Gamer Cruise, part 4
by Dan Repperger

Our stop yesterday was in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  None of the planned excursions sounded all that exciting, so we slept in and entertained ourselves around the city.  We did some shopping and had lunch at Barrachina — a restaurant that claims to have invented the Piña Colada.  It was nice having a day where we could go where we wanted and set the pace of each activity.  San Juan is also a beautiful city, though a bit crowded.

For you history buffs, there’s a fort that sits at the entrance of the port.  I was only half paying attention, so I didn’t catch the story behind the place.  But if you’re bored at work, it’s something you can track down on Wikipedia.  I’ll also post a picture of it with this post.

Speaking of excursions, I have a tip for anyone contemplating a cruise.  If the cruise company allows you to book your excursions online, be sure to do so before departing on the trip.  Many of the best activities fill up fast, so it’s your way of guaranteeing a spot without fighting the rush.  Just huddle your traveling partners around the computer one night and consider such things as everyone’s interests, how early you’re willing to get up, and the level of physical activity you can handle.  And if nothing sounds good, don’t be afraid to entertain yourself around the pier.

Our stop today was in Grand Turk, and despite having been on quite a few Caribbean cruises, this was my first time ever seeing this island.  It was an unexpected gem, and while not quite as beautiful as St. John, I will confidently say we had the most fun on this stop.  We took a catamaran out for a two part trip that started with snorkeling along a reef.  The marine life was not as diverse as what I’ve seen in other places, but it was quite concentrated.  Colorful fish were swimming close together, making me regret once again that disposable underwater cameras suck and that I have yet to purchase a professional one.

After snorkeling, we gathered back on the boat and were taken to a beach.  The four of us searched for seashells for Duncan (Pat’s son) and something called “beach glass” that Karla wanted.  Beach glass is just regular bits of glass from bottles or other garbage that ends up in the ocean, but after spending so much time out there, the sand and salt works it into rounded, matte pieces that can be turned into jewelry.  Being a part-time glassworker, Karla wanted us to collect all of the shards we could find.

Upon returning to the pier, we still had a couple of hours before we needed to be back on the ship.  Being right next to a public beach, we continued our search for seashells and beach glass.  The expedition was amazingly fruitful.  Unfortunately, I learned the hard way just how difficult it is to swim with five conch shells, and at one point I got drug along about 20 yards of rocks while sitting in the shallows.  I lost almost all of them, and during the retrieval I ended up face to face with a fairly large crab.  I got the three best ones back and let him have the other two.  We’ll call that even.  I also managed to locate some starfish hiding beneath a rock, which I pried up to show Pat just how fast the creepy things can move.

In addition to a wonderful public beach, the pier had a cluster of well-kept shops and restaurants.  This is definitely a place I’m coming back to on future trips, and given how easy it was to entertain ourselves, I think I may forego organized excursions in favor of the local businesses and personal treasure hunting.

Changing subjects a bit, while going through the things we’ve found throughout the trip we noticed a rather unexpected item.  It appears to be a pottery shard inscribed with symbols that are not from the Roman alphabet.  If anyone’s interested in playing junior archaeologist, you can find a high res image here.  We have no idea what it is.  Might even just be a decorative pattern.

So what’s still ahead on the trip?  Saturday will be spent entirely at sea, which I’m looking forward to.  The total lack of adventure is the best and worst thing about such days, though after today, I could use the rest.  I may also record an episode with Pat, Don Dehm, and anyone else we can grab.  There’s a guy here from Mayfair, so maybe this will become an impromptu interview.  Who knows.

The only thing I can say for sure is that I’ve had some great conversations with Don about the nature of the Pulp Gamer Network and the future of our respective shows.  I’ve come to realize there are some great resources in the network I’ve failed to take advantage of.