Tag Archives: Vacation

Trip to Culebra Island, Puerto Rico

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This past week we took a mini vacation to the small island of Culebra. If there was ever a place that has the quintessential tropical Caribbean island look, this is it!


Incredible Culebra!

The long stretches of powdered sugar white beaches and the warm turquoise waters of Flamenco beach were straight out of a travel magazine. We only stayed one night at the first place we saw, Kokomo, right off the ferry dock, but we got a good feel for the place.

I think we could have gotten a better deal because it was about the size of a closet and we had to crawl over the bed to get anywhere, and the floors needed a good mopping but it had hot water to shower and a clean bed so it wasn’t too horrible for $65. We asked around at a couple of places just to see what the going nightly rate was. One guy quoted me at Mamacitas Guesthouse $119 plus tax and I just said thanks and turned around. Then he said, “Well, how about $80?” So there is definitely room to negotiate if you go there!


The ferry terminal has moved from Fajardo to Ceiba after Hurricane Maria

It was still off-season on a Tuesday in early November. There was hardly anyone on the roads as we drove around in our golf cart (that we rented for about $50) going about 10 mph hiding Aeden in a beach bag. It was so fun. It’s like being in a tropical island adventure video game where you drive in a go-cart especially up some crazy hills and little side dirt roads haha.


Golf cart and off roads

Probably the hardest part about the trip was just how far it was from Rincon. Rincon is the furthest west you can go on the island of Puerto Rico and Ceiba is nearly the farthest east! So we gave ourselves 4 hours to get there going the southern route and giving time to stop for breakfast at El Meson, but we were still late and had to take the 11am ferry instead of the 9am. The boat ride was fun if a little choppy and we caught air a couple of times that made me just a little queasy. It took about an hour ride there. It was much quicker coming back the next day not fighting the current and we learned to go inside into the air conditioned area.


From the Ceiba Ferry to white sand beaches in about 1 hour!

The island is super tiny. Only about 1500 people live there and there are no other towns than the island itself. The disparity between rich and poor is very obvious. The poor and tourists take the ferry and the rich (and splurging tourists) fly in or boat in with sailboats and other vessels. The poor live in run down shacks and the rich have huge mansions on the hills.


Boats in the harbor


Family fun!


Cool drawbridge and moon!

My overall impression was that it was an incredible place to visit, but I would definitely get island fever living there because there is really not much to do other than spend time at the beaches and drink and that would get old quick. At least on the “main island” of Puerto Rico we can drive for 4 plus hours and get lost!


At the bridge to Flamenco Beach


One of the tanks by the sea

The most shocking thing to me was learning about the history of the bombing and military drills that were practiced on Culebra and Vieques. I can only imagine what it would have been like to live on an island that is so pristine only to hear, feel and see live munitions going off. And occasionally people (as well as flora and fauna) were hurt! Rates of cancer have been found to be higher on these islands as a result of dropping bombs on them as well. Thankfully these practices ended in the early 2000s but there are still some remnants such as these leftover tanks rusting in the sun and sea salt.


Another tank on Playa Flamenco that has been consumed by the sea


Great place for a photo shoot!


The Dinghy Dock is a popular restaurant in Culebra


We dressed up for dinner out. And with Hector the Protector in the background


Melones Beach is much different than Flamenco and is mostly full of washed up coral

Overall, it was a wonderful, short trip. I would have liked to have maybe seen a couple of other beaches, but I think we got a good feel for the place in our brief time there. There’s not a whole lot on an island that’s only about 7 miles wide! We climbed a hill, visited the police dock, went out to dinner at the night Dinghy Dock restaurant that had just opened for the season and walked around the ferry/downtown area where they are doing construction on a new pier/dock.


Aeden playing on the beach

Worth a visit for sure! When we arrived back on the main island we caught up with our friends Fran and Steve and then hung out at a pizzeria at the Luquillo Kiosks and then we were on our (long) way back home to Rincon. A fun outing and Aeden did so good in the car!

Here’s a quick video of our trip. Enjoy!

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Step One Complete: We Bought a House in Rincon Puerto Rico

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When Cassie and I first set out to buy a property in Puerto Rico we knew it’d be an adventure, we knew that it wouldn’t be possible to know how it would turn out and we also knew it would be a great accomplishment.

