We have been working hard on the farm, but it was a nice break to go out to a fun little beach gathering at the Marina on a Monday afternoon. Because why not?
Me and Sandra hanging out at the marina on a Llama float haha
Britton swimming. It was cloudy and the air and sea was slightly cooler (around 80 f)
Renee slack lining it
Britton walking the line about a foot off the ground
Fun with the llama
Renee and James jousting
Me and Zach in a bubble match. He pushed me all the way into the water!
After playing around for a couple of hours, someone had a great idea to drive up to the Goathouse to watch the sunset. The Goathouse is something of landmark for Rincon. I don’t know the whole story behind it, but it was obviously going to be an awesome rotunda house with a 180 view down to the Marina but long ago got caught in some building/legal trouble and became another abandoned property. Many surfers use it to check the waves in the morning (Dawn Patrol). And it has awesome sunsets only 1 minute from the beach so we caravanned up to it.
Looking up to the Goathouse from the Marina
I am not totally sure where it got the name Goathouse, but I have heard that it has housed more goats than people in its current iteration though none were present when we were there.
Looking down at the marina from the Goathouse
Awesome photo ops!
From the back balcony with John and Daisy
The entrance to the house has been completely overtaken by the jungle
Where jungle meets concrete -B and me
Such a cool house in the making is now a graffiti haven full of vulgarities and poetry
More graffiti
Watching the sunset over Desecheo Island
Another cool site to see in Rincon
If you visit the Goathouse, remember that there are neighbors and they want you gone right after sunset so as to avoid too much mischief. Definitely check it out though as it is a key part of the fabric of Rincon!
We took a day to go out with our guests to one of our favorite spots: Gozalandia in San Sebastian. It is the quintessential tropical waterfall getaway. I always feel that it couldn’t have been designed any better had it been in a movie set. It’s just magical!
When we are out and about we often see things that we call “Island Scenes,” you know, scenes that you would never see if you didn’t live on a tropical island. Palm trees, especially coconut palms, to me are one of the quintessentially tropical markers. And as we were walking down a beach one day we came upon two men who were harvesting coconuts from tall 50 foot swaying palm trees. One of them climbed up using his spikes and the other one caught the heavy bundle of coconuts that descended from a rope.
Hola from on high!
These coconuts are mainly used for their coconut water, but of course can be used for any number of preparations from coconut oil, toasted coconut, coconut milk, even piña coladas! This is a great service for the beaches because a coconut that falls from that height could easily kill an unwitting person below. Win/win! Here’s a video of them at their work:
We hung out for a while nearby with a friend and enjoyed the sunset. I tried my monkey best to climb a coconut palm, but without the spikes I couldn’t get too far 🙂
My coconut tree climb is not nearly as impressive!
Horse riding and a pack of dogs on the beach
Classic sunset shot
We also watched another traditional method of living off the land and water when we saw a man setting up the fishing net at the edge of the sea as the tiny ripples lapped softly against the sand. I’m not exactly sure what he was fishing for, perhaps sardines as we often see them when we enter the water. This is the kind of economic activity that has been going on for hundreds of years and that you probably won’t hear much about on the news or through the government: a direct connection to nature and your livelihood.
Boat at sunset
A ceiling fan and a clock on a bamboo pole. Is this where island time came from? haha
It’s summertime and that means things are slow and hot. There are often afternoon rains and everything is super green and beautiful. Lots of fruits are ripe and the flowers are in their showiest state. We also have a few new additions to the farm.
Mail arrival of some new chicks
The chickens and turkeys are doing a pretty good job at reproducing, but we wanted to add in some new genetics to the mix. We shared the order with some friends who are new to chickens and it’s been fun to watch them enjoy chickens for the first time. They are just so super cute when they are recently hatched. Pretty amazing that a little more than 21 days before, they were just eggs! What life energy!
Three of 12 new additions!
We love to eat eggs around here and there is also quite a demand for local, pasture raised chicken eggs. So we thought we would put more of a focus on that side of the homestead.
