Tag Archives: Adventures

Back to the Beach and other Adventures as Puerto Rico Reopens

Can you tell I’m happy to be back at the beach?!

After a very long lockdown, Puerto Rico is now officially back open for business. It is not quite “back to normal” but for all intents and purposes, we are finally coming out of lockdown. That is not the same as having a pandemic end, but at least the self-imposed torture of “quarantine” seems mostly over.

Masks are the newest fashion! haha Masks for Britton & my neighbor/friend Omayra

Poco a poco Puerto Rico has loosened the restrictions to the point that besides the masks and some rules in certain stores (checking temperatures, not allowing children inside) the happy island I know and love is pretty much back. We have been appreciating our newly returned freedoms by going to the beach, hiking, checking out new waterfalls and spending time with friends in small groups again. How much we have missed these simple pleasures of life. Where the hurricane days stripped away the physical comforts of electricity, communications, and even water service, during the lockdown we were fully connected to those things but lacked and very sorely missed our social and nature connections. The lockdown was like an inverse hurricane. I’m not sure which was worse, but I don’t wish either on anyone!

Beachside days

Fun in Rincon

Flamboyan season has been soo beautiful this year!

Aeden’s first school photo. Daycare will even be starting up again in July! yay!

Good times once again

Gozalandia falls and El Ultimo Brinco in Rincon

Fun trip to Adjuntas-even saw a blue flamboyan (jacaranda)!

We had a nice time in Adjuntas visitng Charco El Mango, a suspension bridge and some other sights until Britton suddenly felt ill and we had to return home. Turns out his car accident a month earlier and a genetic disposition for blood clots was not a good combination. He’s doing much better now thankfully!

Quick stop at Playa Tres Hermanos on Father’s Day

Our little boy is growing up so fast!

An easy waterfall that turned into an adventure: Salto Collazo

Just off the side of the road, but waaay down below we found the tallest waterfall we’ve ever seen. Salto Dona Carmen

Overall, we are very grateful for every day we get on this beautiful island and in this strange life of ours. Hope everyone else is doing as well.

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My Favorite Waterfall (so far): Las Golondrinas

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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!

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A Long Overdue Visit From Mom

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It had been 3 and 1/2 years since I have seen my mom! Far too long! She came out for a visit and stayed in our little cabana for about a week. We crammed in a lot of activities and everyone was super worn out by the end of the week. But I am so glad I got to see her. The next time we see her she will get to meet her grandson and we are all so excited about that! Here are a few photos from our adventures.

Britton showing her some of the work we have done on the property since her last visit