International Rock Balancing Association

I woke up @ 6am this morning. Got up and started coffee. I had gathered some mangos last night. I found one that was ripe. Heated up some pancakes and sliced the fresh mango. Pancakes with fresh mango and syrup tastes mighty fine, especially when your eating them in front of a 180 degree view of the caribbean. Beautiful sunrise.

Lorrie and I decided to head out early. Our destination was La Plata. Needed to check on my shelter and do any necessary maintenance. We arrived @ La Plata about 8:15am. First ones there.

As I expected my structure was in need of some mending. I remembered a large wad of rope I had seen over on the north side of the beach. I went on the hunt to retrieve it. Lorrie was going to worship the sun.
Took some doing but I was able to free the rope. With plenty of rope I started working on lashing up the loose poles. Only took me 45 mins or so and she was rock solid.

A few more people had showed up and couple ask Lorrie and I if we had built the cabana. We told them we had and they commented on how aesthetically pleasing it was. We learned that they were Judy and Andre from New York and they had been coming to Vieques for 25 years. They've been wintering on the island for the last few years, spending the months of Jan and Feb in a rental.

The weather is perfect again today. Really nice breeze here at La Plata. I geared up and did some snorkeling, but there were too many waves to do any filming. La Plata might end up being our favorite beach before this trip is over.

While I was walking along the beach edge looking for some more palm fronds to add to the roof, I ran into Andre and Judy again. We struck up a conversation. It was then that I learned that they were the creators of the rock art gallery at La Plata. I explained to them how I had at first tried to force the rock into balancing, but had no luck. I then told them that it was when I just sat a rock, without forcing it, that it would finally balance. Judy then said to Andre "I think he's a candidate." Candidate for what, I ask? I then learned about the International Rock Balancing Association. It seems that Judy and Andre are the founding members.  It even has a secret handshake and a membership card. i have a picture of the membership card. I would show you the secret handshake, but it's a secret.

Judy and Andre told me I was their first member from Indiana and I could be president of that chapter. It was a hoot, I've never laughed so hard in my life. And I thought Rayann was crazy when she told me she was a member, 3 day prior. She also told me about the secret handshake. Well Rayann I can see you were telling  me the truth. BTW the International Rock Balancing Association has no membership dues and no newsletter. What great people Judy and Andre are.

Now if that wasn't enough I got to watch Judy and Andre give a new home to a land crab. It seems that they have been collecting shells that the land crabs like and then painting them with different bright colored designs. As we were doing my initiation into the Rock Balancing Association (and yes there really is a secret handshake which I did with both Judy and Andre) a few land crabs were moving about. Judy took out of her backpack a number of painted shells. She put one of the colored shells next to a land crab and we watched the drama unfold. At first the crab was drawn into it's shell, but it peeked a claw out after a few minutes. It then slowly fondled the colored shell, turning it over and measuring it with it's claws. Judy told me the whole process can take 30-45 mins. Then if the crab decides he likes the new shell he flips it over next to himself and quickly exits his old home and moves into the new one. I missed the part were the crab left his shell and crawled into the new one because I was running back to our cabana to get the video cam. I did manage to get the crab as he was leaving in his new home with a bright green swirl painted on top. Here's some video of it:





We stayed at La plata till 4:30. On the way out of Camp Garcia we saw a dead mongoose.

Stopped by the green store for provisions. They got in more Corona. We had bought a 12 pack of Michelob Ultra a day ago because they were out of Coronas. We'll donate the Michelob to Quinta Jabali. We just can't develope a taste for light beer. May have something to do with the fact that we brew our own beer back home and enjoy fuller body beer. Anyway...bought pork chops for supper, $3.65 a lb. A case of Corona was $36. Bought some peas, green beans and some more bread. Total tab was $44.

Spoke with Yvonne when we got back to Quinta Jabali. She told us it would be after 9am before we could drop off our luggage. (Yvonne is the property manager for Casa Dos Chivos). I then called Tyler to tell him we would be leaving sometime after 9am.

Grilled out the chops and Lorrie fixed the veggies. had a great meal, inside the house this time. Still had ice cream left over and it made for a great desert. Spent the rest of the evening watching the boats gather directly south of Quinta Jabali. We've noticed them out there each and every night.You can see their lights bobbing up and down. We guess they are fishing or something. Turned in at 9:30.