Back in the United States?

For the first time in over sixteen months we are back in American waters. We could tell we were back in the good old US of A the minute we entered the Customs Office because they had one of those privacy lines on the floor. You know the kind; you stand behind it and wait your turn and it gives privacy to the person at the window.

Every other Customs Office we have been in (and we have been in at least sixteen since we started this cruise) was so small that everyone knew everything about everyone else in two minutes. No privacy at all.

So here we are in Puerto Rico, an American territory, and it's almost like America, but not quite. Puerto Rico uses the American dollar, but the official language is Spanish. It's full of American cars, but they are filled by the liter at the gas station. Its people are American citizens, but they can't vote in the upcoming election. We see all the American brand name stores, but their banners and posters are in Spanish.

In short, it's an interesting juxtaposition of America/Latin America. And you know what? It's kind of nice to be saying Buenos Dias again. I think we are going to enjoy Puerto Rico.