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!
Waterfall chasing has become one of our new favorite hobbies. Especially on hot, humid summer days, the clean river water is so much more refreshing than salty sea water, hot sand and blaring sun on the beach. I still love the beach, but the best beach days are in the winter when it is less crowded and slightly cooler water. We had heard of a new waterfall to check out called “El Saltillo” in San Sebastian and attempted to find it the other day.
Britton and Aeden in the river
Since we go to the San Sebastian pulguero almost every Friday now, we decided that would be the best day to go on the hunt. Our car broke down as we were eating lunch afterwards at El Meson, but thankfully El Meson in San Sebastian is right next to Pep Boys and Britton managed to put on new wheel bearings even as it began to rain. Then we were off. We weren’t sure how much exploring we would do given that it was raining, but we thought we could at least scope out the area.
Turn at this corner near “El Castillo” Hotel
We found the little road that would lead us closest to the river access point. We gathered a few supplies from a local watering hole and parked at a pull-off next to a strange little dump/hang out site (an overturned washing machine and a makeshift bamboo hut).
Where we parked. Was this a hangout spot??
From there on, what little we found about the waterfall said we would have to walk through the river to find it. That isn’t new to us, and is a common way of approaching falls. It’s easier to go barefoot so we parked and changed into our swimsuits and kicked off our shoes. While we were changing we saw an older man in the river. He was changing his clothes too, so we gave him a moment. Then he emerged and began talking to Britton in a mix of Spanish and English. He told Britton that he knew the area well and that the “Big One” (El Saltillo) was much further down, but that if walk a little further down the road we would find another beautiful waterfall. It was like the part in the video game where the character gives you just enough clues to help you find the treasure.
Britton talking with the man as steam rose from the asphalt and clouds settled into the jungle
So we all headed in the direction he recommended. We figured at this late point in the afternoon we wouldn’t be up for a huge hike to find El Saltillo anyway, so we were blown away when we saw this secondary waterfall with no name.
Absolutely incredible! Like a movie set!
What a gorgeous fall! Soft and mossy steps and so much plant life!
I don’t even think this other one has an official name, but it was just so perfect!
Aeden’s point of view (our little cyclone head haha)
Fun at the falls
The only drawback to this fall, was that there wasn’t much of a pond for swimming and we heard that El Saltillo has a nice pool beneath the cascading water. So if this little beauty was the warm-up, I can’t wait to see the “Big One.” The hunt is on! Stay tuned to see if we find it in the weeks to come.
Now that we have settled back into our life and routine and mowed all the property after the summer rains and sun caused everything to grow like crazy, I have some time to collect my thoughts on my first trip back to Colorado since we moved here. I can’t believe it had been nearly 6 years since I had been back. In some ways it was very easy to step back in to our way of life, and in other ways I feel I have been profoundly changed by my experience and life here in Puerto Rico. Here are some things I noticed about the differences. Of course everything that has a “pro” also comes with a “con” -that’s just the way life is.
Mofongo in Puerto Rico
Food
One of the most obvious differences from Colorado to Puerto Rico is the food. In Puerto Rico there aren’t a whole lot of choices especially on “la isla” outside of the metro area. Most people eat at home and if you go out, it’s for “picadero” or just light meals. There are of course some restaurants around, it’s just not such a big deal as it is in Colorado. The main meat choice is almost always chicken with pork coming in 2nd and then beef 3rd. The main starch is usually plantain.
Mexican Food -Chicken Chimichanga!
In Colorado there are a lot of choices, and in our area of Northern Colorado, it’s mostly Mexican food and beef. I hadn’t had a real steak if you don’t count the occasional churrasco in nearly these 6 years! Every time I went out to eat I found myself wanting to say “Buen Provecho” to other people eating and had to bite my tongue. I was also amazed at the restaurant service and how often they would fill up our water glasses and rarely if ever asked if we wanted bottle water like they do so often in Puerto Rico. Also, I liked how the Mexican food restaurants always kept bringing back more and more free chips and salsa as we waited for the entrees to arrive. No wonder we got so chubby in Colorado!
Free unlimited water refills and chips and salsa at all Mexican restaurants in Colorado!
