From 1997 until 2009 my trawler, Ruff Life, was my home and studio. We remained in pretty much the same spot off the southwest coast of Puerto Rico; so over the years the boat, and her crew, became a fixture in the bay of la Parguera and often an object of curiosity.
Tour boats would slowly putter by in the hopes of catching 95-pound Czar lounging along the gunwhales, nonplussed by the attention he'd grown accustomed to. One day I heard,
"Saw you on the news last night. It was a story about people having fun on the water, and it showed you in the dinghy with Czar."
That was fun. A year or so later I heard something similar, except,
"It was a story about people not taking proper precautions on the water."
The news station would pull out our video any time it was relevant to a story: "Playtime in Parguera; dogs on the water; no life preservers."
You can imagine. Here are some of the publications from over the years: (R) a local calendar which I no longer have; around 2008 or so.
Then there was the magazine of winning photographs, which I do still have. I didn't take the picture, but as you see in the photo below, people
love the (seemingly) idyllic lifestyle. It is terrific...if you can get someone else to maintain the boat.
The white dock you see in this photo and the calendar above belonged to Villa Parguera, a popular hotel in town. For a number of years I taught the owner's granddaughter to paint, along with a school friend, in one of the hotel's conference rooms.
It was nice, for I'd simply have to jump in the dinghy and head for their dock for class. The girls learned to paint, but also improved their language skills (which was what one mother really wanted for her daughter; who later went on to Veterinarian school in the States). I gained a lot out of those lessons, too: teaching skills; practicing patience with children; and pretty good money. I loved them both.
I met countless cruisers over the years, mostly passing through but many returning to the sleepy little bay to relax, provision and often spend Hurricane Season (June through October). One cruising couple introduced us to Steve Pavlidis (below, l) who wrote Cruising Guides and was working on his first about
Puerto Rico.
We shared time, information and photos with Steve, who included 'our gang' in his 2003 Edition; here's the part about
Parguera and the Kite Shop.
That was fun, too.
Parguera was the perfect place to stop for a number of reasons, including the numerous offshore reefs which offered protection from, among other things, hurricanes.
Ruff Life remained outside the more protected, but less breezy, canal unless a hurricane was heading our way; then we'd simply move inside the canal and throw out a bunch of anchors. Here's a story about
Hurricane Georges, 1998.
One British couple, who became great friends and remain so, returned to Parguera several times over the years. It was during one such visit that Pam painted this charming watercolor. A kite was often tied to the railing of the boat, which was fun but a pain to retrieve out of the water.
Because of my unusual artwork using the local higuera (calabash gourd); my lifestyle; plus being a
Gringa, I was interviewed for newspaper articles and TV spots. I was usually approached during one of the art festivals I attended. My colorful higueras were something new to the island.
Although I didn't speak Spanish, there was always someone around who could translate. One intrepid reporter, who I'm sure really wanted a day on the water, came out to Ruff Life with her crew.
There were several points of interest in her article, Como pez en el agua: my artwork, life on the boat, and Czar...always Czar.
Czar was a beautiful, gentle giant who hated the water - he'd walk around puddles. Just goes to show, I'd say, "You can't choose your fate."
Everyone loved Czar. People would ask to take pictures with him while we walked through the Plaza; should have charged money. One photographer
was making money.
Walking back to the dinghy dock through throngs of people in the Plaza, Czar would, by his immense size, Part the Sea, so to speak. On one such evening a man came running up, excitedly pointing to his table of photographs, wanting me to follow.
There, framed front and center, was this picture of Czar and me walking through Parguera's Plaza on our way to opening the kite shop. I may not be distinguishable from that distance, but Czar certainly is. It was in the morning, so the Plaza was empty of people and freshly swept from the night before.
This is one of my favorite photos. The original also included Ruff Life's bow off to the the right, the rest just out of view; but I didn't frame the photo with a mat, which ruined it. No matter, it's still a great photo; although I was a bit miffed that the guy charged me $10.
Everybody loved Czar. While I was away at shows, Czar would be looked after by friends, whose handyman-neighbor Czar would keep company. Billy enjoyed sketching and created this drawing after building a retaining wall one summer. Czar enjoyed a fan no matter where he was, even with his Lion haircut.
Just before I left the island I was finally invited to be on a midday television show,
Myrna y Chispi y la Gente de Hoy (Person of the Day). This mother/daughter team would interview artesans and showcase their work, and many of my friends had already been on.
So you can imagine how excited I was to receive an invitation. The thirty minute show was conducted primarily in Spanish, but my dismal language skills made for some fun moments with Myrn, who passed in 2021.
I began writing while living down there, with my first published piece, in
the Accidental Artesan. That was very encouraging, but I'd known for years that people were interested in the boating/escapism aspect of my life.
I wrote another article for
All at Sea about our
Book Exchange, which caused Parguera to become a very popular stop for cruisers and which I later regretted writing for that reason.
Unfortunately, towards the very end of my time there, the new supermarket owner didn't want it continued and the books were headed for the garbage. But luckily I managed to salvage them in the nick of time and donate them elsewhere. Kinda sad ending.
And finally, a tribute to Czar, and which became the
first Pets at Sea feature of
All at Sea, a source for
'the best of Caribbean boating.' For additional interviews, publications and photos, please visit my site,
www.andreajansendesigns.com/interviews. I'm hoping this post becomes the impetus to start writing more stories about what happened all those years after the horrendous cruise described, in part, in The Crossing.
Please enjoy!
P.S. Here's a shot with
Ruff Life from Google Earth; image taken 2006.
