Thanks to an anonymous reader of this blog who encouraged us to look for the waterfall of Hacienda El Jibarito we went on the hunt again. This waterfall is named Las Golondrinas (the Swallows) and it far exceeded our expectations. I thought it was perhaps a small stream fall without a pond, but it was amazing! The trail to the fall in a bosque ecologico was relatively well-kept by the Hacienda and there were signs and trashcans along the way. It was a bit of a hike (maybe 10 minutes with a baby in tow), but we didn’t have to cross any water to get there. And when we arrived it took my breath away!
Ahhh-mazing
The water was cool and refreshing and the waterfall had a drop of about 80 feet or more into a deep 20-30 foot pond. There was a shallow area for kids to play and enough rocks to scramble. What’s more, we were the ONLY people there. Unlike Gozalandia which is incredibly beautiful with two falls on the property, the secret has not gotten out about Las Golondrinas and I hope it stays that way (except all of you reading this haha).
Aeden enjoyed playing at the water’s edge
There are 2 other “charcas” or ponds on this property, and we walked to one of them, but there was no real waterfall. I still want to see the third, but I have a feeling it just won’t compare to the cathedral feeling that Las Golondrinas had. A truly spiritual connection to the natural world. What’s more is that I had a sense of connection to millions of years ago because there was a huge deposit of ocean fossils all around. We couldn’t walk 5 feet without finding stones with ancient imprints.
The hike there wasn’t too bad, even carrying a baby
The waterfall was so perfect I had to share the secret with some friends. A couple of weeks after we went the first time, we took a caravan up and spent a wonderful afternoon just lounging about in the cool shade of the blue lagoon.
Thanks to Daisy for this picture!
Fun with friends!
Can’t beat freshwater falls with friends!
Taking a dip!
Thanks to Jessika for this picture!
Sometimes I still am surprised myself that this is my life. Straight out of some tropical adventure movie, the scenes and settings often still seem unreal to my midwestern brain. But here I am, in my new transplanted home, the land my long-awaited son was conceived and born from, La Isla del Encanto. And how many enchantments it truly holds!
Our sweet boy is growing up so fast! Apparently it is a cultural custom in Puerto Rico to give a baby their first haircut right around one year of age and since Aeden was looking a bit shaggy we thought it would be fun to do. We had scoped out a few barber shops, but one day we had about an hour to kill and we saw the twirling blue and red of a funky “barberia” so we decided, why not now!
This place was so cool, it even had a full sized pool table in the waiting area. Aeden was a champ and just curiously watched as the barber snipped and sheared. He looks so much sharper! He and we love his new recorte de pelo!
Before and After his haircut!
It’s funny that something as simple as a first haircut can be so meaningful in the life as new parents. But we love this little stinker so much! And like his hair, he just seems to keep growing and growing by the minute, so sometimes we have to stop and take a little clipping! 🙂
Puerto Rico grocery shopping. Some people had asked me if there is much of a difference shopping in Puerto Rico than in the states. I would say yes and no. Here are some of the similarities and differences
One of the chains on the island. There’s also Econo, Mr. Special and Pueblo among a few others
Price: In Puerto Rico, food is pretty expensive, especially some items like dairy products and specialty items that need to have extra care to ship like produce (strawberries for instance). Other foods, though, are pretty cheap like rice and beans which is a favorite and staple in the Puerto Rican diet/cuisine. Many people in Puerto Rico use a La Familia food stamp card that you may notice when checking out. And often you will be asked about the “metodo de pago” or method of payment. To respond you can say “cash/efectivo” “targeta” (card) “ATH” (debit) or “Familia’. Food (usually) has a lower tax rate than other non-food items.
Sofrito! Most people have a receta casera (home recipe) but in a pinch store-bought will do
Types of Foods: Generally speaking you can find almost everything you would expect to find in the states, but the vast variety is lacking (except soda crackers; there are SOOO many saltines!). For instance, you can find Trisquits, but you won’t find Spicy Herb and Cheese Trisquits (I don’t even know if that’s a thing, but you get my point). Organic and “fine” or fancy foods are pretty hard to come by, so if you are a foody or vegetarian you will quickly learn the tiny hubs of these places (for instance Fresh Mart in Aguadilla, Natural Food Center in Mayaguez and the food section in any Marshalls believe it or not). There are of course a lot of Puerto Rican cuisine foods in the grocery stores. These include things like bacalao (salted/preserved cod fish), lots of tomato sauce, rice, beans, calabaza (Puerto Rican pumpkin), recao and cilantro, sofrito, sazon, plantains, ñame, canned meats, Malta, Medalla, Puerto Rican coffee (mmm que rico!) pique, and many other things.
Malta is an interesting non-alcoholic malt beverage. It is very sweet and carbonated. Basically a soda
Lots and lots of rice!
Many things in the Puerto Rican diet have evolved throughout time having to deal with hurricanes and lack of refrigeration like Ultra High Pasteurized box milk and many canned/dried goods. Because of that sometimes people get the impression that fresh food is not prized. Actually au contraire! There is a deep love for the IDEA of the jibaro slaving out in the hot tropical sun to bring fresh food from the campo. (Not that many still want to BE one, though that is changing a little with the food revolution on the island.) But much of THAT food is found at the small fruit tents, pulgueros/farmer’s markets and just randomly stopped trucks or cars with their trunks open filled to the brim with avocados, pineapples, bananas, plantains, breadfruit and more.
