Monthly Archives: September 2015

Guajataca Tunnel of Quebradillas

Yesterday, our electrician friend Papo had to finish up some work with our friends, and invited us all to spend the rest of the day with him. Our friends declined, but Britton and I were up for the adventure. We got a late start and it was a little rainy out but we decided to go for it anyway. At our friends’ house we ate pollo al carbon con yuca y escabeche (rotisserie chicken with cassava and green banana) with a side of pinchos (chicken skewers) and fresh fruit and we stopped for gas. The tanks were all full and so we were ready to hit the road.

Papo and Britton with the truck

We loaded up into his large blue guagua and drove from Rincón to Quebradillas/Isabela listening to old Puerto Rican trio music and stopping occasionally for a beer or some ajonjoli (sesame) candies.

An example of Puerto Rican trio music

When we arrived it was a little before 6pm so we didn’t have a whole lot of time to explore. I definitely want to go back another time and see more of the area. The day was a little misty and the visibility wasn’t super great, but it sort of added to the post-apocalyptic feel of the place. Anything man-made looked run-down and falling apart. There were a couple loose dogs (satos) and some trash. Still it was a sort of spectacular find and I am surprised we hadn’t heard of it before.

First we stopped at a look-out spot. Just behind our heads you can see the famous tunnel

This apparently used to be a lively bar and restaurant. Now it looks like the scene from a sci-fi movie

The beach area was long and expansive, but there really wasn’t anyone there. Maybe during the weekends it fills up. The current looked strong and it was a bit rocky, so probably more of a beach hangout spot or possibly surfing rather than a swimming beach.

Britton and Papo checking out the beach

We walked through the short tunnel that is dark enough to have bats flying around and a nice echo, but you could pretty much see the light the whole way through. Walking through there, you could feel a rich history of the place. Britton was just amazed at the amount of work it would have been to carve a tunnel and trench through this rock (his mind is always imagining himself doing the work -haha).

Guajataca Tunnel and friendly sato

I researched a little about this tunnel and learned that it was once part of the extensive railroad system in Puerto Rico and connected the town of Quebradillas with Isabela in order to better transport the sugar cane. I found this old photograph of it too.

Guajataca Tunnel and rail system -courtesy of the Univ of PR

There was a long wall built along the cliffs -built by Spaniards like most of them? No sé

And some impressive rock out-croppings

Climbing to the top of the spiky rocks offered some beautiful views of the water below

There looked to be a couple of cave entrances along the cliff face, but it was far too dark to begin exploring them. Maybe another day.

In true Papo fashion, we ended up at a billiards bar and I beat both Britton and Papo at each game (not due to my skill, but my ability to NOT scratch the 8 Ball as they both did! 😉 ) This little bar was another great movie scene complete with the tacky mirror advertisements and a juke box playing Marc Anthony, Maná, Gran Combo and lots of other Puerto Rican musicians I had never heard of. A perfect setting! We rounded out the evening with empanadillas and pizza at a road-side food truck. The tanks were filled again: My brain was full of new Spanish words and Puerto Rican sights, my belly was full of beer and roadside food and my heart was full of love and gratitude.

Rack ’em! They call them pequeñas y grandes instead of solids and stripes

I harken back to our day trips (Orocovis, Mar Chiquita, etc) with our friend Diosdado and am reminded and just so thankful for the hospitality of the people here. In Puerto Rico, it seems to me that if you are willing to hang out and have a good time, you won’t have any problem finding someone to do the same. Even in the middle of a Wednesday afternoon. You just have to be up for the adventure!

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Let There Be Luz! Electricity to the Cabin

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Luz is the shorthand way of saying electricidad in Spanish. It literally means light, but in our case it will eventually mean a full size fridge (amongst other things)!! Yay!

It may not look like much, but getting this hook-up was quite the achievement!

We finally made a decision about a month ago after much deliberation and chose to go with grid-tie electricity instead of solar power. Since then, it has been a lot of work to get to that point! Even though we hired out the work, we have learned that it is important to be involved or at least present in any project.

The first step was to dig a trench about 500 feet. At first there were only two middle-aged guys doing it and it was getting done, but the going was slooow because it was hot, steep, and hard work. I have never seen a skilled 50 something-year-old electrician getting down and dirty digging a trench like Papo, but I have come to expect the unexpected in Puerto Rico!

