Monumental Houseboating on Lake PowellWritten by Kriss Hammond
Monumental Houseboating on Lake PowellRead Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/cruise02/hboats02/powell.html MILLIONAIRE STRIPERS Our weekend party boat pulled out from Wahweap Marina fully stocked with booze, beer, bait, and soon to be baked boatswains. We were pulling a pair of wave runners and a fishing boat through Colorado River channel. past buttes, bluffs, banks, spires, cathedrals, and towering monuments, kind you see at Bijou during a John Wayne/John Ford film festival. Before pulling out of marina we power boated over to marina store to buy fishing licenses. There was a million dollar fish tournament going on at Lake, Powell, and we were determined to catch that rascal. We were informed that we had to have a fishing license for both Arizona and Utah, because Lake Powell shares borders of both states. We realized that we had Utah licenses but were fishing in Arizona waters. PADRE POINT It took a couple of hours to motor up and around Padre Point and Padre Bay and into Labyrinth Canyon, and across transparent state-line from Utah to Arizona. We were happy to moor in Labyrinth Canyon because a storm was brewing. "Scurvie" and his crew of motley maties buried four anchor lines in oxide red/orange powder sand, and then it was a round of cocktails as Cheetos and other snacks were busted out. After storm blew over, sun came out in a radiant splash, and Janna, "Jet Boat Queen," was first out on water, blasting through narrow confines of Labyrinth Canyon to its terminus. Water-skiing and jet skiing is best in broad, calm waters of backwater bays, like Labrinth, but not in Colorado River main channel, Water safety rules of Utah and Arizona apply: 800 RIDE PWC Utah; 602/774-5045 Arizona. Meanwhile, everyone else threw their gear into assigned bunks. That night Chef Boy-ar-dee "Scurvie" whipped together a cordon bleu salmon dinner fit for a five star table as sun set on Tower Butte, a ragged, decayed molar rising like a Pleistocene fossil out of plateau off our port side. LET'S HAVE A RUM PUNCH After a few more rum punches, it was a conversation of past adventure bragadoccio, yarns, and blarney. Everyone seemed to agree in appointing Scurvie galley swag for rest of trip, even though it was mainly hotdogs and sandwiches during day. But next night it was marinated steaks grilled on propane foredeck stove, with meat proving to be as tender as sandal soles. I didn't tell Scurvie I used my cut as fish bait. I think everyone else demoted him a Michellin star or two as well, but no one wanted to cook, so we continued to pump up his food finesse. LAKE POWELL GOLF The two teenage boys onboard, "Wild Bill" and "Wild Blakely," lost their imaged milion dollar fish prize poker hoards to Professor in a continuous game of Five Card Stud, reminiscent of Barbary Coast, with Professor's made-up rules. The next morning Danny powerboated Jaime and Scurvie into National Golf Course in Page, Arizona, for a round or two on links. Everyone else just sunbathed on top deck like ruby-throated rainbow trout left too long on grill. Some people should never be allowed into wilderness. The skipper (Danny) returned a few hours later as another terrific storm swelled up, sending greasy sunbathers below. Golf ball-sized hailstones pummelled alumnium houseboat roof like popcorn, rattling everyone's nerves, and then gleamed in oxide sand and red sandstone rocks, like while alien gemstones. As this spring storm blew out lake returned to a pacific peace.in time to pick up two pickled duffers stranded at 19th hole. Read more on Lake Powell National. Click Here.
| | Noches en El Convento Hotel San Juans Convent HotelWritten by Edwin Ali
Noches en El Convento Hotel San Juans Convent Hotel Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To read this entire feature FREE with photos cut and paste this link: http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/globe02/Carib02/prico/convent/convent.htmlOld San Juan, a bristling city of over 40,000 people, is not only one of most cleanest cities in region, but boasts of accommodation fit for rich and famous as well as those who pay more attention to their pocket-book rather than luxurious surroundings. Accommodations range from US$150 a night in quaint and impeccable rooms in 18th-century historical buildings to US$1,500 in suites and villas, which are favorite destination for celebrities and rich and famous. The warmth and friendliness of people of Old San Juan is matched only by delicious cuisine and luxurious accommodation to be found in different parts of city of magnificent 18th-century Spanish architecture and cobblestone streets.. History has it that island of Puerto Rico, 110 miles by 35 miles, with a population of nearly four million, was discovered by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to Antilles in 1493. The Spanish newcomers named island San Juan Bautista in honor of St. John Baptist and found it populated with Taino Indians. Spanish Conqueror Juan Ponce de Leon was island's first Governor when Puerto Rico became Spain's most important military outpost in Caribbean and target for several attacks. In 1521, concerned about threats from English and Dutch enemies, Spain began constructing massive defenses and fortifications around city of San Juan. In 1898, after Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico became a territory of United States under Treaty of Paris. In 1917 U.S. Congress granted Puerto Ricans U.S. citizenship. The island has a Governor who is elected every four years. It has a resident Commissioner in Washington who represents island's interest but does not have a vote in Congress. The island is blessed with magnificent beaches, rain forests, stunning caves, inhabited islands, pristine reefs and more than 500 years of glorious history, which collectively offer a wide range of activities, including hiking, fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling, surfing, golf or tennis. The Hotel El Convento, located in heart of historic Old San Juan is setting new standards for comfort and luxurious service for its 58 exquisitely appointed guestrooms and suites, with surroundings reminscent of former 16th-century convent. It is hailed as a privileged environment of elegance, replete with unparalleled luxury and impeccable personal service. Establishment of Convent followed granting of a petition in 1646 to war widow Doņa Ana de Lansos y Menendez de Valdez by King Phillip 1V. She was granddaughter of Don Diego Menendez de Valdez, a captain general of Spanish amy and governor of Puerto Rico from 1582 to 1593. Doņa Ana de Lansos y Menendez de Valdez, widow of Captain Pedro de Villate Escovedo, inherited a vast fortune on her young husband's death in 1625, in an attack by Dutch, who, with French and British, were constant enemies of Spanish pwoer in Americas. Childless, Doņa Ana resided across from cathedral on a property where two houses she had provided for as a war hospital and a religious school were destroyed in war-torn island. There was no convent in Puerto Rico at that time. To enter a cloister, a lady had to travel to Havana or Santo Domingo, or all way to Europe. Young ladies' prospects for marriage were reduced with every new battle in wars of Indies. To pay for convent construction and maintenance, Doņa Ana donated her home and its adjoining land, a rectangular plot, sold all her possessions in a move hailed by many as a great contribution.
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