We ate sooo much food on this trip. I had forgotten how much food we don’t get in Puerto Rico. I enjoyed Pho, snow/king crab legs, peaches, a huge variety of hot peppers, sweet corn, Arbys, Dairy Queen, pizza with toppings like artichoke hearts, Colorado craft beers, spicy Mexican food, salad bars and more that I hadn’t eaten in a LOOONG time. I had forgotten how much going out to eat is such a part of the culture in Colorado. It’s just something to do! And there is so much to eat! Serving sizes are too big in Puerto Rico (maybe double what they should be), but in Colorado, they are about 3 times too big! Part of the trip was to eat as many foods as we could that we haven’t had in a long time…and in the course of the trip I think we achieved that!
Pho and Fajitas
Hot peppers and sweet corn!
Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake and Peanut Buster Parfait!! Mmm
Arby’s and Waffles!
Soo much food everywhere! Tons of produce and varieties of things like Trisquits!
I haven’t had cinnamon bears forever! And Roma pizza -our old hangout!
Steakhouses and Brunch
Colorado Rockies
Climate/Landscape
The next most striking thing was the climate. I had forgotten how dry, dry, dry it is. And everyone was talking about how unusually humid it was. We had to buy eye drops and skin lotion. My hair went from soft waves to super flat and staticky just like that. We also had a bit of altitude adjustments. The roads are SO flat and straight and well maintained it was crazy. Where are the potholes?? There are so few trees in Colorado. Even in the summer when it is beautiful and green it is still such a muted color compared to the vibrancy of Puerto Rico. And COLD! I haven’t truly been cold in nearly 6 years and yet I actually woke up shivering one night while we were there.I noticed that chips/crackers would go stale in Colorado if you leave a package out whereas in Puerto Rico they get moist and weird. There was also an odd scarcity of bugs and sounds everywhere. It was cool to see some different wildlife like squirrels and deer, but overall, it was so QUIET compared with the loudness of nature and the party-vibe of the island. It was also weird seeing so many old things in such great condition. Things that if they were on the island would rust out, break down and become dust in 2 years were still like brand new after 20-50 years in storage. No rust, no mold, no corrosion. It was amazing!
Colorado Flag
Language/Culture
It took me a minute to reset my brain to English as the default language. When we needed something in a store for instance I had the tendency to want to ask in Spanish. If someone sneezed I wanted to say “Salud” instead of “Bless You.” Flags were Colorado and American instead of Puerto Rican. Even when I talked with my Spanish-speaking friends, it was different to hear the Mexican Spanish again and I had to change back some of my vocabulary. People in both Colorado and Puerto Rico are super friendly, but it’s different. In Colorado there is an assumption of everyone following the rules and therefore everyone will get along. In Puerto Rico, there is an assumption that there are some rules that just don’t make sense, so we will all break them together and get along (waving people into traffic for instance when the roads are congested). In lines in Colorado hardly anyone spoke to each other, whereas in a fila in Puerto Rico you stand there so long, you know the other person’s life history! Hardly anyone commented on Aeden, whereas in Puerto Rico babies are so loved. Everywhere we go we hear “AY QUE LINDO” “QUE COLORA’O!” and “Dios Lo Bendiga/Cuide.” Also I have forgotten how many HUGE trucks and SUVs there are in Colorado. There is no way these vehicles could maneuver the tiny roads of the island. People in Colorado also dress much differently. We saw a lot of cowboy hats and boots!
Huge trucks in Colorado
Versus a tiny truck with a goat in the front seat in Puerto Rico, no really we just saw this -haha!
Order/Rules
Everything was just so orderly. If there were more than 2 people in a line at a store, another register opened up! If the roads had a little damage, they were being repaired. There are so many sidewalks and bike lanes! Once I sat down on a wall waiting for Britton to get something from concessions at a concert and was told to get off the wall -this would never happen in Puerto Rico! People obeyed all the traffic lights. I saw no one get into their car with an open beer. And the bathrooms. Let me tell you…they were impeccable even in the seediest of places. Every bathroom in Colorado had HOT running water, lights that worked, toilet seats, emptied trashcans, and there was toilet paper. There was always hand soap and often a sign reminding you to wash. Paper towels AND hand driers in case you wanted both! AMAZING bathrooms! haha I also did not see anyone peeing outside and I have gotten quite used to peeing in some of the most random places! It is so orderly there, that even at a parade was hardly any noise! It was like a parade on mute! People playing charade parade! No noise, no disruptions! Not even if you’re having a party. Where was the music, speakers and blaring sounds? After living on party island so long, this was very, very strange.
