There are so many fantastical places and moments in Puerto Rico but Casa Mucaro in Las Marias has to be up there as one of the most intriguing I’ve seen! This place was built nearly all from scratch by the inventor, artist, and creative genius Bill Birdsall. Not only is it his personal residence, but it’s also a cave and labyrinth underneath and a termite structure above. It’s just incredible. Check out the pictures and video!
The holidays are in full swing here in Puerto Rico this year. The festivities are on fire and it seems that every other day we have one party or another to attend. It has been so much fun! Thanksgiving with our neighbors, birthday parties, cookie exchanges, encendidos, parrandas, school parties and more. It has been non-stop. It is so true that Puerto Rico knows how to party and the winter Christmas season is the best for that!
When we haven’t been out having fun, we’ve been trying to take advantage of the extra time we have with Aeden in daycare and the fact that it has been so much cooler in order to expand the gardens. We recently planted over 35 new cultivars of heliconias and are so excited to see them grow! The cabana has been steadily booked with guests and so that keeps us busy with maintenance, tours and turnover. It’s been a very fufiling time in our lives. I’ve been trying to make more videos in order to capture the essence of life these days, sort of “vlog” style if you’d like to watch some other things that we’ve been up to. Here’s our channel: LIFETRANSPLANET YOUTUBE
Christmas Fun
Primer Cumpleanos for friend Nico’s Birthday Party
Holiday fun. At the beach, with a Norfolk pine (a tropical Christmas tree!) and surfer statue has been Santa-fied
Winter is the best time for a swim!
Or just visit the beach
There was a fun party at the lighthouse
We went out to the encendido in the Rincon Plaza – the best orchestra in Puerto Rico (Orquesta Sinfónica)!
Cows and geckos- normal sights
Had a fun stop at Tres Sirenas Inn
And an awesome farm called “Finca Brutal”
Thanksgiving with our neighbors was a lot of fun!
The beauty of this place still astounds me
More fun out and about
Some new additions to the garden and harvests
Preparing for a flower delivery and working outside in December!
Check out this GIANT heliconia called “Beefsteak” or Mariae. With our new friend Carlos
It’s been an active period of growth, literally, while we enjoy the holidays as well. We hope yours are going well also! Felicidades.
With the owner of the Love Castle, Don Cuchi Carrero
I had the recent pleasure of talking with the owner of the “Love Castle” or the conch house in Rincon. I have written briefly about this strangely cool place before, but I never knew the back story. We just happened to run into the owner one day and struck up a conversation and got it on video. It turns out he is looking to sell it although he is still (and always) doing more work to it!
A bit ago, I took a wonderful trip sans baby nor hubby with some girl friends to Old San Juan! I actually hadn’t been to Old San Juan since our honeymoon trip over a decade ago, so it was about time! I have a tendency to avoid large cities and San Juan in general sort of freaks this country girl out with all the traffic, crowds, toll roads, parking fees, tall buildings and easy-to-miss exits. But thankfully my friend Missy took the lead and coordinated the whole thing! We got a nice Airbnb right in the heart of OSJ and drove together in her large comfy van. We only stayed one night but it was nice to get a feel for the place again.
Under the umbrellas in Old San Juan
Old San Juan has such a cool vibe to it, that it is hard to explain. Old and modern, hip and vintage at the same time. I was a little sad that our Airbnb had completely renovated and removed the classic black and white tile floors from the apartment because that and some of the hidden little courtyards make that area so famous. There were still some remnants of the political “Ricky Renuncia” campaign, but otherwise it was in beautiful shape. I finally saw the umbrella display at La Fortaleza and enjoyed walking the old blue cobblestone roads again. Here are some pictures of our time there. Thanks to friends Ricia and Paz also for some of these great shots!
Pigeon on a statue, broken shoe from so much walking, winky girls at Chocobar Cortes
Piraguas, cool arquitecture, and the house of the original Pina Colada
Columbus Oblisque, Catholic Church, Cat Chairs at the garitas
Fun with friends, cobblestones, cool scenes and full moon over el Morro!
Art display and out on the town with the ladies!
View from the Airbnb apt and coffee in the morning
Good food and friends at Chocobar Cortes (chocolate infused mofongo tacos!?)
Street scenes
More Viejo San Juan
La Fortaleza Umbrellas
The old and the new side by side. History is built in layers
It was a wonderful trip and we’re hoping to make it happen more regularly!
