Day Fifteen: A Successful Day in Fajardo!!

Remember Day Four?? Boy, I do. Not fondly, either.

We have discovered that groceries here on the island are expensive and often unavailable. So it’s typical for residents to take a trip to the main island for groceries once a month or so. They take the 6 a.m. ferry with a cooler on wheels and a little metal cart (I’ve seen elderly people back home using them) and stock up on as much as they can. Then they return on the 3:00 ferry. Most people, when the subject comes up, say, “Oh, I HATE taking the ferry! It’s SUCH a long day!”

However, Hannah and I decided that if we’re going to be living on the “Abbie’s School salary” (as I have dubbed it) we need to jump on board the monthly trip thing and be frugal! Unfortunately, we didn’t have a cooler OR a little metal cart, so we started at square one today!

We got to the ticket window at the ferry dock and I semi-confidently asked for “resident” round trip tickets. I felt a little bit proud that I could say that! We’re not just tourists; we’re really living here! The woman behind the glass smiled at us as she printed our tickets and we headed up to the outside seating area.

Hannah and Ashley on the trip to Fajardo

 Once we got settled, Hannah noticed that another student from Abbie’s School was on board! She went over and greeted Ashley and the two of them spent most of the trip chatting and listening to music, but all within my view. It was so wonderful to see Hannah interacting positively with a classmate already. I chatted with Ashley’s mom a little bit and the trip seemed to be over in a jiffy!

We had no trouble at all getting a Publico (pronounced: POO-blee-koh) to take us to the shopping center for a mere six bucks! Once we were there, we started looking for things on our list. We started with the cooler because I wanted to be sure we had that and the cart for the trip home. We eventually discovered that there wasn’t a store in the shopping center that had what we were looking for. I could feel the tension in my neck start to rise. We had purchased a cart FULLY of groceries and school supplies, so not having a cart would be a huge dilemma. We found out there was a very good chance another store, just about two miles away had one, so Hannah sat on a bench with our new cooler and a grocery cart full of groceries while I took another Publico to another store! I was imagining Hannah being anxious and nervous about her mother leaving her in this strange place around people she can’t understand. I asked the driver to wait for me and I literally ran into the store. After two non-English-speaking employees, I found one who took me directly to the carts. I hugged him.

When we returned to the spot where I had left Hannah she was perfectly content! So we promptly put together our newest purchase right there in front of the store and loaded it up with our cans and jars and such. Then we decided it was time for lunch!!!

After lunch we finished our shopping and waited for our Publico driver to return for us at the appointed time of 2:00. When 2:00 had come and gone I decided to take whatever Publico would drive us to the port, so we caught a ride with the next driver who came along and made it to the ferry dock in plenty of time with all our goods in tow.

Annabel and Hannah with the New Puppy!

 After settling in on the ferry we realized that not only was Ashley on the return trip with us, but Annabel was on, too! And she had gotten a sweet new puppy!! As you can see, it’s a tiny thing and Hannah was immediately mesmerized by it. She and Annabel doted over it most of the way back, and Ashley joined them toward the end after she had taken a nap. Annabel is new to Abbie’s School this year and speaks just about as much English as we speak Spanish, so we all decided that was a perfect fit! We can help each other learn the language!!!

Annabel, Hannah, and Ashley on the Return Trip

The Girls Enjoying the New Puppy and Ashley's dog

When we got close to the island, Hannah came back and sat with me and commented that she was really glad to be back “home” and was thankful we don’t have to make that trip again for a while. I had to agree with that! But she also “high-fived” me for the successful trip!

Cards at Abbie and Billy's house
(Abbie's standing)

We got back to the house, showered to cool off, and got it ready to “bomb” with a flea killer because I think the cat has brought in uninvited guests who bite our legs mercilessly! Since we had an invitation to a get-together at Abbie and Billy’s house, we ate a quick supper and got ready to set off the “bomber” and leave for a few hours. When we returned later tonight, we were greeted with NO bugs!!! Except for the mosquitoes, of course!!!

Hannah then fell into bed and I’m on my way there!

Thank you, God, for a day of challenges that ended in successes!!!