Checking out the sanja (trench) with our friend Anthony after the guys left

After a couple of days just working with one other guy, Papo brought in a larger crew and the trench-work (literally working in the trenches) went a lot faster. It was still super hot though and everyone on the team had to change clothes at the end of the day because they were just drenched in sweat. Late summer is not the ideal time to do manual labor in the tropics because if it wasn’t super blazing hot, it was raining! Also, Tropical Storm Erika did nothing in Rincón, but in Maricao it downed a lot of lines. So Papo took about a week working there instead, helping restore people’s power which was definitely more important than our project.

Trench almost to the cabin!

When work commenced again it was time to lay cable -the thickest cable I think that is available. In order to do this, they had to unspool it and send it down the trench. And then cover it with the conduit tubes and seal them.

Unspooling the wire!

Orlando, Papo, Cocolo and Ivan with the spool of wire

Covering the wire in conduit and running it down the trench

Tube is laid and ready to be filled in with caution tape

The next phase was to build a junction box and run the copper wire into the cabana and chip out a space in the wall for the breaker box. Britton helped bring supplies and materials and oversaw a lot of the work. His Spanish is still a little bit Tarzan, but I think he could work on a Puerto Rican construction crew now if he wanted. These guys speak virtually no English, so necessity is the mother of invention. As I reminded Britton, immersion is the key to learning any language (though construction Spanish has a distinct dialect and vocabulary ha!)!

Junction box

Double breaker boxes in the cabana

The final steps were to hook everything up, plaster the holes, cement the lower portion where the conduit crosses the quebrada and check to make sure it all worked. Well, everything seemed finished, until the sky opened up and just dumped an aguacero on us.

Trench in the torrential downpour

Britton and Papo went through the rain and mud back to the cabin to go do a final check, but alas, it didn’t work. No sense in trying to mess with electricity during a storm like this, so they called it a day. He would need to return a final time to figure out what went wrong. We were a little nervous that the fresh cement wouldn’t hold through all that rain, but the next day we checked and that, at least, stayed solid.

The turkeys went with us to check the quebrada crossing, and everything was still intact

When Papo returned, he figured out the small issue. He connected some wires and we all walked to the cabin for one final check. Amazingly, not only did everything work, but it had hardly any voltage drop at all! Well done!

Voltage at the cabin was almost exactly the same as at the studio cabana 500 feet away

Luz! Literally!

Afterward, our friends needed a little help from Papo but since Papo speaks no English and they don’t speak Spanish, I went along as interpreter. As we were heading up, Papo honked and signaled us to stop. For a beer! Then after we left our friends’ house, he wanted to stop again for more! Since it was Friday, and we had such a huge accomplishment we went with the flow. The bar was called called El Nuevo Encuentro (The New Encounter) after all! How could you not stop at least once (if not twice) with a name like that! It was hill top with a great view and the wind blew my hair all around as we enjoyed some cervezas, billares, alitas, and amistad.

Having a new encounter and beer with Papo!

Sometimes it’s hard to put into words exactly why I love Puerto Rico, but this is part of it! I mean, come on, our electrician took us out to the bar! How much more welcoming can it get?! Rarely are things completely straightforward here and lines (like working/playing) are often blurred. And I just can’t help but love it so much. It lights up my life! 😉

Hill top pool

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Pineapple, Papaya, Avocado and September Fun

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Our tropical food and other adventures continue daily.

Fresh, delicious papaya

This month we harvested our first papayas as well as our very first pineapple. I have never been a big fan of papayas because to me they smell a little like vomit. But this variety was actually pretty good and didn’t have the smell.

Pineapples are probably up there as one of my very favorite fruit, and we’ve had such issues with root rot here that I got so excited I just had to wear our first little harvest on my head along with some home-grown bananas! Haha, poor Britton always has to put up with my silly shenanigans.

Just call me Chiquita

In addition, it’s avocado season in full steam. Nearly every meal and snack now includes fresh avocados. Each evening and sometimes morning we go scour beneath the avocado trees. We have found four large mature avocado trees and we have planted another 8 or so, that are off-season varieties so (hopefully) soon we will be so overrun with avocados we won’t know what to do! Most days we’ve collected about 5-10 large avos. It’s amazing how much you can extend a meal when you have avocados. We have them with our eggs in the morning, with salads at lunch and with pretty much anything for dinner (nachos, rice and beans, etc).

