Puerto Rico

Arrived Wednesday night, and flew out Saturday lunchtime, so only had a short time here. Met up with another team from Alcatel (different project from the Venezuelan visit) & some permitting subcontractors. They arrived mid-day Thursday, so it allowed me a nice sleep in. After a short meeting we headed off check out the potential beach landing location. On the Friday, we had meetings with some local government agencies to brief them on what we were planning, and getting some initial feedback from them. I was pretty much a passenger for all of this, just on call if they needed some technical aspect explained.

All the Puerto Ricans we met were very proud of their island, and without exception, whenever the "official" part of the discussion was over, they would all turn into tour guides, full of recommendations of what to see & where to eat. I didn't put 2 + 2 together initially, but was reminded that the Arecibo telescope is on the island (seen in the Bond movie "Goldeneye" & Jodie Foster's "Contact"). If I get a chance to come back, I am definitely putting that on the list of things to do! Yes, I am a science geek!

We ate locally the first night at a recommended Cuban restaurant. Quite nice! Second night we headed into the old part of town, and had dinner at the restaurant that invented the Pina Colada. OK, it was at night so we couldn't see much, but at least we could experience the narrow cobblestone streets & colonial architecture.

I had worked with this team before, and got along very well with them, so it was much more entertaining than the Venezuelan trip. The last night I had to bail out early (10:30) due to an upset tummy, and I am glad I did. Apparently the others didn't get back to the hotel until 3am!!! I had to fly out fairly early, so glad I was not hung over. At the beginning of the evening we had 1 drink in a beachside bar, but were attacked by sandflies. Now 4 days later, and my feet are still itchy as hell!

Anyway, Saturday I moved to Miami.