Life Transplanet

When Cassie and I first set out to buy a property in Puerto Rico we knew it’d be an adventure, we knew that it wouldn’t be possible to know how it would turn out and we also knew it would be a great accomplishment.

Step one was to: Buy a property

Well that has been completed.  We were right though.  It has been an adventure, it wouldn’t be possible to know how this turned out and it is a huge accomplishment. 

We started out South of Lares pretty deep in the jungle/interior of Puerto Rico. We waited a year for the property to be correctly registered and it didn’t happen. During that first time trying to purchase something we always found ourselves leaving the property and driving to Rincon. Nearly every day. It took an hour+ to drive there, then we’d drive back late at night.   We backed out of that deal and started looking again.

On our second attempt we came looking for something further west. We looked in Atalaya and Aguadilla. We stayed at a place just off the 413 in Rincon for that trip. We really liked a place in Atalaya we looked at but the price was just too much for me.   We passed and someone else bought it.  We felt like we had to start all over…again.

On our third I found a property north of San Sebastian. This was much further West than Lares and only about 30 mintues to the beach / Rincon. We negotiated an offer which we could afford and it was accepted. We felt pretty good about this deal. It had land, a house and was closer to all the action.

Then the unexpected happened. We found a property that was not only in Rincon, but we could afford to buy it. The price had always been a limiting factor for us living in Rincon! So it seems like it is a good fit for us.  We finished up the deal just yesterday and purchased it.  It is a bag of mixed emotions.  Everything from overwhelming joy due to us finally completing step 1 of our goal to a bit of fear and panic about what is next.  Do we fix up the wood house?  Do we not worry about it because we may want to tear it down and build a house of our choosing? 

This seems to be a logical thing for us.  We always have something going on and like to have something to do.  This project will keep us busy for years to come. 

There is a concrete studio apartment bulit there as well.  I think we will get the water turned on and make that livable for now.  It will give us a place to stay while we are here, it is nice already inside (just needs paint and maybe some plumbing).   We aren’t really sure what to do with the larger wood house, but I guess we have plenty of time to figure it out.

Stairway in Wood House

Cassie on the Deck

At this time it looks like step 2 will be to figure out what step 3 is.  It is different to dream about something than to actually do it.  When you actually do it, you feel all kinds of things you don’t in the dream.  You see things in reality that don’t exist in the dream(good and bad).  One of my favorite analogies of life is that it is like a rollercoster:

The world is like a ride in an amusement park and when you choose to go on it you think it’s real because that’s how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and around and around and it has thrills and chills and it’s very brightly coloured and it’s very loud. And it’s fun – for a while. Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they begin to question; is this real? Or is this just a ride? And other people have remembered, and they come back to us, and they say, “Hey, don’t worry, don’t be afraid, ever, because… this is just a ride.”

We ended up going to a bar nearby called the Rum Shack.  Well I guess it is more of a resort with a bar, its behind the Lazy Parrot.  Cassie and I walked over and watched the band and hung out for a while.  It seems to be a pretty popular tourist location. 

I didn’t catch the name of the band, but they were pretty good. 

We then spent today looking at a few properties.  Both were about what we expected.  One of the smaller places in Aguada was nice, but a little on the high priced side.  It has a few acres but its on the side of a hill.  It is terraced and could work out for growing plants pretty well and that is one of our requirements.  We would offer a lot lower than what they are asking for. 

Also since we were by the beach, we went again.  Here is another gallery.

I am working on a video to upload, its huge though so it will take some time. 

We left Denver last night at 1am and arrived in Puerto Rico at 11am.  I’ve never taken a red eye before and it actually worked out pretty well I think.  This is the first time I have been able to navigate San Juan during the day.  It is SOOO much better than at night. 

Sunrise over an airplane in Charlotte

On our way to Rincon we stopped at a little taco / burrito place and had lunch in Hatillo.  It was a really cool, clean and friendly place.  Good food and a Jamacia soda. 

 We then came to Rincon where we will be staying.  Its a much different place than the eastern side of the island.  A bit more laid back.   Today is a day to just get settled in.  I am writing this from the place we are staying at.  It is a house in the hills of Rincon. 

We are currently resting, surfing the web and we went for a brief walk around the neighborhood. We are going to start calling people and setting some things up to look at (properties) during the week.

 
Short walk vista