A typical daily breakfast is almost all home grown -avos, mangos, starfruit, and scrambled eggs. We look forward to growing our own peppers soon too

Large orange iguana hanging out eating our fruit too- on the parcha vine!

The animals are all doing well. The baby turkeys are now living in the coop in a smaller cage and we take them out for walks daily until they are hawk-proof (about 3 months old). And of the two chicken chicks that survived from the original 6, one was a hen and the other a rooster. The hen is a gorgeous black chicken mix of auracana and Jersey giant and lays really cool green olive-colored eggs. The rooster is beautiful and huge, working for his place in the pecking order.

The birds crowding around Britton at dinner time

There are still four large male turkeys toms, and we need to decrease numbers because they fight a lot. But we want to wait until we have a stove and fridge to properly handle them. In the mean-time they are looking more beautiful than ever.

Turkey looking good

We are in the midst of a large project that I will write about once it is completed, but we have had quite a few days off as well. We have been going to the beach, hanging out, and playing music with friends.

Afternoon rain clouds form at Steps Beach after we went snorkeling and the water turned an amazing color

September is a quiet month in Rincón. The local Puerto Rican tourists have left and the North American tourists haven’t arrived yet. There are afternoon rains nearly daily, threats of hurricanes, and the heat can be super intense to work outside. (We take LOTS of showers and have all the fans on after sweating outside!) But I still wouldn’t trade it for anything.

When we’re not working we spend a lot of time just chillin’ in the Big Sky park of our yard with its ever changing painting

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Animal Welfare in Puerto Rico: Interviews with Experts

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Loose dogs roaming the beach in Rincón

Animal welfare in Puerto Rico may be one of the most obvious differences a person from elsewhere notices when they visit various parts of Puerto Rico. Though it is slowly changing (more so in Rincón than some places), you may still see street dogs (known in Puerto Rico as satos), or even loose pet dogs begging for food, mating, and wandering about with pups. Sometimes they look very sickly and occasionally they are hit by cars on the side of the road. They may be causing trouble getting into people’s yards, chasing or killing other animals, dumping trash cans, or barking and fighting with other dogs.

There are also many feral cats fending for themselves and territory and even abandoned horses sometimes in the middle of the road causing traffic issues. And the pet iguanas that were released at some point long ago now outnumber the human population (and are causing some major damage to the island’s flora)!

Our rescued cat, Kitty, came with us all the way from Colorado

I have always had a soft spot for animals and both our old dog Schnoodle and current cat Kitty were shelter rescues from Colorado. So I wanted to know, what is going on here in Puerto Rico, how is it changing, and what are the resources? Rather than attempt to tackle these questions myself, I decided to ask a few experts. Below are the responses from three leaders in animal welfare in the Rincón area. A huge thank you to all of them for taking time to help educate the community on this important issue!

Terrie Hayward, MEd, KPA-CTP, CPDT, CSAT, IAABC

Background/education in animal welfare

For eight years I ran a rescue group in a different part of PR & was the secretary for a group in Samoa previously. I have personally fostered hundreds of dogs (& a few cats) & worked to find appropriate, permanent homes for them.

My background is in education (MEd.) & I still work in education, however now my clients are animals & their caregivers. I’m a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA-CTP), & am also certified via the Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CPDT-KA) as well as specializing in Canine Separation Anxiety (CSAT-Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer) & Deaf Dogs & have authored the book, “A Deaf Dog Joins the Family” My business info can be found as follows: positiveanimalwellness.com & on FB.

What are the mission and goals of your organization/group/program?

I work with people & animals to improve upon communication & effect behavioral change using the science of positive reinforcement which is the route to happy, healthy lives for the animals & people who care for them.

Describe the current animal welfare situation in Puerto Rico. How is it similar or different to other places? Are there any special cultural considerations? How has it changed over the years?

Having lived outside of the US for the last 20 years & in many different locations the animal welfare situation is similar to PR in many places (including some spots within the US as well). Education is always the key from care to training to improving the overall quality of life for animals.

