of us probably thinking “Snafu Island” is alive and well. The boat started chugging slowly out into the bay, and it became apparent that Capt. Henry was trying to mimic a sailboat ride by moving along at about 3 mph. The scent of diesel was lingering all around us.

Ordinarily, a slow speed wouldn’t be a bad thing, but at dusk and dawn on GTMO, you are in danger of being fair game for mosquitoes and elusive little creatures called “no-see-ums.” By this time, the sun was starting to set (danger time!), and with little or no wind at our slow speed, we both were being viciously attacked by voracious insects.

Luckily, due to Vince’s forethought, we had brought along some bug spray. So, instead of lounging back romantically in a sailboat, and toasting our marriage with a magnum of champagne, we furiously sprayed each other with Cutter’s “Skinsations.”

A bright note was that the water was gorgeous -- and as it grew dark and the stars came out, we felt like we were seeing some unknown constellations. And the sunset was very pretty. And we had the bay all to ourselves. While we were trying to focus on some positives, Capt. Henry asked us if we were enjoying the ride and how much longer we wanted to be out. He had been given a timeframe, or so he said, of “6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.” and it was just about 7:30 then. One more thing that didn’t seem to be quite right.


We quickly decided that maybe we had experienced enough of the Gitmo Queen for one night (or for any night), so we told him that he could head back to the dock any time.

Hopefully, he would ratchet it all the way up to 5 miles per hour, but no such luck. Maybe this was all the faster this boat could go anymore.

I felt so sorry for Vince - he had come up with such a wonderful idea, and darn it, everything should have happened according to his plan.

But, it didn't, and we are beginning to learn things often go awry on "Snafu Island." And sometimes, all you can do is shake your head and laugh -- and, we have been doing a lot of this lately!

Sighting of "O" Street

I guess "O" Street really is the longest street in the world since it ends on the runway in GTMO!

Man at Work

It was the unofficial “Take Your Spouse to Work Day” -- or that is what we declared it as I went along with Vince for his eve shift. His work shifts are (1) day, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., or (2) eve, which is 4:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., or (3) mid, which is 11:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. He is still working basically a six day week, with two days, two eves and two mids, and it changes every week!

Vince alternates between working “flight dispatch” which is located in a separate building, or in the “tower.” Flight dispatch can be fairly busy during daytime hours and consists of filing flight plans, assisting flight crew, search/rescue coordination in any overdue flights, creating flight schedules for the next day, etc.

It was his night to work in the tower, however, and the first 30 minutes or so was spent in numerous equipment checks to be sure that all communication links between the tower and port control, flight dispatch, aircraft refueling service, fire station, ramp crews, and airport maintenance crews were working correctly.

If you look at this photo of the tower, you will see a catwalk which surrounds the upper third of the building. This is accessed from the door on the right side -- I am not crazy about heights, but I did go out very gingerly on the catwalk and take some photos.

In this photo of Vince working his checklist, you can see to his right a sign that says “fouled deck” -- can anyone guess what that means?

Here is a shot of the ocean (through the hazy tower windows) of what Vince sees most of time from the tower.



We were privy to a beautiful sunset. (thanks to V. for taking the sunset photos -- he went out farther on the catwalk than I would go!)


After all of the scheduled inbound and outbound flights were handled, it was time just to be ready in the event Vince needed to talk to any airplanes. When his relief co-worker (who happened to be our friend, Boomer) arrived, they did their standard exchange of the watch, and then we drove to the ferry. We had a lovely ferry ride over a very calm bay with a nearly full moon shining brightly on the water.

Catching up

It seems as though I have been at full throttle for two months preparing for all the change and then getting settled, training etc. After waiting an extra couple of weeks for an examiner to get here from the states, a coworker and I finally were certified to work alone in the tower.

Now I seem to have a little spare time (as well as adequate computer access) to sit down and review the blogs. I cannot tell you how good it is to hear from all of you and to find out what you all have been doing. Kudos to Julia for being the best at putting folks to sleep. I was thrilled to read about your "Oscar". Sandy, you should get an Oscar for taking all the challenges that life throws at you in stride and never forgetting to smile! Russ, you old curmudgeon, you never post any news but it trickles through the grapevine. Maybe getting a massage is more healthful than absorbing electrons in front of a computer screen.

Of course it is always a treat to hear from the "kids". Their busy lives may not allow much time to post on blogs but we hear often via email and phone.

