Tag Archives: beach

A Day at Borinquen and Wilderness

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borinquen-beach
Borinquen Beach, Aguadilla

The other day we helped a friend in Aguada/Aguadilla. When we were finished we decided to go to the beach. I am curious to find Survival Beach, but it was getting late in the afternoon so we headed to one of our favorite beaches: Borinquen! To access it, you must drive through the golf course. It has such a vintage feel to it. In my mind I imagine the glamour of the 50s and 60s. I think maybe it’s the planes flying overhead or the huge cliffs. So we swam for a while and then the lighting was just perfect so Britton took some shots of me as a beach bunny. So fun!

cassie-bikini-knees

I found this little bikini at Me Salvé for $1! I couldn’t believe it. It probably won’t last long, but for that price it doesn’t have to!

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Smiling as the sun set

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My favorite picture of the bunch!

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B and Me

I even practiced a little yoga on the beach!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAStretch!

We also watched the pelicans diving and then flying high up to their nests in the cliffs. Here’s one of the pelicans on high overlooking the sea.

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Pelican Perch

As often happens, we had the whole beach to ourselves! As the sun began to touch the water, we made a quick stop at the lighthouse ruins. Such a cool place!

ruins
Ponderosa Lighthouse Ruins of Aguadilla/Wilderness

ruins-2Lighthouse Ruins at dusk

Here’s a fun video of our time. Enjoy.

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First Time “Surfing”

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I went surfing for the first time the other day! We picked up our friend Will and his surfboards and headed out to Domes Beach.  It is summertime and that means there aren’t many waves, but it would be a good chance to practice paddling and sitting on the board in the water without a bunch of people (for my sake and theirs!). I wouldn’t call it exactly surfing…but something like it. I had a surfboard, I paddled and hung out in the water, and I had fun…that’s surfing, right?  🙂

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Loaded up truck

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Scoping out the beach

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Britton tried to surf, but his chest sticks out in the center and causes some discomfort so he’s going to need some sort of guard.

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Me out on the board with Desecheo Island in the distance

I easily paddled out and hung out on the board, but I couldn’t stand up or even get on my knees. Takes a lot of practice and balance! Not to mention that waves would be nice too! 🙂

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Walking back with the board

Another beautiful day at the beach!

Will on the other hand could catch just about any tiny little wave and spent a long time out in the water. Then he and I came back and played in the trees! A fellow monkeyman!

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Fun climbing trees!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThen I went swimming!

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And hung from the trees some more!

All in all, a fun day “surfing.”

 

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Processing Coconuts for Coco Water

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So after the coconuts are harvested from the palm trees what happens? Well, as I mentioned in the previous post, they are mostly used for the coconut water. Fresh coconut water is so much better than any coconut water you can buy in a package. It is a great hydrator or drink mix. It has an interesting taste. Not sweet and not salty but something in between. And really doesn’t have a “coconut” flavor to it even though that is actually what it is!

Cocos locos
Hanging out with the coconut guys

The other day we went down to La Placita, the little fruit stand/gas station down from our house, and bought a half gallon of freshly processed agua de coco for $6. We have plenty of coconuts at our house and often harvest and process them ourselves, but on this day we left it to the professionals. Here’s a little video snippet. Working with a machete can be dangerous, but these guys have been doing it for some time!


Cassie and Britton
At La Placita with our coco water

Not only did we get some agua de coco but one of the men offered to make me one of his special rings! Always so much fun whenever we go out!

Ring
Wearable money. The newest fashion trend?

Cassie with dollar ring
Me and my bling!

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Coconut Harvest and Other Island Scenes

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Climbing Coconut tree
Climbing a coconut palm

When we are out and about we often see things that we call “Island Scenes,” you know, scenes that you would never see if you didn’t live on a tropical island. Palm trees, especially coconut palms, to me are one of the quintessentially tropical markers. And as we were walking down a beach one day we came upon two men who were harvesting coconuts from tall 50 foot swaying palm trees.  One of them climbed up using his spikes and the other one caught the heavy bundle of coconuts that descended from a rope.

Man in the trees
Hola from on high!

These coconuts are mainly used for their coconut water, but of course can be used for any number of preparations from coconut oil, toasted coconut, coconut milk, even piña coladas! This is a great service for the beaches because a coconut that falls from that height could easily kill an unwitting person below. Win/win! Here’s a video of them at their work:

We hung out for a while nearby with a friend and enjoyed the sunset. I tried my monkey best to climb a coconut palm, but without the spikes I couldn’t get too far 🙂

Cassie in Coconut Tree
My coconut tree climb is not nearly as impressive!

Dogs and Horse on Beach
Horse riding and a pack of dogs on the beach

Cassie and Britton at Sunset Nice
Classic sunset shot

We also watched another traditional method of living off the land and water when we saw a man setting up the fishing net at the edge of the sea as the tiny ripples lapped softly against the sand. I’m not exactly sure what he was fishing for, perhaps sardines as we often see them when we enter the water. This is the kind of economic activity that has been going on for hundreds of years and that you probably won’t hear much about on the news or through the government: a direct connection to nature and your livelihood.

Boat and Beach
Boat at sunset

Island Time literally
A ceiling fan and a clock on a bamboo pole. Is this where island time came from? haha

Cassie and Britton Monkey and Horse
Yeehaw!

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