What are the best practices as well as new and promising practices regarding animal welfare?

Education, again, is the key. With behavior modification & training, at least half of the training is for the people. As such, providing education & information is not only good for animals & caregivers, but is beneficial to the health & safety of the community as a whole.

TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release) is the key to stable cat colonies in spots where there is an overpopulation of outdoor cats. Once there is a stable colony, feeding & monitoring stations can help in the maintenance of the colony. The link above gives additional details as to how & why this protocol works best.

70-90% of animals relinquished to shelters are due to behavioral issues. Simple problems which, when approached appropriately, can easily be avoided &/or modified.

For this reason I always suggest that when folks bring a new animal into the home they work with a certified, professional force free trainer which can set people up to get started in the right direction.

How can individuals help?

There is always something that everyone can do to help with the overall global animal welfare issues: foster, adopt, donate, volunteer.

What does responsible pet ownership mean to you? What should a person do if they can no longer care for an animal?

According to Ken Ramirez, world renowned training & behavior expert, health care, nutrition, environment, and behavior management (training and enrichment) are all necessary parts, which collectively represent a good animal welfare plan.

Caring for an animal is a life long responsibility which means that we are always striving to improve upon the above to enhance the quality of life for the animals we live with.

A lot of the focus is on dogs. Are there any specific techniques or programs regarding the different species? (Cats, horses, iguanas, or other pets for instance pythons, parrots, turtles, etc)

The US Dept. of Fish & Wildlife handles other animal calls (birds for example).

Miriam Juan, President of ARF of Rincón

My name is Miriam Juan, I have been rescuing dogs independently and with ARF of Rincon for the past 15 years. I come from a family that has been rescuing animals all my life, sometimes we would have 20 dogs at home. My parents rescued horses also.

ARF:

Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) of Rincon is an animal welfare organization that services the town of Rincon, Puerto Rico, that started in 1997 in the face of a sad incident. It was started by a handful of devoted volunteers that would rescue and find homes for dogs and cats. Since then, it has evolved to focus on eradicating animal overpopulation. Hence, its year-round low-cost spay/neuter voucher program. It also hosts special one-day Health Day community events where a regional vet administers vaccinations while ARF volunteers schedule spay/neuter appointments. In 2014, a total of 813 pets were rescued, reunited with their families, or adopted. ARF of Rincon also work with a trainer from PAWS. ARF also participates in educational seminar at schools and in low income communities.

Contact info is ARF of Rincon, PO Box 592, Rincon PR 00677, our website is www.arfofrincon.org, our Facebook page is ARF of Rincon. office phones 787-823-7167, 939-697-8161, emergency only 787-629-1246.

Current Animal Welfare Situation in Puerto Rico:

The current animal welfare situation in Rincon is better than ever; we focus on encouraging people to sterilize, vaccinate and provide proper care for their pets. Compared to the rest of Puerto Rico we have seen a big difference in malnourished stray dogs. Cultural considerations we face are the need to change the macho ideas that male dogs do not need to be neutered as well as owners not providing adequate housing such as tied on a very short rope or being exposed to the environments such as direct sunlight and rain.

Ideal Animal Welfare Scenario

Our ideal scenario will be that every pet have a loving home with proper care. No strays in the streets starving and sickly all the while reproducing. ARF has started TNR (trap, neuter, release) for cats however we rely 100% on individual donations because we receive no grants or government support. Law enforcement is not educated enough about Law 154 (Animal Welfare and Protection law), there is also a lack of animal investigators on the western side of Puerto Rico, the responsibility to check the situation and file complaints falls completely on ARF.

How Individuals Can Help

Individuals can help by donating time, money and fostering animals. ARF of Rincon has a set protocol for people that are interested in adoption. There is only 1 shelter on the western Puerto Rico and, sadly, it is a kill shelter, which we try to avoid however we do use their veterinary center for spay and neuter because they provide considerably lower cost.

If a person finds animal, they can contact a local rescue group from the area. If the dog is aggressive or destructive, they should call the municipality or the police. However in our experience; neither are responsive.

Responsible Pet Owners

A responsible pet owner understands that a pet is a family member, will provide vetting and basic care such as food, exercise and quality time.