Alcohol was also strictly monitored and they even gave limits at the bar so as to not over-serve. Over-serving in Puerto Rico would mean spilling a drink! haha AND in Colorado there is pay-at-the-pump! Oh how I had forgotten about that! And the police in Colorado were like strict authority figures whereas in Puerto Rico, they are just like you and me and will even stop and have a chat with you and ask about your day. Overall, I was just taken aback at how obedient, fear-based and orderly everything was. I missed the fun chaos and randomness of life while I was there. It all seemed very planned, correct and straight in comparison to la isla.
I had forgotten how into guns people are in Colorado/America
Puerto Rico “sample” of a drink was a full-sized super strong mixed drink as we waited in line to check out
In PR I won a chance on the roulette wheel after buying some stuff and was told to just basically choose my prize (that would never happen in CO)
Buses full of people “chinchorreando” going bar to bar to party in Puerto Rico
Random thing to see on a roof of a house driving around in PR
And of course hammocks are everywhere instead of porch swings!
We saw so many friends and family!
What I was reminded the most about our trip back to Colorado was how much I miss my friends and family. We have met so many beautiful souls in Puerto Rico, but there is nothing like family and friendships that you’ve had since you were a kid. I also know that even though everyone is very friendly to us I will always be an outsider here in Puerto Rico and that makes life a little harder. Overall, I am so grateful for the experiences I have been given in both places that are so near and dear to me no matter how far I roam.
Colorado and Puerto Rico. We can make comparisons but they are both two places that will always hold pieces of my heart!
We are constantly on the lookout for new plants, trees and flowers. It seems that most of the viveros have all the same common plants: trinitarias, hibiscus, bromelias, orchids, citrus, avocados. What they don’t have are heliconias, gingers, plumerias and all the exotic fruit trees. We are currently on the lookout for durian, Australian finger lime, and reina de las flores (this is a common tree, but for some reason we have a hard time finding it for sale).
Also looking for Rainbow Eucalyptus like this one seen on the side of the road
At the last pulguero in San Sebastian we had a good score! We found another Ylang Ylang tree (the fragrance is so divine, it is used in Chanel No 5), an achiote tree (a natural food dye for the color red and very cool looking fruit), a huge Tibochino espiga and a Raffy palm (that’s what the vendor called it). At Jardines Eneida we also found some new trees like a Cordia, Saman and mamayito (lemon drop mangosteen).
The meadow area after a good mow -we need to mow about every 2 weeks now that it’s raining so much
I also found this nepenthes pitcher plant that reminded me of well…you know
All the rain has brought out the mushrooms
And so we bought some garden art to commemorate them
Rainy days at the cabin. Notice the new railings!
Still not sure if we want to put rails on the bridge though
The mosquitos come out a lot more in the rain, so we put a mosquito net on Aeden’s play pen outside, that he promptly pulled down 🙂
He’s our little farmer so we did an impromtu photo shoot with him
Our little red is getting so big! 9 months now
Aeden’s 9 month video update
In order to find the heliconias and ginger varieties we want, we have to find direct vendors. The rhizomes don’t do super well in pots for long periods of time, so they have to be directly transplanted as soon as possible into the ground. They also need a lot of space and water, that the average home gardener can’t often provide (hence why they are not commonly found in the stores around here). Well, I found someone online who specializes in them! Not only did Carlos sell us some amazing rhizomes, he also delivered them from San German and helped us identify many of our wild species. We hung out for quite a while and got to know him pretty well. We scored some plants, but even more importantly a new friend who is as geeked out about botanicals as we are! He is a student at the University in Mayaguez and knows a TON about plants.
