Yesterday I was really feeling yearnings for the enchanted isle of Puerto Rico; the tropical weather, the beaches, the palms, the fruits, the salsa music, everything, so I started doodling while I was on a conference call. I had just finished reading Telex From Cuba (a great book btw) and thought of all the Havana-style designs during the 50’s. I brought home one of my doodles and then proceded to paint a picture. It is really bright and colorful, and kind of fun. Hopefully we can hang it on our wall.
It was interesting because as I was longing for Puerto Rico and painting, Britton received a phone call from Awilda. She ran into someone at the Dept of Natural Resources who may be able to help. She said it is just a matter of doing the work. With an election season, and without greasing palms, it may take a while longer, though. Awilda had talked to my mom about my dad’s health situation and wants him to come down and get checked out by her son or daughter. Awilda’s family is one of most well known in the alternative medicine scene there in PR. It is very cool that we happened to meet her. I think there is definitely a reason for everything. Her son is a chiropractor and her daughter is a naturopathic doctor.
La isla del encanto lives up to its name, and I become more enchanted with it every day.
Hi Cassie and Britton,
Like you, Steve and I are in a holding pattern for Puerto Rico, although for different reasons. Our projected move date is fall 2010, moving first to our Ceiba condo and then planning and building on our Maunabo finca. My PR dreamtime is mostly composed of hand-drawing floor plans and landscaping designs. My elderly Mami is an artist and she has painted dozens of PR scenes for me, so I can understand your inspiration and wish I had the talent myself! As far as greasing palms, the way I understand that to work in PR is that you would presumably already know someone in the department you are working with (or know someone who knows someone), and then and only then should you offer any type of compensation or reciprocal service or goods. And then, never as “payment”, but simply as a “kind gesture of appreciation”. Offering cash to a stranger can backfire. Fran
Hi Fran and Steve,
Thank you so much for visiting our site. It will be fun to hear from you about how your holding pattern goes as we wait in limbo for ours. (Do you have a blog?) Are you from Puerto Rico? I can’t wait to live on a finca. We do a lot of gardening here, but I think it will be magnified by 100x once we are there -and that’s great!
I thought we better be careful with the $ situation. I wouldn’t want anyone to take it the wrong way. It’s just so different, the way things work. Thanks again for the comment! Take care. -Cassie
Cassie, No we do not have a blog. We both work away from home full time and though I’d like to start one, I’m afraid it won’t be until after I retire, which will be in a couple of years. We are in our 50s and anxious to retire. We will give PR a try, especially since Steve enjoys sailing. I have a love/hate relationship with the island that I’ve described in posts to some of the transplants’ blogs (that you also post on, which is how I linked to your blog). Yes, I am Puerto Rican, from the metro area. Being an Army brat, I was raised in the States as well as in Puerto Rico. I have lived in Sacramento, CA since 1975. I have never lived on a finca, but am learning a lot from Katrina & Jeff, Nick & Miri, and Summer & Stefan — and now from you; i.e., interesting chicken facts! The fact that you speak Spanish will give you a nice advantage in PR! I was wondering, what is your and/or Britton’s original connection to the island? Fran
Fran,
I was an International Trade and Relations major for my undergrad (BA) with an emphasis in Latin America and a minor in Spanish (then I got a MA in Spanish and Sociology also). I lived in Mexico for a while and love it there as well. When we began to learn about Puerto Rico, I knew I wanted to go there. A tropical island that is Spanish speaking and still connected to the US! What a dream. So, I convinced Britton to go there for our honeymoon a little over 3 years ago and he loved it as well. So, ever since then, we have been planning, saving and preparing for the big move. Last December I went down with my mom and we found the finca we want to buy and put a contract in on it. We want to have a finca so that we can sell produce at Farmer’s Markets (we do it from here too, just not as much) and maybe have a little guesthouse; they call it agritourism. But we also want to have back-up cash flow, so that is all in the planning parts of this. Since you are Puerto Rican, I think I could learn a lot from you!
Thanks again, and keep us in the loop with your progress!
Cassie