Step one was to: Buy a property

Well that has been completed.  We were right though.  It has been an adventure, it wouldn’t be possible to know how this turned out and it is a huge accomplishment. 

We started out South of Lares pretty deep in the jungle/interior of Puerto Rico. We waited a year for the property to be correctly registered and it didn’t happen. During that first time trying to purchase something we always found ourselves leaving the property and driving to Rincon. Nearly every day. It took an hour+ to drive there, then we’d drive back late at night.   We backed out of that deal and started looking again.

On our second attempt we came looking for something further west. We looked in Atalaya and Aguadilla. We stayed at a place just off the 413 in Rincon for that trip. We really liked a place in Atalaya we looked at but the price was just too much for me.   We passed and someone else bought it.  We felt like we had to start all over…again.

On our third I found a property north of San Sebastian. This was much further West than Lares and only about 30 mintues to the beach / Rincon. We negotiated an offer which we could afford and it was accepted. We felt pretty good about this deal. It had land, a house and was closer to all the action.

Then the unexpected happened. We found a property that was not only in Rincon, but we could afford to buy it. The price had always been a limiting factor for us living in Rincon! So it seems like it is a good fit for us.  We finished up the deal just yesterday and purchased it.  It is a bag of mixed emotions.  Everything from overwhelming joy due to us finally completing step 1 of our goal to a bit of fear and panic about what is next.  Do we fix up the wood house?  Do we not worry about it because we may want to tear it down and build a house of our choosing? 

This seems to be a logical thing for us.  We always have something going on and like to have something to do.  This project will keep us busy for years to come. 

There is a concrete studio apartment bulit there as well.  I think we will get the water turned on and make that livable for now.  It will give us a place to stay while we are here, it is nice already inside (just needs paint and maybe some plumbing).   We aren’t really sure what to do with the larger wood house, but I guess we have plenty of time to figure it out.


Stairway in Wood House

Cassie on the Deck

At this time it looks like step 2 will be to figure out what step 3 is.  It is different to dream about something than to actually do it.  When you actually do it, you feel all kinds of things you don’t in the dream.  You see things in reality that don’t exist in the dream(good and bad).  One of my favorite analogies of life is that it is like a rollercoster:

The world is like a ride in an amusement park and when you choose to go on it you think it’s real because that’s how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and around and around and it has thrills and chills and it’s very brightly coloured and it’s very loud. And it’s fun – for a while. Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they begin to question; is this real? Or is this just a ride? And other people have remembered, and they come back to us, and they say, “Hey, don’t worry, don’t be afraid, ever, because… this is just a ride.”

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St Patricks Day in Rincon

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We ended up going to a bar nearby called the Rum Shack.  Well I guess it is more of a resort with a bar, its behind the Lazy Parrot.  Cassie and I walked over and watched the band and hung out for a while.  It seems to be a pretty popular tourist location. 

I didn’t catch the name of the band, but they were pretty good. 

We then spent today looking at a few properties.  Both were about what we expected.  One of the smaller places in Aguada was nice, but a little on the high priced side.  It has a few acres but its on the side of a hill.  It is terraced and could work out for growing plants pretty well and that is one of our requirements.  We would offer a lot lower than what they are asking for. 

Also since we were by the beach, we went again.  Here is another gallery.

I am working on a video to upload, its huge though so it will take some time. 

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Arrived in Puerto Rico!

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We left Denver last night at 1am and arrived in Puerto Rico at 11am.  I’ve never taken a red eye before and it actually worked out pretty well I think.  This is the first time I have been able to navigate San Juan during the day.  It is SOOO much better than at night. 


Sunrise over an airplane in Charlotte

On our way to Rincon we stopped at a little taco / burrito place and had lunch in Hatillo.  It was a really cool, clean and friendly place.  Good food and a Jamacia soda. 

 We then came to Rincon where we will be staying.  Its a much different place than the eastern side of the island.  A bit more laid back.   Today is a day to just get settled in.  I am writing this from the place we are staying at.  It is a house in the hills of Rincon. 

We are currently resting, surfing the web and we went for a brief walk around the neighborhood. We are going to start calling people and setting some things up to look at (properties) during the week.

 
Short walk vista

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