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.
Puerto Rico was dealt yet another major blow when it was hit by a series of major earthquakes in the southwestern region of the island especially Guanica and Guayanilla and then later other cities including Ponce. The first major event occurred on the morning of Three Kings and destroyed a beautiful geological landmark as well as the front wall to the old Lighthouse in Guanica and collapsing a couple of houses. We felt that one and it was pretty scary.
We were just at this site in August!
(sourced from FB)
I am so sad we never saw this wonder in person! (Source FB)
The next day at about 4:25am we were abruptly awoken from a sound sleep with the house jumping up and down. It felt even bigger and seemed to last forever. Since we were already rattled from the one before and reading all the news of the damage, we got a little nervous because we knew it would certainly be bigger and cause more damage. That one knocked out the power (and it stayed out for about 2 days).
Ready for survival life once again. Solar lights, gas can, generator and a hose shower
Soon reports and photos were coming in of pretty major damage throughout the entire region. We weren’t sure if we should leave to see the damage or stay home and ration since there were lines at the gas stations and grocery stores much as during the hurricane days, but we took a leap. We couldn’t stay at home another day just waiting. We headed out on the road to see what we would find. It was much worse than I expected, and yet sometimes there were nearly identical buildings and one was just fine and the other completely destroyed. Here is our account in photo and video documentation.
Beautiful old church in Guayanilla
It was so damaged you could see the cathedral from the outside
Near the coast in Guanica
House falls and smashes car in Guayanilla
Modern style house completely on its side
We saw at least 5 electrical transformers on the ground
Three story school in Guanica, Agripina de Seda was reduced to only two stories!
Help was arriving on the scene to provide resources and clean up
But there is a lot to clean up
Lower level is completely gone in this house
Adding the threat of tsunami must have been terrifying to residents
As well as landslides
Here in Rincon we lived in survival mode for a while, but the power just recently came back and there is no obvious damage to any buildings. Unfortunately for the towns down south, a full recovery will likely take much longer. Additionally, one of the main power plants to the island was located there and sustained major damage and which will continue to affect all of us on the island. Please help in any way, including continuing to visit Puerto Rico.
UPDATE: We were without power and water on and off for about a week after this occurred, but are now back pretty much to normal though we still feel some tremors. Unfortunately for people down south, some have lost their homes and some still are terrified to return. There are many ways to help and to donate for this and future disasters. Please see the video for a list of many organizations that are helping.
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.
Puerto Rico grocery shopping. Some people had asked me if there is much of a difference shopping in Puerto Rico than in the states. I would say yes and no. Here are some of the similarities and differences
One of the chains on the island. There’s also Econo, Mr. Special and Pueblo among a few others
Price: In Puerto Rico, food is pretty expensive, especially some items like dairy products and specialty items that need to have extra care to ship like produce (strawberries for instance). Other foods, though, are pretty cheap like rice and beans which is a favorite and staple in the Puerto Rican diet/cuisine. Many people in Puerto Rico use a La Familia food stamp card that you may notice when checking out. And often you will be asked about the “metodo de pago” or method of payment. To respond you can say “cash/efectivo” “targeta” (card) “ATH” (debit) or “Familia’. Food (usually) has a lower tax rate than other non-food items.
Sofrito! Most people have a receta casera (home recipe) but in a pinch store-bought will do
Types of Foods: Generally speaking you can find almost everything you would expect to find in the states, but the vast variety is lacking (except soda crackers; there are SOOO many saltines!). For instance, you can find Trisquits, but you won’t find Spicy Herb and Cheese Trisquits (I don’t even know if that’s a thing, but you get my point). Organic and “fine” or fancy foods are pretty hard to come by, so if you are a foody or vegetarian you will quickly learn the tiny hubs of these places (for instance Fresh Mart in Aguadilla, Natural Food Center in Mayaguez and the food section in any Marshalls believe it or not). There are of course a lot of Puerto Rican cuisine foods in the grocery stores. These include things like bacalao (salted/preserved cod fish), lots of tomato sauce, rice, beans, calabaza (Puerto Rican pumpkin), recao and cilantro, sofrito, sazon, plantains, ñame, canned meats, Malta, Medalla, Puerto Rican coffee (mmm que rico!) pique, and many other things.
Malta is an interesting non-alcoholic malt beverage. It is very sweet and carbonated. Basically a soda
Lots and lots of rice!
Many things in the Puerto Rican diet have evolved throughout time having to deal with hurricanes and lack of refrigeration like Ultra High Pasteurized box milk and many canned/dried goods. Because of that sometimes people get the impression that fresh food is not prized. Actually au contraire! There is a deep love for the IDEA of the jibaro slaving out in the hot tropical sun to bring fresh food from the campo. (Not that many still want to BE one, though that is changing a little with the food revolution on the island.) But much of THAT food is found at the small fruit tents, pulgueros/farmer’s markets and just randomly stopped trucks or cars with their trunks open filled to the brim with avocados, pineapples, bananas, plantains, breadfruit and more.
Get your groceries wherever you can find them! Pineapple man
Overall, though, grocery shopping in general is pretty much the same at you might find in the states. It’s a large warehouse with aisles labeled in Spanish. The periphery generally has the produce and cold items and the center has the more shelf-stable things. You can buy any type of alcohol and tobacco there, although the alcohol is sometimes behind a plexiglass wall and the tobacco nearly always is.
Full size “samples” of rum drinks in Pueblo grocery store
Sometimes there will be taste testings, especially with alcohol which doesn’t mean a sample, but usually a full serving of a drink or glass of wine! The music played inside is generally, but not always Puerto Rican current pop or old salsa music. Sometimes there are ATMs inside. I have never seen people “couponing” with the cut out coupons that they have in the states, at least not in any store I’ve ever been to. The sales advertisement/insert is often found at the front of the store near the carts/baskets and is called a “shopper” (pronounced “choper”). Sometimes there is a cafeteria or deli to eat a hot meal.
I haven’t seen self check out at the grocery stores and some are even so old school they don’t have bar codes (small mom and pop colmados mostly) and have to type in the price. Most will accept any form of money, but it’s good to always have cash just in case the machines aren’t working. People are friendly while shopping and will often comment or make small talk while reaching for things. Lines (filas) can sometimes be long especially on the weekends, so we avoid shopping then even though everyone is very nice and polite while waiting.
One big difference is that for a few years now, there is a law that prohibits the single use plastic bags. So you either need to bring your own bags (or boxes, coolers, etc) or they will sell you a canvas one for about a $1 or a thicker plastic bag (that is intended to be re-used) for about ten cents. Also, if you are not going straight home from the grocery store (and even if you are) you should always bring a cooler in your car to keep cold things cold. Neveritas (portable coolers) are an all-time must item while living in Puerto Rico!
That’s about all I can think of regarding grocery shopping in Puerto Rico. Let me know if I missed anything and can try to answer it! Here’s a short video while out shopping!