The rain this time of year can also mean power or water outages. One afternoon the water, electricity and internet went out for about 3 hours. So we decided to go out and have a beer and watch the sunset. Reminds you not to worry so much. Worrying about infrastructure and thinking you could surely do it better than it currently is handled is a classic sign you are still stuck in the old Type A mindset filled with watches, schedules and to-do lists. When you are here things go much smoother if you just go with the island flow. Do what you can, let your voice be heard but don’t worry; they’re working on it. It’s just a little harder on a very mountainous island with limited resources, high heat and a more even work/rest balance.
Enjoying a gorgeous sunset at the balneario in Aguada
When these services go out, it’s a reminder that it’s all man-made. They certainly make life more comfortable. It’s pretty darn hot without even a fan blowing on you. But having them go out reminds you that you should probably have a backup water and electric plan and it definitely helps you appreciate them more than when they are just a given.
We have also been having some really great summer jam sessions with the band. It’s so laid back and chill and we’ve been making some really cool grooves. We jam with new people sometimes that just pop in. Our jam space at Mark’s is very unique. We even made a song called Jam Space, and as you can see in this picture below, Mark’s wife, Robin, made an awesome record for the wall of the song. ~~When the lights go down, you can hear the sounds, of eerie moves and funky grooves. It’s a rather magic place, that we call our jam space.~~
Such a cool jam space and crew of people
The finca is doing well. Summer is the most fruitful season of all. More and more fruits are coming on board. We recently harvested our first corazón fruit (annona reticulata). Very interesting! Semi-sweet with a grainy pear like custard consistency. I’ve read that it is related to guanabana or soursop which makes sense because it looks similar inside. At first it is so weird we didn’t want to eat it, but once we started we just couldn’t stop. Such a Willy Wonka world of fruit here! We’ve found that like children your first inclination is to not like something, but the more exposures you have to a certain food the more you begin to like it and then eventually love it. I would say corazón will soon be a favorite of ours the more we have it.
Corazón does sort of look like a heart – whole and half eaten
When we are out working on the farm we have to watch out to not step on iguanas! They are so fearless of humans, sometimes we see them AFTER we have stepped on their tails and they run off! I know they have become invasive pests of the island, but it still gets me every time that we basically have fricken dinosaurs just roaming free everywhere! Not to mention an easy source of clean meat if it came down to it!
Iguanas are still out en force! Our finca is an uncaged zoo of them really!
It was also recently the primary election season here in Puerto Rico. Mostly it was related to senate and mayoral races, though people can vote in the primaries for the US. Too bad we can’t actually vote in the generals though! There were major caravanas (groups of cars with lights and speakers) and you wouldn’t want to accidently get stuck behind one of them or your plans for the day will include a caravan party for a few hours! A different sort of summer jam!
Elections mean posters, murals and speaker trucks of the candidate
Though Zika messaging is getting out, it doesn’t seem to really have changed anyone’s behavior that I have noticed. I thought this billboard in Mayaguez was kind of funny and misleading. Do you want Sex without Zika? Such a funny question in and of itself. Yes, the Zika virus can spread through sex, but no, they don’t put mosquito repellent in condoms!
Do you want sex without Zika? A lot of funny assumptions in this question
We are currently working on the water hook-ups for the cabin. Britton dug a trench and placed water line from the turkey coop all the way to the cabin. He is now working on the copper interior water lines.
Water line connects at the turkey coop and travels 300 feet to the cabin
It’s summertime and the living is easy. It’s a nice pace. Not many people on the road. Most everyone who is here is here because they want to be. Full-timers. There are some tourists, but they are mainly from other parts of the island and so there is less confusion and hiccups. There are events like the caminata of some guy to raise money for a children’s hospital and the Rincón Triathlon and of course the hot sauce contest coming up. And the flamboyans are majestically fantastic. Summer in Puerto Rico is a special time.
Britton swimming. It was cloudy and the air and sea was slightly cooler (around 80 f)
Renee and James jousting
The entrance to the house has been completely overtaken by the jungle
Where jungle meets concrete -B and me