Cathy and I crossed over to the Leeward side of the base yesterday, on my day off, on the 6:30 am ferry and spent the morning exploring the beaches there (photo is of Chapman Beach). They were all deserted. For a brief moment we thought it was like having an island to ourselves. The sunscreen did the trick and we started home at about 10:45 am. First we ate at the chow hall which opened at 11 am serving a special meal of crab legs, salmon and T-bone steaks with all the trimmings for $3.85 per. We often feel very isolated here ( no news papers for instance except the base paper which is just Navy propaganda) but the fringe benefits out weigh the isolation. Especially when I have Cathy by my side.

Some words from Vince

Folks here LOVE to fish, as they should, since fish are plentiful. One of V's co-workers took him fishing several weeks ago, and this is one of the yellowtail snappers that he is gleefully displaying. There are fish here that I have never heard of - hog fish, snook, cobia -- and then fish like grouper, tarpon, king mackerel, flounder, barracuda, and more.

All this beautiful water, though, has witnessed some amazing stories, as Vince relates here (I am publishing part of an e-mail that he sent to a friend):

"Guantanamo Bay, or GITMO as the locals call it, is a very strange place. The original gated community, they say. The Marine and Cuban military guard towers are a common sight from many areas on base as well as the fence line separating us from the dirt-poor Cuban peasants. The base is full of people with amazing stories. I hear many of them as I commute to work crossing the bay on the ferry. Cathy and I have housing several miles from the ferry landing and the airport is on the other side of the bay so I spend about 2 hours a day commuting to and from work.

I met R. on the ferry last week. He was born on a farm in Cuba to a poor peasant family. When he was 18 he built a raft and set out for freedom with 3 other people. After 6 days at sea drifting northward, they encountered an empty boat adrift in the sea (sounds like God's providence to me) and they transferred to it since the raft was in bad shape. Two days later they were picked up by a ship and all were interned at GTMO for a year and a half and then released. Today he is a Seabee, married with a child, and he sends $100 a month to his family near Havana. He uses a personal courier service to carry cash from outside of Cuba so that the Cuban government does not take the 18% tariff on it.

He told me how poor they were and how hard they worked for the communist government. Education and health care were "free" but nothing is really free there. Everything comes with the cost of hard work for little or nothing in return. Many have to subsist on about $5.00 a month. Iguanas are protected on base as they are nearly extinct on the poor side of the fence. The poor eat them, a fact R. confirmed. He is a happy man and proud to be a free American.

I hear many other stories. A man named M. and 15 others hijacked a train years ago and rode it to a point about a mile from GTMO. They ran to the fence line and only 9 made it after Marines guided them through the mine field. Today M. is a retired Navy Master Chief and is moving to a home he bought in Panama with many of his family members he was able to get out of Cuba.

I hear of a Russian sailor who jumped ship at night many years ago and swam 12 miles to GTMO to obtain freedom.

Sunday morning Cathy and I worshiped at the Jamaican church here on base. They have 2 hour services and they really know how to praise for most of it. A humble uneducated man gave the message and did very well. Almost all the menial jobs on base are done by Jamaican and Filipino foreign nationals. All of them have at least two jobs and many work 7 days a week to send money home. They never complain even though they must come here alone to work. After 2 years they get a month and a half off to go home and see their families. Even the skilled Filipinos make only a 5 or 7 dollars an hour as electricians or computer techs. The unskilled work for as little as $2.50 an hour. They seem to me to be the meekest folks I have ever seen."

I appreciate what he has described, because it helps keep things in clearer perspective when I start whining about not having any baskets here.

Living Quarters and Backyard on Film

Due to popular demand, we shot some views of our "villa" -- (for those who hadn't heard, we are calling it a villa instead of a "bunker" which might be more accurate due to the sturdy construction).

First is a view of our front yard - we are GP4 (for Granadillo Point) and we are door B on the left. There are two trees next to the front window, and the smaller one is starting to bloom with some pretty red flowers.

To my delight, hummingbirds constantly hover around the taller tree. Yesterday Boomer gave us a hummingbird feeder (he regifted!), so I'm going to make some sugar syrup and hang the feeder in the tree.

The video shows the interior of our living quarters. Some of you have asked, "what are you actually doing every day?" For the most part, the last few days we have just been trying to "set up our house."

