We had another great Christmas pig roast on the beach. This year marked our 3rd time at this party! It’s always so much fun to be at the beach on Christmas. Some people love a white, snowy Christmas, but I can’t think of a better place than here to celebrate! Here are a few fun pictures and of course a video.
Christmas day in Rincón
Friends on the beach!
Don’t need anything but a swimsuit, drinks and some music!
With our friend Jeff
I love this smiling guy! (Thanks to Daisy for this pic)
We went down to the Yunta de Bueyes Festival again this year. This was one of the very first festivals we attended when we moved to Puerto Rico in 2013. While Rincón may be thought of as a gringo haven, you wouldn’t know it by this festival as we saw probably only about 3 other gringos the whole time.
Festival with the parade of bueyes (oxen)
We had planned on just going to the park but we must have picked the right time as the parade was just starting. So we were able to watch a lot of the parade and then walk to Plaza Amistad. There were a few oxen, lots of horses and even more cars and tractors. We even saw a Lamborghini…which seemed quite odd in this rural traditional scene.
Lamborghini
We took a little side shoot down to Playa Lala on our way to the festival because in Rincón you are never far from the beach.
At Playa Lala Rincón
Getting pulled along during the parade
At the festival we saw more oxen, ate some pasteles, arroz con gandules, drank some Medallas, listened to music and wandered around looking at all the booths and people.
Check out this guy’s mustache!!
Mmm pasteles, arroz con gandules y ensalada
Like stepping back in time!
When these oxen pushed against me I wasn’t so sure the stick would hold them there!
And check out this decked out bicycle!
The party never ends here in Puerto Rico! Especially at Christmastime.
We generally don’t do a whole lot of tourist activities around Rincón for a few reasons. One, we are pretty frugal and two, since we live here we don’t really feel like tourists. However, there is a lot of cool stuff that happens when you are out and about in Rincón. Recently, we have been going out and seeing thing with fresh eyes again and focusing on the moment.
Beautiful stretch of Sandy Beach
One day we decided to go out to Tamboo Restaurant on Sandy Beach in Puntas which is probably one of the most quintessential tourist locations for food and drink directly on the beach. We were enjoying our meal and Blue Moon beer when we heard a bit of commotion and many people rushing to the edge of the deck and then jumping down to the sand. People from the beach looked up at the growing group of people. And then the bubbling excitement. The sea turtles hatched and were working their way to the sea! We had brought our camera, but the battery was unfortunately dead, so we just enjoyed the scene together in full awe that we had serendipitously come across.
After finishing our meal we ran back home for the camera and caught the VERY LAST ONE
We watched these moment old “Careys” AKA Hawksbill sea turles struggle and dart in a straight line for the water. It was interesting to think of them with an innate drive to their destination that would hold so many challenges. So fragile and so strong at the same time. The people all around cheering them on, placing bamboo poles as a border and removing any rubbish in their way but also letting them do what they needed to do without too much interference. Could that be a metaphor for life and our role for others? I look forward to seeing them soon when we are out snorkeling at Steps.
The last of the group after the final turtle merged with the sea
There are so many magical moments to being alive that I don’t think we always fully recognize them until much later. Living in a world that is so different from the one in which we left is full of struggles that we never fully anticipated but it is also full of wonder and marvel. We all seem to be just like these turtles just working our way to the next adventure beyond.
We went to Aguadilla for an appointment and ended up in Aguada (watery-land)! Literally.
View overlooking Aguadilla out to Rincón
In Aguadilla we ran our errands, stopped and had lunch and then headed back home. On the way home it began to rain a little, and then a little more. We drove through Aguada and realized we forgot something and turned around splashing through a growing overflow of water on the road. We went to the nearest Farmacia. They didn’t have what we were looking for so we returned the way we came. This time there was a police car blocking the road with cars turning around. We could see that the road was flooded out, but we had just passed through there 20 minutes earlier! It couldn’t have risen that much more that we couldn’t pass, could it?!
The police spoke through the speaker and said in Spanish we could pass at our own risk to ourselves and vehicle. Britton took that as a green light! We went through one part just fine and then it started to get deeper and deeper. There was a slight hesitation on the part of Britton and then it was over. The truck stalled out in the middle of the road that was now a river…
How stuck we were! Look at that water flowing!
Like we were in a fricken boat!
That was sinking!
Ooops…
We sat in the truck as it filled with water for about 20-30 minutes. People around us took pictures and video and yelled to us from the safety of the parking lot to make sure we were ok. Eventually the Emergency Rescue Management team showed up. The people in the military-looking Hummer first said they were going to look for a chain to tow us out and then decided to just get us out and we then would wait for a grúa (a tow truck) to get the guagua out.
It was pretty exciting to get extricated from the truck by climbing through the window barefoot. I’ve never had to be rescued before and I am so thankful these people are here! Everyone was super nice and didn’t give us a ticket or even a scolding except to tell Britton that he should be more careful since he had precious cargo on board (me)! Awww. I think they knew we had received our own punishment. They even said they were happy to make new friends with us even if it wasn’t in the best of circumstances. People here in Puerto Rico are so wonderful.
With a few of the crew that rescued us! Thank you all!
The grúa came and towed out the truck and took us home. Now we are working on the truck to see if we can get it to run again…
Checking the engine
What an adventure!
Here’s a little video I managed to take in the midst of the chaos.
