Posts Tagged ‘Puerto Rico’

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Back to Colorado from Puerto Rico

Friday, February 13th, 2009

We arrived back at DIA in Denver at about 8:00pm to cold weather. We were just starting to get used to the time difference, so it felt like it was 11pm to us (Puerto Rican time) -the weather difference was easy to get used to! :-) The flight was uneventful, but as we went from Puerto Rico to Miami and then Miami to Denver we saw a definite shift in people, and we knew we were back in plain, sterile, straight (roads) and fairly uneventful Colorado.

We were trying to describe the difference of Puerto Rico and Colorado to people. It’s kind of like being in a dream world and then waking up in boring reality (or Greality -Greeley- in our case). Another way to describe it is going to Toon Town (PR) in Roger Rabbit and back to the regular world, or going back to the black and white part in the Wizard of Oz  after seeing the Emerald City (Colorado is very drab right now with virtually no color and Puerto Rico is just covered in color and life). It is an awesome difference where there is something new and unknown around every corner, but I suppose it is also nice to have a boring routine to go back to as well- like warm water in the sinks and showers, and where time actually means something concrete and not vague.

Bird of Paradise and spider

Our last few days in Puerto Rico we met up with Nick and Miri again after trying to see another movie that the theatre accidentally forgot to start (again time is something very vague there). We also met with Dios Dado and he took us to Lago Dos Bocas near Utuado and we took the free boat ride across the lake.

orocovis Puerto Rico town plaza
Orocovis town center plaza

He then drove us to Orocovis where we had Longostino (sp?) for lunch. It was real criollo Puerto Rican food, and very good. Orocovis is the dead center of the island.

Now that we are back, it is bittersweet. We were just starting to get the swing of that lifestyle and now we have to readjust. We still have a lot of pictures and stories that we’ll post in the coming days though. We left on pretty good terms with Awilda, all things considered, and we still may buy it. In Puerto Rico, you never know anything for certain.

Cassie and Britton on the beach
At the beach in Puerto Rico

Tags:, , ,
Posted in Colorado Daily Life, Flowers, Food, Friends and Family, Fun, Puerto Rico, Travel, Tropical | 10 Comments »

Puerto Rican Jibaro Life

Monday, February 9th, 2009

This has been such an adventure. Its been filled with drama, suspense, action and relaxation all mixed in together.

On Saturday night we tried to go out salsa dancing. A snap right? Wrong. We went to Mayaguez because it is the biggest city on the west coast, but no one knew of any salsa clubs, or dance clubs in general. So, instead we went to the Holiday Inn and Tropical Casino and lost $17 dollars on roulette and slots (big spenders I know!), and then went to the Mayaguez mall to walk around. Later that evening we watched a movie called “Taken”. It was fun and with subtitles in Spanish. Unfortunately for me when the villain Russians would talk, the subtitles were in Spanish and I didn’t know what was going on unless I asked Cassie to translate them.

We stayed at home yesterday instead of going boating. I think since we pulled back from the deal Alwilda didn’t want to bother her daughter Lilly to take us boating. So we hung out and just slept in the hammock, read and ate a bit of food. Mid-day we started to hear some noise from across the bridge. Sounded like a party?

Cassie being the adventerous type wanted to go and check it out. So after some coaxing she talked me into it. I knew that I wouldn’t understand much of what was said, but hey…why not?

We (Cassie) talked to some of the local folks (who they call jibaros or country people). Apparently every Sunday they have this fair right at the bottom of the bridge. We were wondering what this little shack was used for…well…its for selling beer! This is where the locals come to sell their horses, cars and whatever else might be around. They kept running the horses up and down the street. It was kind of cool, I could imagine that this was most likely going on for 100 years or more? Of course without the cars; but the horses and beer were most likely present. We went for a walk out on the road and found some ‘morir y vivir’ (dying and living plants). These are so fricken cool! I didn’t know plants could do this. When you touch them they shrivel up as if they are dying, then come back a few minutes later. Its some kind of defense mechanism so they dont get eaten.

We have decided to spend the few remaining days of our vacation on the beach and eating good food. We drove into Rincon. We stopped in at the Tamboo Tavern for lunch. Cassie didn’t like her fish wrap too much, but I enjoyed mine and the rest of hers ;) Then we went to the beach and just laid there for a few hours. It was sunny with a sprinkle of rain. It felt really good.

Tags:, , ,
Posted in Fun, Puerto Rico | 5 Comments »

Paso a Paso en Puerto Rico

Saturday, February 7th, 2009

Well, we have been pretty busy these last few days. We went to San Juan with Awilda to help her deliver some pasteles, pick up yuca and other supplies and talk with Carlos, the lawyer in charge of the property proceedings. While at the meeting with Carlos, Britton asked Awilda for the deposit back and…after delaying and trying to put it off, she finally wrote out a check a day later after he asked her again about three times. It is a great weight off our shoulders, but I am sure that the weight has now been placed firmly on hers. But really, I think we have been pretty patient considering we gave the money over a year ago with nothing to show from it…They can’t sell the property and don’t know when they can. Soon, it is alway soon, they say, but never is. Paso a paso (step by step).

So we are still in line if we are interested in purchasing it at some unforeseen moment in the future, but we are also now free to look without worrying about getting our money back, and she is free to look for a buyer who can buy it without a properly filed title. (Good luck!)