Here is what we are being loaned:

one dinette set with four chairs
one couch and chair
two lamps
(the end table was loaned from another household, and the TV and stand are from our neighbors)
one master bed , two dressers,two end tables, two lamps
one guest bed, one dresser, two end tables, two lamps

In the kitchen we found for our use:

A set of Corelle for four
Flatware for four
Four drinking glasses
Small set of pots and pans
Four cooking utensils, can opener
Toaster

Since part of what we are trying to accomplish in this GTMO assignment is to make some financial gains, it doesn't make sense for us to completely duplicate all our belongings back home. So, we are re-learning the fine art of "making do" and "multi-purposing." If I can't use something for more than one function, I don't buy it. Thus, I am now looking at a glass bowl as a: mixing bowl, salad bowl, bread-rising bowl, popcorn bowl, and turned upside down it's a cake/pie cover, plus a lot of things I haven't thought of yet.

So, we have spent some of the precious free time that Vince has by scouring the NEX (Navy Exchange) for things to complement the above loaned items.

And for now, here is a photo of our backyard. Vince did a nice little video, but unfortunately for whatever reason, it's taking HOURS to get videos uploaded -- I started doing this Sunday night and spent about two hours on this, and then another hour or so this morning. I am giving up for now, and just posting a photo of the backyard.

Unfortunately, we were assigned quarters with the smallest backyard on the base. Some yards are spacious and nicely landscaped, so we have this brilliant blank canvas to inspire us! I am told that each unit gets one free outdoor plant per month, and as newcomers, I believe we are given two. So, that will be fun to pick something out. (Sue, I have your zinnia seeds and I am going to plant those just as soon as I get some potting soil -- can't wait to see those flowers!)

And, as Vince describes in the outdoor video, (author's note -- you won't be able to see this video until a later posting) most residents here with a shade shelter have it enclosed -- just don't try calling it a screened-in porch! It's called a "Tiki Bar" (sounds rather tropical, doesn't it?) I've seen several so far, and they can get quite elaborate with lots of seating, TV's, stereos, fans, and all kinds of inventive decorations. All in all, they are quite cozy and inviting and a great way to spend an evening when it cools off.

Getting settled

Just wanted to get a few photos up and will work on a short video of our living quarters later this weekend.

We see these signs everywhere since iguanas are protected here -- these guys always seem to be sitting under a road sign, just waiting to cross the street. I saw one iguana yesterday that must have been three feet long. There are also signs posted saying "do not feed the iguanas." (Believe me, I'm not getting too up close and personal with them, that is for sure.) And, Craig, I have not seen any banana rats yet -- can't wait!

We have been so blessed with people welcoming us -- V's former roommate gave us a whole bag of goodies, including Kona coffee, macadamia nuts, steaks, and other delectables. Linda, who is a coworker of V, brought over a bottle of limoncello (no, not homemade, but it looks very tasty), and some neighbors invited us for pizza a couple of nights ago.

Bill Mitchell (aka Boomer) took Linda and me to a couple of beaches yesterday while V was working, and I had a great time, since I am such a "rock nerd." Most of the beaches here are rocky as opposed to sandy, BUT, they are beautiful with shells, coral, and sea glass. Unfortunately, there is almost an amount of debris that has washed up on the shore -- cans, shoes, plastic, although I was told that it probably came from Jamaica or another island.

It was HOT yesterday -- about 95 by my reckoning, and we spent at least an hour going up and down the shoreline, looking for treasures.


Sea glass, if you are not familiar with it, starts with broken glass pieces from bottles or jars, and after much time in the ocean being swirled and tossed, becomes smooth, beautiful little pieces of glass. Green is the most common color to be found, with blue being the most rare.

Here is my little collection of sea glass, coral, rocks so far. The brownish thing on the left is a sea sponge, and the other two objects are some kind of coral. I was very excited to find the sea glass, since I had been in a book study last fall where one of the recurring themes was comparing the sea glass process to the challenges in our lifetime smoothing out our rough edges.


And here is a view from the windward side of the bay over to the leeward side which is where V works. One unfortunate thing is that there are certain areas on the base in which photography is prohibited.

V. and I drove to one of the highest hills on the windward side yesterday, and the panorama of the bay is just beautiful. But, you can't take a photo of it! So, we will remain law-abiding citizens and only take photos where it is allowed.