Other Animals:

In Puerto Rico along the coast line there is a need for better protection of the sea turtles that migrate here to lay eggs we also need to protect the hatchlings. There is also a need for horse rescue in the western area of Puerto Rico.

Areas of need

We would love to find a way to provide low income vetting (veterinarian services) for residents of Rincon.

Thanks to ARF a law was passed in 2011 in Rincon for mandatory registration of pets; however we do not have the tools or money to enforce this law

A side note: ARF has arranged to have 75% of the residents of the low income areas spay/neuter and vaccinate their pets. We have managed to make an agreement with the Family Department to allow residents to foster dogs for ARF as part of their community service hours

Cynthia Calvin, MS, President of DAR

Background and Interest in Animals

Cynthia Calvin – Masters Computer Science. In 2010 I watched a Documentary from the Rincon Film Festival – 100,000 Movie That documentary got me acting for animals in Puerto Rico – prior to that I had no animals of my own and barely noticed animals anywhere in the world. We’d moved to Rincon in 2009.

What are the mission and goals of your organization/group/program?

To read the full mission and purpose, go to: www.darrincon.org/about

We are based out of Rincon but we will help anyone in Puerto Rico rescue/help a dog, cat or horse. Homes, forever or permanent, are the hardest thing for us to find.

Defensa Animal de Rincon is a Puerto Rico based non profit working to increase sterilization rates among cats and dogs on the island while improving all animal lives through educational programs, awareness and offering assistance to animal rescuers and is funded 100% Via Donations.

Describe the current animal welfare situation in Puerto Rico. How is it similar or different to other places? Are there any special cultural considerations? How has it changed over the years?

It is pretty much the same as the documentary noted above shows it. However, because ARF has been around for so long doing amazing work, Rincon has many tourists with money who visit and rescue on their own and Rincon now has 3 non-profit Rescue Groups today. The situation in Rincon is not bad like the documentary shows and not bad like the rest of the Island.

We started Defensa because at the time we started it, 2014 – ARF had a policy to only help Rincon animals (that may have changed) and because ARF did not rescue horses. Defensa will help anyone help an animal anywhere in Puerto Rico and we will help with horses. However, we do nothing (normally) without an individual leading the rescue. We help with Vet services and marketing for adoption – so that people can rescue independently.

We do not ask for adoption fees. This is controversial, but in our experience – if you let the rescuer/foster decide on the best forever home you won’t be giving an animal to someone who isn’t going to take care of it. Also, money is not required to give an animal rescued from the streets a beautiful forever home. Also, the amount of time in bookkeeping it takes to follow up on adoption fees and all that goes with ‘micro managing rescues’ is not something that worked for us. We have found there are people with money to donate who can’t adopt/rescue/foster and there are people without money who can adopt/rescue/foster. I’ve never felt people should profit from rescuing animals – but on the other hand I’ve always felt if people could figure out a profitable business for rescuing it would the solution. We would like to help someone open a shelter/pet shop/grooming facility in Rincon (to show off any street rescued animal) we just haven’t found that someone.

What would the ideal scenario of animal welfare in Puerto Rico look like?

The Island government starting a free Spay/Neuter program.

The City governments starting free spay/neuter programs. I say Spay only sometimes because it avoids the whole issue with chopping off the balls. If you don’t want to chop off the boys’ balls then spay all the females! (Editor’s note: In Puerto Rico this seems to stem from a tendency culturally to not want to literally and figuratively “emasculate” their animals. And this has a large impact on why animal populations can quickly become out of control.)

The Cities starting animal registration / tagging services

The body that oversees Vet licensing allowing Vets from outside PR an easy way to get a temporary license to hold free spay/neuter clinics. Currently they don’t respond to requests and don’t care about the need. Therefore, free clinics can not legally happen.

What are the best practices as well as new and promising practices regarding animal welfare?

I don’t know. The situation is so screwed up in PR, you are just trying to keep your head above water – best practices – for me at least – are a dream I don’t have time to think about. I think about the animal on the streets with no home, no water, no food – or worse, the horse tied on a hope in the sun with no water, no food, no care.

How has and can the larger system help?

Spay, neuter, money and programs -the missing piece for dogs and cats.

