OK, I know I'm really dragging this out. Our trip was back in November. But I feel as though I'm doing AC an injustice by not finishing our trip report and letting everyone know how wonderful AC really is, especially since I haven't told you all about the highlights of my time in AC. So he goes (AGAIN)!
This will be a really short report and you'll soon see why. Sometime in the middle of the night Darren and I both sit straight up in bed. Something's really, really wrong but in our grogginess we can't immediately pinpoint it. As awareness sets in we realize that the wind is howling outside like nobody's business and there's also a torrential downpour going on. I mean it's REALLY storming. I look at Darren and he can see the concern in my eyes. He tells me everything's OK. It's just a tropical storm nothing for us to worry about. If it was, someone would have come to our room by now. I try to be comforted by this but I'm wondering where we would go if it really WAS a problem. We're in the middle of the ocean and it's not like we can take a boat back to the mainland. Darren and I sit and talk for a little while as we wonder how in the world we're not being drenched in water. These little cabanas don't look like they could protect you from so much water but we never felt one drop and never saw anywhere in the cabana where it appeared to have leaked through. Finally we fall back asleep.
The next morning we wake to see what damage has been done. It's still overcast and it's still raining but more of a drizzling rain. Trees have been knocked over and there are branches and debris everywhere. Portofino already has someone cleaning up around their area. Darren goes to get us some coffee, check on our snorkeling trip (which we're sure is cancelled. It better be.), and to check his fantasy football team. When Darren returns he confirms that our snorkeling trip has been rescheduled for the next day at the same time. Today appears to be a complete wash as it doesn't seem as though the rain is going to let up or so we've been told.
After coffee, we decide to head over to the restaurant for breakfast. Memory is REALLY starting to fade now. I can't remember what we had for breakfast this day but it seems like it was the traditional American breakfast for the both of us. Of course, everyone else is at breakfast this morning because there's really nothing else to do. So we chat with AJ, Kelly, Mike and his wife, and two other couples whose names I can't remember. We discover that all of us are on the snorkeling trip for tomorrow except AJ and Kelly. We're all concerned that the visibility won't be good because of the storm last night. We all sit at breakfast longer than usual because we don't really have anything else to do. After breakfast we all head down to the bar to sit and chat. Believe it or not we have a GREAT time! Around 11:00am or so Darren and I decide to go take a nap to try to pass some time. We end up sleeping well over into the evening. We must have been more tired than we thought!
When we finally get up we head to the bar since it's not quite time for dinner yet. While at the bar, the owners of the resort come in. They are the nicest couple. We really enjoyed spending time and talking with them. We also get a chance to see Marty! After we finished talking with the owners, they head over to talk to a guy that's been sitting at the end of the bar. Kathy, one of the managers, heads over to us and we all start talking. Since I'm in the technology field I comment on the little gadget the guy at the end of the bar is using. We're trying to figure out exactly what it is when Kathy mentions that his name is Marty and she thinks he's working on Portofino's website. It's always really nice to put faces with names but we didn't introduce ourselves as board members since they seemed to be discussing business. After dinner we head down to check the bulletin board in the front office to see what time Mo will be heading into town tomorrow. Since tomorrow will be our last full day on AC, we want to get back into town to do some more shopping and just to spend some time there before our snorkeling trip. As we head back to our cabana, we're greeted by Tara (I think that's her name).
Tara After playing with her for a few minutes, she decides she likes us and follows us home. Darren has found some cigars at the Cigar and Rum House in town that he likes much better than the Cubans. So we sit outside on the porch with Tara and enjoy the evening before heading in.
Darren trying to figure out why the mosquito spray isn't working Tara seemed to really enjoy spending time with us The enjoyment didn't last long as the mosquitoes quickly ran us inside. Tara even came in to get a little relief. After a while Tara left and we headed to bed.
The mosquito net really came in handy Sadness is already setting in. We only have one more full day in this wonderful place and we don't want to leave. I promise tomorrow will be a little more exciting.
Coming soon: Saturday, November 6th - Day 9: A Shoppin' and A Snorkelin' We Will Go!
Link To All Pictures From Day 8 (Mostly shots of our Cabana at Portofino).