Get your groceries wherever you can find them! Pineapple man
Overall, though, grocery shopping in general is pretty much the same at you might find in the states. It’s a large warehouse with aisles labeled in Spanish. The periphery generally has the produce and cold items and the center has the more shelf-stable things. You can buy any type of alcohol and tobacco there, although the alcohol is sometimes behind a plexiglass wall and the tobacco nearly always is.
Full size “samples” of rum drinks in Pueblo grocery store
Sometimes there will be taste testings, especially with alcohol which doesn’t mean a sample, but usually a full serving of a drink or glass of wine! The music played inside is generally, but not always Puerto Rican current pop or old salsa music. Sometimes there are ATMs inside. I have never seen people “couponing” with the cut out coupons that they have in the states, at least not in any store I’ve ever been to. The sales advertisement/insert is often found at the front of the store near the carts/baskets and is called a “shopper” (pronounced “choper”). Sometimes there is a cafeteria or deli to eat a hot meal.
I haven’t seen self check out at the grocery stores and some are even so old school they don’t have bar codes (small mom and pop colmados mostly) and have to type in the price. Most will accept any form of money, but it’s good to always have cash just in case the machines aren’t working. People are friendly while shopping and will often comment or make small talk while reaching for things. Lines (filas) can sometimes be long especially on the weekends, so we avoid shopping then even though everyone is very nice and polite while waiting.
One big difference is that for a few years now, there is a law that prohibits the single use plastic bags. So you either need to bring your own bags (or boxes, coolers, etc) or they will sell you a canvas one for about a $1 or a thicker plastic bag (that is intended to be re-used) for about ten cents. Also, if you are not going straight home from the grocery store (and even if you are) you should always bring a cooler in your car to keep cold things cold. Neveritas (portable coolers) are an all-time must item while living in Puerto Rico!
That’s about all I can think of regarding grocery shopping in Puerto Rico. Let me know if I missed anything and can try to answer it! Here’s a short video while out shopping!
When I grew up and lived in Colorado, the summer would get hot! Temperatures in excess of 100 degrees Fahrenheit. When it got that hot, we kids would head to the swimming pool or to the public library that had air conditioning to wait out the hottest part of the day. There was the usual mowing, riding bikes and playing football outside too. Sunscreen was sometimes used, but not often and the first sunburn of the year was a right of passage to darker, more tolerant skin!
Here in the tropics, we live closer to the equator. The temperatures are warmer and the sun is almost always present. We were once the tourists that would get sunburned, and now that we live here we are a little smarter and notice the tourists that get sunburned. We have also seen the impacts of sun exposure and cases of skin damage and cancer here. Of course it makes sense that the sun is intense here, but we were always under the impression that due to the altitude and less atmosphere to travel thru, the sun’s rays were more intense in Colorado. That simply isn’t the case.
The UV index is now something we are very aware of. It is a standard measurement of the strength of sunburn-producing ultraviolet (UV) radiation. It is kind of shocking how much more extreme the sun is in Puerto Rico than it was in Colorado.
Today in PR it is kind of low-ish at 11 (lol). Some days it is 13!! At that level you will get sunburn in as little as 5 minutes of exposure. When it is that high, the advisory is to simply avoid the sun.. When the UV index was originally developed, it was designed from 1-10.
When I check back to Colorado it is almost always half the value! Also of note that with a reflective surface like water it can double the value, so if a person was out on the water today it could be as high as 22! Or on even more extreme days 26. When the UV is that intense you are immediately damaging your unprotected skin.
As if this wasn’t enough, I have also noticed how insanely hot it is to work outside. Another standardized value system, the heat index was created to show the human-perceived temperature combining relative humidity and SHADE temperature. I’ve seen it around 102 degrees and every once in a while at around 107. Like the UV index, this value can vary drastically when if say someone is in the sun, then it can reach 150+ degrees.
The summer time here gets intense! It is kind of jaw dropping but talking about it and reading about it doesn’t have the same impact as feeling it for oneself. I think for me September is the most brutal month. The plants LOVE it and that increases the workload, but things are so green and beautiful too! If you miss a week or two the workload only increases so it is important to stay on top of things, or the weeds, grasses and trees get waaayyy out of control quickly setting you back on all the hard work of gardening.
The Sun’s arch and rays in September in Rincon (almost directly overhead)
The Sun’s arch and rays in Sept in Colorado (notice the difference in angle!)
I recently had a reminder to start work early and be done by 9am. I had been starting at 9am and working till noon. A person just can’t drink enough water to keep up. Literally sweat pours out the sweat glands like I’ve not ever experienced in my life. Again talking about these things and actually experiencing them is a whole different thing!! I hope I have learned my lesson, but I am pretty aggressive towards goals I’ve set in my mind and will push myself too far. I think this “can do” attitude is something Cassie and I both share and it serves us well, as long as we don’t take it too far….. Knowing when that is can be difficult when you want something done! Cassie mowin’
Britton Mowin’
And again to recap. While the Sun’s UV in Colorado is offically “high” and care should be taken, it isn’t “extreme” like in Puerto Rico. EXTREME which is a good description! As too is the humidity in Puerto Rico (80%+) vs Colorado (15%) which makes that heat index EXTREME! I am really looking forward to wintertime here in PR. Less work, perfect humidity and the sun is further south!