After that drama and awkwardness, we decided to get together with Dios Dado, the man we met on the airplane on the way in. We met him in el centro de Lares at the famous Heladeria where they have a variety of ice cream flavors including rice and beans! As we were trying to find a parking space some dude in a big ol’ pick up truck backed right into us and then ran off! Luckily it only left a minor scratch in the front fender where the rental car was already scratched. Hopefully the rental car people don’t notice. Crazy drivers, seriously!

After enjoying our ice cream and hearing a history lesson about the area from Dios Dado (who is very knowledgeable and a former history teacher), we followed him up to Arecibo to park our car in front of one of his friends’ house. They invited us in to have lunch. I think that was the best meal we have had since we have been here, and we have had some tasty food. They fixed up some habichuelas, arroz, ensalada, tostones, chuletas de cerdo, jugo de naranja and quesitos! It was awesome. I now know what really good Puerto Rican food should taste like. It is a lot different than the vegan versions that Awilda has served.

After telling chistes, talking about antiques, and telling travel stories, we headed off to some of the north coast beaches. Dios Dado took us to Arecibo, Manati, Barceloneta, and Vega Baja. It was a windy day and the waves were high. We saw an old abandoned mansion that Britton says would be great for playing paintball (they call it “Gotcha” here). It was an awesome day. Thanks Dios Dado!


Even the trees are dancing!

Later that evening we drove back “home” through the fog and rain. It was kind of cool knowing we were basically driving through a cloud at the top of the mountain. Sometimes I think about that part in “Batman” where his cave mansion appears after a curve in the road on a foggy night. That’s how it was last night. Anyway, it has been a very interesting trip so far, and there is more to come! Stay tuned…

Tags:, , , ,
Posted in Food, Friends and Family, Fun, Moving, Puerto Rico, Tropical | 3 Comments »

Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice Every Morning.

Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009

Yesterday we stayed at the property, hung out in the hammock and made fresh orange juice from oranges we picked on our hike. It was relaxing and nice not to drive at all for a day.

We decided to start looking at some other properties around the island. We dont know how long the title work will take in Lares. Its already been a year and could be another or two?? We talked to a realestate agent here and he confirmed that the title could take years because of the water resources. He also mentioned that the water law here is kind of complex (which is news to us). We want to stay friends with Alwilda even if the deal doesn’t go thru. She and Estrella are very nice people and have been very welcoming.

It takes about an hour to get to Rincon from the property and this seems to be where we gravitate to, maybe because of all the gringo amenities. Being closer to the ocean would be nice. We have an appointment setup tomorrow to check out some other options. We dont need to (or want to due to price) be right on the beach. Just a small house 1 or 2 bedroom with an acre or two of land would be suitable maybe in Aguada. We are also going to head down the west coast and just look around.

I dont think either Cassie or I have our heart set on the property in Lares. There are pros and cons and we go back and forth every day sometimes by the hour on if we should stick with it or not. Plus since the title has already taken so long; we aren’t counting on anything.

Tags:,
Posted in Food, Fun, Puerto Rico, Tropical | 1 Comment »

We’re in Puerto Rico!

Friday, January 30th, 2009

We arrived here without really any delays or problems. Our flights were on time and we arrived in San Juan around 8pm on Wednesday evening. We sat next to a nice man on the plane named Dios Dado who invited us to visit him in Vega Baja sometime during our stay. We got our rental car after the car saleman dude tried to talk us into $10 a/day more for liability insurance. We called our insurance agent and three of our friends who work in insurance while were waiting in the lobby to finally find out that no, we didn’t need it. So thanks everyone who saved us $150!

We then got lost and wound up in Guaynabo City when we were trying to get on the 2 or the 22 to get out of the Metro area. Finally we did and drove to Arecibo where we stayed at The Villa Real Hotel and arrived there at about midnight Puerto Rico time, which is 3 hours later than Colorado. We basically had the choice of sleeping in our car or in that hotel. I am not sure which would have been better! The hotel was cheap, but awful. The sheets were gross, the floors sticky and the shower had NO hot water. But we were tired and we fell asleep pretty easily even though it was really noisy outside.

Hotel Villa Real

The next morning we drove to Lares and proceeded to get very lost. Lost in the jungle, for sure. At least it was daytime though. Even though Cassie had been there before, she couldn’t remember how to get there and we kept losing cell reception with Awilda who was trying to talk us through it. Finally after going around in circles and nearly winding up in Las Marias, we arrived at the property.

view above the property

There are a lot of flowers and plants. Here is a coffee (cafe robustica) plant that is in bloom. They smell really really nice!
cafe robustica flower

There are a lot of poor people that live in the mountains around the property. They seem to be happy and definitely aren’t freezing or starving. They just dont have new clothes and some people dont have teeth. The property is very beauitful and there is a lot of food just spilling off the trees and onto the ground. Most people in here have satelliteTV for entertainment. The small guest house is nice. I think they did a lot of cleanup before we got there (sweeping, grass cutting and wiping things down). The water in the shower is a lot warmer than at the hotel we stayed at. Cassie didn’t scream this time when she got in the water.

Today we went for a drive to San Sebastion and Rincon. So far this is the first chance we’ve had at getting online. We are at the Surfs Up coffee shop.   We stopped at the beach for a while.  We may look at some properties near the beach while we are here too.  It took a little less than an hour to get to a beach, but when we got there we realized we would like to spend a lot of time there.  The title still hasn’t gone thru on the property we are looking at so we still have an option of buying something else if we prefer.  Not sure at this point.

Beach in Puerto Rico

Tags:, , , ,
Posted in Fun, Moving, Puerto Rico, Tropical, Winter | 1 Comment »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »