Category Archives: Remodeling and Renovating

Update: Limber de Teta, Demolition Derby, Flower Power, Rincón Film Fest, Etc

Rincon beach road
Rincón Back Road

Wow, it always surprises me when I think of what to write about for the blog. I think, I don’t really have any good topics. Then I look through my pictures and I see that we have actually been out doing quite a few things. Here are a few of them:

Rincón International Film Festival
We enjoyed a beautiful and elegant evening at Rincón Beach Resort for the final night of the Rincón International Film Festival also known as “Best Of Fest.”  I like to watch all the short films that have been sifted through and chosen as the top picks. As for the resort, I have never been to this one and it was really nice. I have seen it advertised on Wheel of Fortune and it definitely has that sort of all-inclusive resort vibe. It even has a swim-up pool bar that is connected directly to the beach.

Rincon Film Fest
With friends at RIFF 

Cassie Rincon Beach Resort RIFF with Markus and Daisy
Fun at Rincón Beach Resort

Limber de Teta
I saw a sign for Limber de Teta and it made me laugh. What could boob limber possibly be? So we stopped and tried it out. It was a limber (like an icee) but sold in a little baggie the shape of a boob. Pretty clever!

Britton sucking teta
Sucking on a parcha/piña boob

Limber de teta Artesan Boobs
At the Limber de Teta stand just off the 115 going towards Aguada

Demolition Derby in Moca
A friend of ours invited us to a demolition derby in Moca that was a fundraiser for his friend’s adolescent daughter who has a very aggressive form of cancer. I see a lot of fundraisers around here for various causes, but this was one of the biggest. We hadn’t been to a demo derby since the Greeley Stampede many years ago. Here it was definitely not regulation size or even in a stadium. People just sort of hung out everywhere, but it somehow worked.

F Cancer Demo car
One of the demolition cars

Demolition crowd Demolition Derby from above
Quite a crowd in the middle of a cleared out field!

As we were watching the events unfold a the derby, a young girl walked by that caught my eye. What was in her hands? Snakes! I was intrigued and began asking her about them. She could tell that I wasn’t afraid of them and said, do you want to hold them? I tentatively said yes and she put the large python on my neck and the baby in my hands. You never know what you may find in the randomest of places!

Snake Cassie edit
Cassie the Snake Charmer. Starting to get a little tight around the neck!

Flower Power: Playing Music
We played our most recent show at Willie’s to the theme of Flower Power/Hippie Night and it was a lot of fun.

Willies Hippie Night
Playing out at Willie’s

Hippies Kenny Markus Cassie Hippie Night
Good times! Peace, Love and Happiness!

On the Property
We have been focusing on property landscaping a little more lately and cleanup. While we’re not completely done with the house, it is functional. So now we are making it and the surroundings pretty! The finca has grown a lot in the last 3 nearly 4 years and we are starting to see the literal fruits of our labors!

Japanese Nispero Flowers
Nispero Japones aka Loquat first flowers!

Cassie Jungle 2 two
Amongst the flowers of our gardens

Kola cola nut flowers
Kola Nut flowers!

I hear something BK
In the jungle of our yard…Hey! What’s that sound?!

We have been clearing out some pretty nasty spiky and poisonous plants lately! Check them out:

Huge Spider Huntsman
Huge harmless spider (on a 2×6 to give you scale)…a huntsman

Cross that bridge
We’ll cross that bridge when we get there

As I was clearing some bromeliads and underbrush from behind the cabin, I found this old liquor bottle. We have determined based on the markings that it is from between 1932-1964! That’s a long time to be sitting out in the middle of the jungle! This old treasure says: Federal Law Forbids Sale or Reuse of this Bottle. John Walker and Sons Ltd Kilmarnock Scotland 4/5 Quart.

17637010_10208953235290316_7484647352082477681_o
Before it was Johnnie Walker, it was John Walker and Sons Ltd

The chickens and turkeys are all doing pretty good. We have to protect them a little more especially now that we are at the cabin and not as close to their coops. We collect quite a few eggs and enjoy their silly antics. Here’s some voodoo magic you can do with a chicken!

Out and about
And then of course there is the randomness of being out and about around the island. You just never know what you might see.

Whole lotta cans
Like a HUGE can of cans!

Muscovie duck
Beautiful duck, I think a Muscovy in a lagoon

Surfrider crewHanging out with Surfrider and a high school science club doing water quality testing 

Mural
Cool new mural on a derelict building

Cassie derelict house
And nature reclaiming this one

Not even for one second
This sign made me laugh…No! You can’t park here, not even for one second

Sana
One of our favorite little food stands, Sana, moved across the street by the Post Office

Socato fruit
And at the Pulguero in San Sebastian I spotted these huge fruits. They call them Socato

Chilling cassie
Hanging out at one of our favorite bars, Olajas in Aguada

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Construct It: Cabin Floors and Walls

I figured it was maybe time to do a little construction update.  One thing nice about doing things at your own pace is that you can take a step back when you start to feel overwhelmed or don’t have an answer to a “how to” and want to take some time to research.  A lot of building this house has required research because I’ve never done it before.  Like what screws to use for drywall and WHY?  What screws to use for cement board and WHY?  How do you construct a shower basin in a wood framed house?

The company that delivered the drywall delivered screws too.  They were black phosphate coated drywall screws BUT they were fine thread.  When I asked about it they claimed of course “It’s fine to use them in wood!” which isn’t really true.  Wood screws use a coarse thread for holding power.  Fine threads are used for metal studs.  Just an example of how a small thing can turn into a small ordeal when you are ready to start a project in the morning.

Using what are considered the “correct” fasteners might not matter to some people, especially if the fasteners are difficult to locate.  I have been called “Mañoso” (picky) a few times which is accurate I guess.

Drywall
Mud, Tape and Ready for Primer/Paint

This past week have been getting the inside ready for paint and flooring.  Since we decided to go with tile, we needed to prep the sub floor.  We got 24 4×8 sheets of 3/4″ thick cement board.  Those weigh 136 pounds each!  It took a whole day just for us to move them over to the house.  It was actually easiest for one person to carry an entire sheet on their back than it was for two people to awkwardly try to move one.  So there was a lot of resting in between trips but we got it done.

While I do a lot of the research myself it is tremendously useful to have Waldemar help with each step. He propels us forward so much more than we can do alone. I really appreciate his help. He brings skills, experience as well as lots of energy and motivation when I just don’t have a whole a lot.

Britton and Waldemar floors
Installing Cement Board

We then cut and installed the cement boards (generically called plycem here).  Those things were ridiculously heavy.  The floors however are SOLID and we shouldn’t have any problems with tiles popping or cracking.  Under the cement boards we used thinset to fill any space between the 3/4″ inch plywood.  There are a few write ups about this online.  The professionals who sold me the cement board told me I didn’t need to use thinset, but again for me it comes down to the “why” and the write ups did a good job of convincing me that it should be done.

Waldemar and Cassie 2
Cassie brings over lunch for us and helps where she can

Our tile is on order and should be here in a week or so.  We wanted to get a natural feel instead of using ceramic printed tiles and went with a red clay tile almost like terracotta.  Again, Mañoso but what can you do?  If you want something, sometimes you have to wait.

Waldermar and Britton
¿Tu quiereme? Waldemar and I work together a lot and have gotten to know each other well, even with the language barrier.

We also used cement board for the shower stall.  Over top of the cement board I used aqua defense, it is a paintable rubber membrane that adheres well to thinset when dry so you can tile over it.  The paintable membrane will keep any moisture from seeping past the grout/tiles and cement board into the wood below.  One thing I have learned is that cement is porous and should be sealed if you want to keep water out.  There is also a 3 piece drain.

Blue bathroom
Green Water-proof Membrane

Soon we should receive some tiles.  Until then we will be painting the walls.
Cassie Painting
Cassie Priming the Drywall for Paint

So as you can see, we haven’t JUST been chinchorreando and having fun…We are making really good progress on the cabin too. Now that we can see the walls and floors taking shape we are super stoked to move in!

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18 Ways Your Life Will Change if You Move to Puerto Rico

It is truly difficult to really capture how much of a change in lifestyle it is for someone who is not from Puerto Rico to move to Puerto Rico. It is different for everyone and some people (like children) will adapt faster than others. It also depends where exactly you move. Some people like condos and gated communities that are completely shut off from everyone else and their daily experience will be quite a bit different from people who live immersed within a neighborhood. People with kids will have a different experience than childfree people. But overall, here are a few ways your life will probably change if you move to Puerto Rico.

Aguada house

1) Housing – Whether you buy or rent you will more than likely live in a cement house with tile floors and louvered windows. Often on a road with virtually no setback or yard. It takes some time to get used to, but when you’ve been through a tropical storm you’ll understand why concrete became the standard (though on the otherhand not always the best in an earthquake) and after you’ve swept your floors for the 5th time that day you will understand why you wouldn’t want to have moldy dirty carpet anyway.

Mofongo
Mofongo and Malta at a roadside stop!

2) Food/Diet – No you won’t have the best apples, asparagus and artichokes. You may find them, but they won’t probably be very appetizing and are probably about a month old from their travels. Lettuces and other tender greens will be sparse in the grocery store. But the tradeoff is a wonderful cornucopia of tropical delights if you just look a little deeply and/or grow your own. While we can get those standard apples here, I’ve never seen a pomarrosa in a store in the states for instance! Also, don’t expect Puerto Rican food to be Mexican food. Puerto Rican cuisine is its own specialty. While I miss the spicy Mexican foods of Colorado, I LOVE many of the great foods of Puerto Rico like pasteles and mofongo.

James Bond Girl Cassie
Warm weather to me means fun clothes!

3) Clothing -When it’s always nice outside, you won’t be needing that down padded snow coat or boots anymore…ever. Shorts and shirts or less. Most of the time I have a hard time putting on even that if we are staying at the property. However, one should always have a pair of pants and close-toed shoes on hand for the occasional visit to some governmental building or to go in a casino. Culturally most Puerto Ricans wear long pants. And must sweat like crazy. So if you don’t want to stick out like a gringo, you can wear pants. I still don’t usually though.

Cassie In the water

4) Activities – All year round summer means all year round summer-like activities. Especially if you live near the beach. Sure you can do most anything you did where you came from like go to the mall or a movie or whatever, but you will probably find yourself taking up some new hobby and activity. More than likely some creative venture. You also live on one of the most beautiful islands filled with all sorts of what you would probably consider exotic locations that you can explore anytime and pretty much without any pretense!

Home Depot

5) Shopping– Speaking of shopping….This is an island. Be prepared to get everything locally if possible. This is a who-you-know sort of place. You will need to be friendly with everyone because everything is connected. But if you do go shopping in the conventional way for example to some big box store like Sam’s or Marshall’s and you see something new that you may vaguely like and haven’t seen it before, you should probably buy it. More than likely you probably won’t see it there again or for a long while. And while you can buy a lot of things online, shipping is uncertain and sometimes pretty expensive.

6) Your abilities – You may have to do a lot more for yourself. And you will be surprised and amazed at the things you can do when you believe it. Heck, we are literally building a fricking house in the middle of jungle with very little outside help. You will grow and be stronger than you ever thought possible. But you have to be willing to give it a shot. You will learn about the can-do attitude of the people here. It may be done on Island Time, but if something gets set into motion, it gets done! You will probably learn a lot more home remedies and McGwyver type of fixes too. It helps to have 2 of everything just to have the parts!

Driver's Permit Guide
There are “official” rules and then there are the “actual” rules of the road

7) Driving – At first you will think the driving here is absolutely nuts. Oh, they just used that as a bonus lane!! Oh, they said hi to their neighbor with a bunch of traffic behind them, ínteresting. They totally dodged that pothole and headed straight into traffic. Did they just go right through the red light?! Wow, the cashiers sell and OPEN the beer for customers in the gas station? Oh, they are just going to stop right here and buy some quenepas and m+ms, oh and a whole pizza, at this intersection? Or there is someone who is turning and the car in front of you decides to stop wave them in front. Then one day you are in a position where that move might be helpful. So you try it out. And then you realize you are pretty much driving just like everyone else. And it’s awesome!

horse and playground
Playground and a horse

8) Setting – Of course there are palm trees and gorgeous beaches. But there are also some of the weirdest, funniest moments and scenes I have ever seen.

Show me your paradise
Show me your paradise

9) Utilities – From the word Utility. The quality or state of being useful. And utilities ARE very useful. But they are not ALWAYS consistent or on. Water, electricity, internet. They all go out much more often than many other places. This is another area you will get to work on that attitude change thing. As I write this we have been without water for about 3 days. We have a slow trickle from the remains of the line, but we are careful not to shower long or flush the toilet too much. We have gone weeks without internet. And nearly as long without electricity. Instead of thinking they SHOULD be on…I try to remember how great it is when they are and also how nice it is to go outside and enjoy the world without all these man-made systems for a few hours. Also, another opportunity to find out how much you can truly do for yourself. Most people have generators, water cisterns and know where the best hot spots for internet in town are for this very reason of not relying too much on any one system.

Speaker truck strange sights
Speaker trucks…one way to annoyingly tell everyone about some news or product

10) Freedom – You will not be nearly as coddled. You will be able to jump off slippery waterfalls and climb to hilltops and caves without helmets if you so wish. Police will likely look the other way at drunk driving. You will be able to have roosters and chickens (and goats and pigs and horses and…) in pretty much any neighborhood. You can host big gambling parties. You can sell stuff on the street. You can blast your music as loudly as you want. How you handle that responsibility of freedom will depend on you.

Horse Flamboyan SMALL
Flamboyan season -and a horse in a tiny truck

11) Seasons – This one seems to be a big one for some people. Like, “Don’t you miss the changing of the seasons?” For me, the only season I really enjoyed see change was the one that brought us out of the cold depressing dark winter/spring into full summer fun. Wasn’t that everyone’s favorite time? No school. Long days. Parties with friends. Hanging out outside. BBQs and nice weather. And so, I get to live in summer year round. And actually there are seasons here. They are just a little less pronounced and more to do with rain and fruit varieties (mango or avocado season for example) than with temperature. Also there are seasons of people at least in Rincón. Tourist season and off-season.

12) Your Attitude. (From Type A —> Type B): If you can make this change it will help you tremendously. If you can’t make this transition, this may not be the place for you. There are cockroaches here. There are rats here. There are mosquitoes.Things break more often and wear out faster. Things get dirtier and need to be cleaned more. There are poor people. It’s harder to find all the stuff you are used to. There are not as many jobs and definitely not as many high paying jobs. Things take longer than you are used to or think they should. We get it. But please…Take a chill pill. Go to the beach. Take off your watch. Listen to some music. Jangear con tus panas. Breathe in the moment. All of this is just part of the adventure. Have fun with it! Learn something! People who can’t adjust at least a little to Type B Island life will probably not enjoy Puerto Rico unless they completely isolate themselves from it.

13) Design of your life!  With freedom, a can-do spirit and a laid back vibe you will probably begin to design the life of your dreams. You will be able to move from a wage slave beholden to someone else’s vision to the boss artist you have had locked away. With a lower cost of living you won’t need to make as much money to make that happen and you will be doing something you truly love and would do even if money wasn’t a factor. Often times in an informal under-the-table economy!

14) Language -Spanish! (Español) – You can get by, especially in certain areas like Gringolandia (Rincón, Aguadilla, most of the west coast, university areas, parts of San Juan, etc) speaking only English, but you certainly won’t have a very broad understanding of Puerto Rico and your social circle will be limited. Nearly everything is first in Spanish here. Puerto Rican Spanish specifically which is pretty different than other Spanish. Everything. From the TV to radio, to basic conversations with retailers to deep important conversations in government buildings. If that bothers you or can’t adjust at least a little to it, you may go crazy.

BQN Beach Sunset
Borinquen Beach, Aguadilla

15) Tropics – This is the tropics. That means it is incredibly beautiful and post card perfect sometimes. We live where you vacation. But it also means that it can be pretty humid and hot. It means there are creatures and plants you are not used to. There are big spiders and bigger cockroaches. There are weird sounds that you can’t identify especially at night. There are termite swarms after a big rain. And the rainstorms are big and thunderous. Aguaceros! You will probably break out in some sort of sweat or plant poison rash (like Puerto Rican poison ivy) or even tropical disease (like Dengue, Chikungunya, Zika), you may get sunburned because the sun is pretty intense. It’s also an island surround by sea. The sea is dangerous! People often underestimate the power of the ocean and there are always a few drownings every year!

Cassie Mojito
Mojito time!

16) Drinking – There is definitely a drinking culture here in Puerto Rico. Fueled by rum from the island (Bacardí, Don Q) as well as Medalla and other light beers. It would be a rare event or party without alcohol. It’s hot and a cold one tastes pretty damn good sometimes. Even customer appreciation events at banks, grocery stores, parades at all hours of the day etc are fueled with alcohol. Chinchorreos, cabalgatas, parrandas are all reasons to drink more. With that is a lot more acceptance of alcoholism and its consequences. You will probably have to watch your drinking a lot more as it can easily creep up on you.

La Junta Fiscal
La Junta de Control Fiscal No Viene a Salvar, Viene a Robar (The Control Board isn’t coming to save us, it’s coming to rob us)

17) Life in a Colony–  If you move to Puerto Rico you will probably be struck by both the similarities and the differences from life where you came from. Puerto Rico has nearly everything you would expect in a state of the United States of America. Except one big thing: Self-sovereignty. Puerto Rico functions as a territory but is basically treated as a colony of the US. As a resident here, you will see what it means to be basically at best sort of forgotten and at worst downright pillaged of resources. We lack the right to vote for president and many of the decisions for the island can be over-ruled by US congress. And we have no voting members there either. It makes it much harder to address island wide issues when there is no representation and very little interest on the part of the US besides financial and military.

Cockfighting
Cockfighting is legal and thriving all over the island

18) Overall a big culture change – Some of these are mentioned above, but suffice it to say that you will probably be in for a culture change if not shock. Puerto Rican culture is a distinct blend of Latino Spanish influence and history, afro-Caribbean roots and the effects of being part of the US. While it is difficult to generalize, I think it is fair to say that nearly everything you know culturally is just a little bit different in Puerto Rico. Views on time (hora Puertorriqueña), values of work/family (WAY more days off to “compartir” with loved ones), religion (mostly Catholic with a healthy dose of Pentacostal), food (mmm yum), language (a distinct type of Spanish), recreation (some things are the same but there are new ones here like cockfighting, surfing and coffee festivals that we never experienced before) , history (you should know the names of historical figures like Pedro Albizu Campos, Luis Muñoz Marin and Doña Fela), expressions (many funny common expressions here), social interactions (like kisses on the cheek or saying Buen Provecho), music (salsa, merengue, bachata, reggaeton and more), taboos, and much more are all going to be different in your new life in Puerto Rico.

I know this list isn’t comprehensive, but hopefully helps give you an idea of what sort of lifestyle change you are actually looking into if you move to Puerto Rico. For us, we love it and it suits our personality, but it may not be for everyone. Come and visit before you move. And if you’re anything like us, you will probably be bedazzled by the Isle of Enchantment.

Britton Cassie Anasco

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Cabin Drywall Installation

The drywall installation is really going well at the cabin. It has been quite the job for just Britton and Waldemar to do alone, but we’re gettin’ ‘er done. Before we got started we needed to fill any little cavities or crevices that a bee or bat could enter in the walls. We were thinking of using insulation but were having a hard time finding any. Since we won’t have air conditioning or heating at the cabin it wasn’t actually needed for the purpose of keeping in heat or cold, but rather just for keeping the critters out. So we went around and filled each little crevice, crack and hole with expanding foam.

Filling with foam
Filling crevices with foam

The next task was to order and then move over the drywall. We can drive the truck about half-way to the cabin. It is definitely a good thing we have 4 wheel drive. In Puerto Rico there is often an opportunity or need to use it. Here at our finca we drive on our grass at least 3 or 4 times a week.

Truck halfwayTruck halfway down loaded with drywall

Waldermar and Britton on bridge

Next, Britton and Waldemar carried over each 2-pack of drywall. That means 30 trips up and down through the jungle from the truck and back, through the tropical gardens, across the sky bridge, up the curving stairs, onto the deck and into the house. That took all of one day.

Stacked drywall
Just a portion of the drywall

Waldemar hanging drywall

Next was the actual install. This is where you could really start to see the house take shape and what the rooms will really look like. It made the house feel a little smaller but much brighter.

Drywall LivingLiving room

Drywall kitchen
Kitchen

Nothing is ever as simple or easy as you would like. The order came with the wrong screws and we ran out of tape. So that meant more trips back to Mayaguez. We bought a lot of the materials at a drywall place, but we also made many a stop at Home Depot.

Horses in parking lotYou never know where you will see horses around here. In the Home Depot parking lot

We are getting closer and closer. They are now mudding and taping and then we will paint the walls. After that comes the subfloor! Though there is always something to think about, things are coming together beautifully.

Ginger flower
When we’re not working on the house, we have to keep up with the gardening! This is a new white torch ginger

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