The 1999 students were a musical group and enjoyed many evenings playing guitars, singing and learning to dance salsa and merengue. The students and their advisers were entertained at the annual Summer Student Party by Arecibo Observatory's own jazz band, the Hot Mofongos. Four students became certified scuba divers and went deep-diving off the island of Desacheo. Besides many organized trips to local Puerto Rican attractions, some students also rented cars themselves and toured the island. A highlight for the students from the mainland was when the families of several of the local students invited the group to their homes for meals and, in one case, a hike to a hidden waterfall with a deep pool for swimming.
Housing continues to be an increasingly perplexing problem for the students.
Adequate convenient affordable housing was especially difficult to find this past summer. For students accustomed to campus life, the adjustment was not easy. Many staff members were very helpful about giving rides to the students, but late night observing and work patterns made transportation critical. Hopefully, NAIC can develop housing within walking distance of the Observatory before next summer. Although Karen was unexpectedly away for much of the summer, Heidi handled the many hours of L-band observation and the subsequent reductions with only email advise.