Visitors to GTMO

Russ and Karen departing the ferry

We were most fortunate to have house guests last week -- Vince's brother, Russ, and his wife, Karen, flew in on Tuesday. Their plane just barely landed before the sky opened up and poured buckets of rain on us. Luckily for us, it stopped for a bit while we rode the ferry across the bay.

We've been told that there is a "rainy season" here and we are finally beginning to believe it. After our showers on Tuesday, the sky burst forth again that night along with a big thunderstorm. The electricity was off for a couple of hours so it was nice and quiet without the air conditioners running -- however, I was starting to wonder what would happen to the coolness level. All in all, it rained about seven inches!

Wednesday was going to be our best day for a fishing trip, since neighbor Bob was available that day, and he is the best fishing guide ever. While it wasn't the most gorgeous day on the water (that would happen on Friday), at least it wasn't raining, so we took off in the pontoon boat.

Alas, I didn't re-charge my camera battery so there are no fishing photos unless Karen is able to e-mail some to me. All of us were able to catch some fish -- we had thirteen yellowtail snappers in all -- plus the huge ones that got away. It was great fun -- I can see why Vince enjoys fishing now!

Outside in the rain at the museum

Thursday was another rainy day -- all day long. So, luckily for us, our family was most agreeable in going to the gym to work out. Then, we had to celebrate with lunch at the Cuban Club, which was pretty good that day. In the afternoon we went to the lighthouse and museum, and that evening we grilled our fish from the previous day for dinner.

On the water -- Vince loves his Piggly Wiggly t-shirt!

We only had one day to cram in as much as possible before Russ and Karen would depart on Saturday, and we were grateful that the weather was cooperative and beautiful. Our day started with snorkeling on Windmill Beach, and then some beach combing to pick up some treasures from the sea. By this time, it was about noon and time to get our pontoon boat for our afternoon tour of the bay. We all sat back and enjoyed our ride, courtesy of Captain Vince.


Stopping for a while at Hicacal Beach, we were able to pick up a (dead) starfish and some shells. The sky was a glorious blue, a light breeze was blowing, and it was a great day to be on the water. After dinner, we drove up to the highest point on the base (not sure how high it is but it's where the three wind turbines are located), and spent some time with the spectacular views. Unfortunately, this is a location where photography is prohibited, so you won't be able to see evidence of this.

This was taken about 9:00 a.m. so it's not very warm yet

Saturday came around all too soon -- Karen and I were at least able to fit in a brief shopping trip at a flea market that was held in the elementary school gym before we all headed to the ferry for the leeward side of the bay. It was terrific to have Russ and Karen visit so that we could have the opportunity to show off the brighter side of being on GTMO.