Uncertainty has “certainly” been the name of this year. And while things aren’t back to “normal” and the arbitrary and confusing rules change practically every other week, things are at least a little more calm around here. And meanwhile in the midst of the chaos that 2020 is shaping out to be, another year of life has gone by and so we did our best to celebrate my making it another trip around the sun.
I have always wanted to go on a horseback tour here in Puerto Rico, so we thought if it was available we’d try to book a tour.
There’s a great company in Rincon called “Pintos R Us” but I know the trail and area they take so well that I wanted to go on a tour of an area that I’ve never seen. We decided to go with Tropical Trail Rides in Isabela. It was a great experience. After dropping Aeden off at daycare, we drove up to Isabela and met up with new friends Kristie and Hernan there. We checked in, paid (discount is given if paying cash), got weighed and a horse assigned to us. We wore face coverings to check in, but they weren’t required during the actual ride which is literally always a horse-length away from anyone haha. The views were wonderful and it was a different perspective to see everything a little higher. Such a connection with the animal when you are on her back too, almost like being one creature.
We rode through the back side of Villa Montana Resort and then onto Shacks Beach and finally all the way to Survival Beach in Aguadilla and back. We mostly walked and trotted on the horse.
Afterward we met up with a few more friends for a nice meal and drink at Villa Montana. It was a great, chill way to celebrate my birthday.
On the day of my actual birthday we just went out alone to explore the black sand beaches of Mayaguez on the litoral. This beach is often ignored because the dark sands are considered dirty by the local people there even though they are just the mineral colors of the sand and I found it to be incredible! We walked up and down the beautiful coast and took pictures before having a nice simple meal at Carbon de Palo, a sweet little seaside restaurant.
There’s a lot that is out of our hands right now, but our own happiness always is. And that’s what I’m focusing on right now. To another solar cycle! Hope everyone is staying safe and happy as well!
We also recently went through a pretty major Tropical Storm (Isaias) and thankfully we didn’t suffer any damage though some of our friends did have landslides and flooding unfortunately. You can watch the video of our experience here:
Life has sort of become a blur with every day bending itself into the next in a Groundhog Day sort of way. Without a purpose or reason for being it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish much sense in anything. For seven whole weeks everything in our life was on hold and we hardly saw another soul. Since we live way out in the jungle we don’t even get much interaction with neighbors.
Planting coconuts behind our house in the jungle
The lockdown in Puerto Rico has been especially harsh as the official rules were that we couldn’t have visitors even in our own house and couldn’t visit anyone. We weren’t supposed to leave the house even for walks (not even those with pets)! Of course I doubt anyone actually followed the letter of the law when it is that strict, but it does wear on you mentally to always be looking over our shoulder to see if there are police around. This is so different from how laid back Puerto Rico normally is which why it was all the more shocking. We were stopped various times by the police for very innocuous things like going to the hardware store and stopping and letting Aeden run around while we ate take out food (with no one else around).
A sad lonely Easter at home
For a while the lockdown had alternating license plates (odds could leave one day, evens another) and it was really hard because it backed up everything and the lines to the grocery stores went on for 3 plus hours. Then Easter weekend was the worst. They shut down everything including grocery stores for three whole days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and patrolled heavily; I assume because they anticipated people would be celebrating the holiday. But what it did was magnify the backup for a couple of weeks before and after. It was so hard to get anything that we even ran out of diapers and mostly just ate the eggs and fruit of our farm. Suffice it to say, the lockdown has been super nuts here in Puerto Rico.
He’s getting so big and active!
This last week, on Week 8 (after 50 days of locking down), we were finally given the ok by the Governor to go out for personal reasons like walking, hiking, exercise, etc. And a huge sigh of relief was felt even by the most devout hardline lockdown people (because even THEY don’t want to wait in line with potentially infected people for 3 hours in the hot sun)! Access to the sand on the beach and the water is still not officially allowed though we can look at it and walk nearby. They even stepped up enforcement and started arresting surfers! So crazy. But we have other places to go than just the beach. We love waterfalls so that helps that we know of a lot of “secret” spots to hike and explore. I feel much better just knowing that we have a little freedom and can leave our own house without quite as much authoritarian strain.
A favorite spot: Salto de la Encantada in Anasco
We have been ok through this. It has certainly added a lot of stress and strife to our life, but we are overall in much better shape than many people. We have taken the time to push further on the farm and do some deep cleaning and maintenance projects that we put off.
Cleaning up an area up top
Unfortunately Britton was involved in a pretty serious car accident (no one else was injured thankfully when he was run off the road) and so we have also been dealing with the aftermath of that which is more complicated because of all the government offices being closed and he definitely didn’t want any medical care during this time even though he probably should have. We found a replacement car, so we are doing ok on that front though. Oh, the adventures never truly end do they?! haha
Car crash! Oh no!
Waiting in line for a marbete (registration sticker) for the new car
It has been economically difficult for us and all of Puerto Rico too as tourism came to an abrupt stop. Thankfully this week we received our economic relief check, but I know a lot of Puerto Ricans who don’t file Federal are still waiting for theirs and hoping their small businesses will survive this devastating time.
Double masked employee while working fast food
Puerto Rico’s numbers remain pretty stable and that is good news as we slowly begin to open up a little. We are now required to wear masks pretty much anywhere in public which I am starting to get used to.
Masked biker/walker
We can now go to hardware stores and car shops and laundromats again which were initially closed. When the government offices reopen we will be able to register the title of our new car. We really miss day care, but for some reason Puerto Rico considers education the last phase to open (even though children are the lowest risk and high need sector). And tourism will probably also be slow to build up. But Poco a poco we return to something closer to “normal.” And at least for now we have some room to breathe.
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For Valentine’s Day, we headed out to Aguadilla during the day since Aeden was in daycare to do some exploring and go out to a late lunch. We checked out the downtown plaza, saw the flag stairs and then stopped to see the inside of an abandoned airplane. It was like we were on the TV show, Lost!
Cool Flag Stairway in Aguadilla
Awesome abandoned airplane!
Inside of the plane
We enjoyed a nice meal together at Khalan Thai of a stuffed pineapple and then headed on home. Unfortunately as we were driving along, the clutch pedal broke with a loud boom like a gunshot. Britton stopped and tried to fix it with the few parts we had in the car, but it wasn’t going to happen quickly.
Broken down!
We were running out of time to get back and pick up Aeden. A nice man stopped and offered to help. First he tried to help fix the clutch, but when we saw the time, he ended up taking me all the way to Rincon in order to get him before they closed! He took his own time away from his family going out of his way in order to help a complete stranger! I couldn’t believe it!
It was a reminder that love is also found in the kindness of strangers and that we must always pay it forward whenever we can. You just never know when you’ll need help, so always put good karma into the universe! Britton, meanwhile, worked very hard on the car and managed to drive home without a clutch. It took him nearly 4 hours, but he made it! I know I couldn’t have done that. He is so talented. So it was a very exciting Valentine’s Day with a lot of good lessons. Love one another, never quit trying and help out your fellow human! Of course I love Puerto Rico with all the beautiful enticing beaches and sights, but it’s things like this and the people who make it truly special.
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.