Horses – the missing piece is a law that would allow a rescue group to TAKE a neglected horse. Horses have value and it is illegal to help a horse without the owner’s permission. I have taken photos of horses that look like the are going to drop over dead to the Rincon police station and they say … Sorry nothing we can do without owners permission – and owner says … sorry, the horse is just ‘old’. LAWS for seizing horses are really needed. Horse owners would straighten up if they feared their horse could be taken from them. And I’m not talking about A1 care – I’m saying owners should be required to keep horses with water and grass and feet trimmed (tick free) – bare minimal care is lacking and (if they can’t provide at least that it) should be illegal!

How can individuals help? How can someone find an animal to adopt? What shelters are there? What should a person do if they see a sato or loose dog? What if it is aggressive or destructive? Are the police responsive?

For the full description: Visit darrincon.org/rescue

PLEASE DON’T LEAVE a sick, injured, neglected or reproducing animal on the streets. It is just adding to the problem. It is cruel to the animal. Animals reproduce, get sick and suffer on the streets.

Remember: You Can Take The Animal Out of Puerto Rico

Flying animals from Puerto Rico to the USA or Canada is easy and not that expensive when you consider it is likely saving that animals life. We are here to help darrincon@gmail.com

Use The DAR Open Rescue Program Facebook.com/DARRincon. With this system, DAR can pay for initial Vet services (minimally vaccinations and sterilization) and provide an audience/marketing to find a home. You can also contact DAR through email when you find an animal in need with all the relevant information. darrincon@gmail.com

You Can Assist With Endangered, Mistreated or Dead Animals -by calling the local police, city hall or 911. Law 154 protects animals from abuse. We have found if you are polite and persistent, you will find a law official willing to respond.

Numbers you can call in Rincon –

The Rincon Police 787-823-2020

Rincon City Hall 787-823-2180

Public Works (dead animal pick up) 787-823-2882

As a LAST RESORT …. You Can Take The Animal To a Kill Shelter

We hate even putting this down as an option. But if you can not do one of the above options, PLEASE DON’T LEAVE a sick, injured, neglected or reproducing animal on the streets. It is just adding to the problem. It is cruel to the animal. Animals reproduce, get sick and suffer on the streets. Please don’t turn your back on any animal in need you see in Puerto Rico. Around Rincon, Villa Michelle in Mayaquez (787-834-4510) is a shelter that most always will take in an animal. But Villa Michelle is NOT A No Kill Shelter.

If the animal is a horse, rooster, pig, bird, turtle or fish contact the Defensa Facebook page or follow the instructions on the rescue link.

Roosters contact Jose from SOS Gallos

Beachfront or Ocean issues contact the DRNA (Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales) at or 787-999-2200

Or contact Fish and Wildlife

What does responsible pet ownership mean to you? What should a person do if they can no longer care for an animal?

Feeding, watering and not putting an animal on a rope is good enough for me. Find a friend in the States to take your animal if you can’t keep in in PR (read rescue page above) because there are NO no-kill shelters accepting animals that we have ever found/heard of in PR

Anything else?

We are also actively fighting ‘cock fighting’ – because it is wrong to force any animal to fight. Traditions become outdated. When they fight these birds, they give them horrible lives of living in a tiny cage day in and day out. They toss them in bags and haul them to fights. They then toss them on the streets, beaches or trash cans when they die in the fight. No argument for tradition will ever sit right with me. Not speaking up for a helpless animals will ever sit right with me. When you see something that is unfair and cruel – to animal or human – you should say something – even if you can’t do something – spread the word. That is our motto at Defensa. Not everyone can foster or rescue an animal – but if you care you can spread the word. Thank you for spreading the word!

Thank you again to Terrie, Miriam and Cynthia for helping to shed a little more light on the complicated issue of animal welfare in Puerto Rico. Below is a list of resources and rescue organizations that I found while researching this topic. If there are others, please let me know and I will add it to this list. I hope it helps!

List of Resources and Rescues in Puerto Rico

All Sato Rescue

ARF- Animal Rescue Foundation of Rincón

Barks of Hope –leo@barkofhopes.org

Defensa Animal de Rincon -DAR

Humane Society of PR

Island Dog

The Sato Project — Featured on CNN!

Save a Gato

Save A Sato

Second Chance Animal Rescue

SOS Gallos