Arrived in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, around noon. We're back in U.S. territory! It turned out to be a bigger hassle to check in here than in the Dominican Republic. Sailboats used to be able to go directly to Boqueron and check in by phone, but now we're required to check in at Mayaguez, which is a commercial port with no facilities for small boats. If they're going to require small boats to come here, they should at least provide a floating dock to tie to. Instead, we had to tie to a wretched wharf that freighters tie to. There were no cleats, and big rubber tires messed up our white hull. The wind kept blowing, and the boat kept bouncing around. One of our stainless steel blocks that cost $85 got broken.
I walked to the public phone and called Customs. They were out to lunch. Went back to the boat and got our papers. At one o'clock, I returned to the phone but was stopped by the security guard, who didn't speak English. Fortunately, she had a sheet of paper with instructions in English. They said I had to go to the Port Captain first, so I walked over there. Fortunately, the Port Captain spoke flawless English, without the slightest trace of an accent. She told me to clear in with Immigration, Agriculture, and Customs first and then return.
All the other officials spoke English also. Had no problem with Immigration. The USDA had me sign a form saying we wouldn't dispose of any garbage while in U.S. territory. That's pretty ridiculous. Then I phoned Customs. If I'd bought our sticker in Fort Lauderdale, we could have cleared in by phone, but I hadn't, so I had to walk over there, about a mile. Didn't have any problem finding the place. Filled out a couple of forms and paid $25 for the sticker. There was an ATM across the street that accessed U.S. banks, so I liberated some cash. Returned to the Port Captain's office and paid $10.28 for the privilege of tying to their miserable wharf.
When I got back to the boat, the wind had died down, so the Jofian was riding peacefully. Roy and I walked a couple of blocks to a Shell station to see if they had diesel. We couldn't believe the fuel prices. Both gasoline and diesel were about 30 cents a gallon! Haven't seen prices like that for more than twenty years. But we decided to wait until we reached Boqueron to buy fuel, since there's a fuel dock there.
Mayaguez is a great contrast to towns in the Dominican Republic. It's more like a Mexican city. The streets are paved, and there are lots of vehicles rushing around and no mopeds. They use U.S. money and postage stamps here, which makes it very convenient.
Roy and I walked to a well-stocked super market and bought a bunch of groceries. Took a publico (taxi) back for $3.
Left the wharf just before dark and went to an anchorage. A small sailboat with a British couple on it arrived soon after and anchored near us. We treated ourselves to a quart of delicious ice cream that Roy had bought at the store.
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