Monthly Archives: November 2014

Unrealistic Expectations

Things are going well for us here in Rincón.  We love living here more and more every day and we enjoy our new pace of life compared to our working lives back in Colorado.  We like to compare what we would be doing at any given time in our previous lives in Colorado to what we are doing here now.  There isn’t usually any type of direct comparison.  The situations we find ourselves in are so drastically different and there wasn’t any way we could have expected what it would have been like.

Iguana on coconut tree
Lizards in coconut palms -things we’d never see in Colorado

We did try to prepare for things we could have expected before moving; we envisioned what it would be like, we tried to plan and prepare and learn ahead of time.  We even bought the property before making the move.  But when it came right down to it though we had to throw away at least 50% of what we had imagined it would be like.  Reality fills in those blanks and often times will either exceed, meet or not meet the expectations that we set.

We have found that expectations are very important to happiness in our lives. When you expect something and it doesn’t happen it can lead to disappointment or frustrations, but when you expect too little, you may not shoot for the stars and go for your dreams. So there is a balance in there that is basically something along the lines of hoping for the best and leaving most expectations at the door while maintaining a positive outlook.

Turkey on Ladder
Are we all just turkeys trying to climb “the ladder of Success”? Or can we be content where we are?

We have had what some may consider very unrealistic goals for ourselves.  Retiring in our early 30s and buying land Rincón are just two of the major ones.  Since we have achieved both of those however, they have become realistic expectations.  I guess that is to say that if life isn’t consistently meeting the expectations that you have, then maybe you are not being realistic?

Everyone has their own set of challenges and problems to work through.  It can be difficult at times to realize how trivial they really are, but sometimes after stepping back for a few minutes when facing a challenging problem it can been seen how most things in life aren’t really that important in the end. We are all playing out roles that we have decided are important for ourselves. In our move here we chose to strip down to the bareness of what it means to be a human, as much as possible in this modern age. Things like giving up a telephone, internet and driving very often. And started doing things like eating from the land and learning a new language.  In doing so, we have found that most things that people worry about (including being constantly “connected”, having the newest cool thing, rushing around, eating commercial food and even proper grammar) are just distractions from this crazy thing we call life.

They are conflicts for our life drama to try and solve, they are stories we can tell, they are a spice in life, but they are not that big of a deal. Even the biggest “problem” is really not that big of a deal. How do I know? When we look back at our biggest challenges of the past with even just a little bit of time in between after resolving it we realize it was pretty silly to have worried about it. Another sign of the triviality of life’s ever present obstacles: Ever notice how unimportant other people’s problems are to you (unless they involve you)? So when we face a problem we take it on as a challenge and don’t expect everything to be perfect (whatever that is). We have learned  that when it comes to expectations, we can expect “unrealistic” challenges and so we try to take them on as a fun part of life. Of course, sometimes this is easier said than done, but it is a conscious choice that makes us happier.

“In the end, happiness is a matter of choice. Some people choose to be happy and others select a course that leads only to frustration and disappointment.”

It seems also that when we seek out happiness, we tend to find it. Maybe that is why so many people who come to Rincon find happiness. Unrealistic expectations? Or is reality what we make of it?

Road to Happiness

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A Decision Has Been Made?!? Deconstruction

We have owned this property for over 3 years now.  When we originally had made the offer we put in a low offer because the wood house was going to need a lot of work.  Since then we have gone back and forth about what to do with it.  We live in the concrete cabana and have enough room for the two of us, but it makes it hard to have people visit for dinner or for longer stays for family.

House half small

We recently decided that we are going to tear it down.  We initially felt like tearing it down would be a huge bummer because of all the time and effort that went into building it.  Due to the odd floor plan and not having the master bedroom on the ocean side of the house as well as the entire thing being infested with bats, rats and cockroaches we were going to have to tear it down to studs anyway.  We are still going to keep it, we are just going to move it.

Wood House Deconstruction
House in Deconstruction Phase

The property consists of 4 acres and the cabana and wood house sit on a tiny ity bity corner.  So we are going to move the wood house and build a cabin on the other side of the quebrada.  There is sooo much room for us it doesn’t make sense to simply have the living space in the corner, we are going to spread out a bit.  It will open up the area in front of the cabana too.

In order to make the area more accessible where the wood house will be we want to build a suspension bridge that transverses the quebrada!  We have started the deconstruction of the house and figure it will be done in a few weeks.  The wood is being cleaned (having all nails removed and then power washed).   While this is going on we are also going to begin to clear the area where the house will be rebuilt.

At some point in the future we want to build a concrete house a little bit down from where the wood house currently sits, but first thing is first.  Should be some exciting things coming up in the next few months with some big changes for us!

No Roof

 

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And the Momma Too

This past week my mom came to visit us again and we had fun doing some of the touristy things we don’t often do. When she arrived there was a rainy storm system that brought in much cooler weather as well as some large waves. We went down to the beach just down the road from us (Sandy Beach) and watched the huge waves as well as a wonderful sunset.

Waves and BK and Mom small

Sunset with mom and cassie small cropped

We went out to lunch and dinner a few times and we went snorkeling. Overall we had a nice time with her “de visita” on la isla we call home, Puerto Rico. And I even had time to do a little bare handed lizard hunting!

PR Flag

Charlotte and BK small

 

Coconut water small

 

Beach and palms small

Mom and I at beach small

Sunset small

We weren’t the only ones to have the momma come out and visit. I went down to check on the little frog eggs (I think a type of coqui) and I saw what I think is the momma!

Coqui

 

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Halloween, Huge Hermit Crab and A Frog Hideaway

Recently we have seen some more cool sights. Will it ever stop being cool to us? Doubtful.

Halloween in Rincón is more about costumes and partying for the adults than it is for kids. However, our friends told us about a kid event that they were taking their daughter to and we were interested in checking it out because the alternative school (Semillas) is also a 5 acre farm just down the road from us.

Britton and moon
Britton posing with the moon above

It was quite beautiful and Halloween evening started out with a beautiful sunset setting the clouds ablaze in colors.

Cassie and Horse
Petting a horse at Semillas

Later that evening Britton and I dressed up to go out. We didn’t have much time to put together a costume since we were without a vehicle for so long, but we did have a couple of wigs and so the costumes came together pretty nicely. Me as a disco dancer and Britton as a corporate castaway on a deserted island complete with shredded shorts.

Cassie and Britton Halloween

Because Halloween fell on a Friday this year, all the bars had parties. Down at the Tamboo in Puntas, whole roads were closed off. We heard that Calypso was pretty fun too. We chose to go to Shipwreck and then ended the evening around 1am at Rincón Beer Company. The costumes here are so creative and gorgeous. I love the level of originality everyone puts into them!

Naomi Michelle Cassie

Back at the homestead we have recently found some pretty cool things as well.

Britton walked right out the cabana and found the largest hermit crab we have ever seen in our lives! The shell blended in so well with the environment that at first he thought it was a rock that was moving!

Giant Hermit Crab small
Huge hermit crab!

Then as we were walking down below in the jungle area, we stopped to admire the bromeliads that are blooming.

Frog egg flower small
Notice anything?

Frog eggs in plantHow about now?

When I looked inside the leaves of one of them I spotted a bunch of little slimy marbles. I carefully took a couple of them out and looked at them. They were frog eggs in various stages of development! Sometimes they would kick and swim around in their fluid. I was happy to see these frogs because frogs are often the indicator of a healthy ecosystem free of very many contaminants or poisons. So cool!

Frog egg
Frog in his own little bubble

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