Our most recent adventure was to the tiny one-acre island called Isla de Ratones or Mouse Island because at one point in time it was overrun by rodents. Since then it has been cleared of most pests and is just a nice day trip. It has an interesting history including a connection with MTV in the 80’s! As a beautiful little deserted island I think I like its original name: Piñas, which means pineapples, but if rodents make people leery of visiting, all the better for us to have this little island to ourselves!
The day started around 10am in Joyuda where we chartered a boat for the short 4-5 minute ride out to the island. It would have been fairly easy to paddleboard or kayak to the island if one had at least an intermediate skill level. Still, it was fun to pile up our group of about 30 people into two boatloads and head on over!
Loading pier
Our short little boat trip
I love these trips to these tiny islands off the coast of Puerto Rico. This one was a little easier because we didn’t have to drive to the east coast. It was right down the road past Mayaguez! A simple day trip. It was so funny how much stuff people bring to spend 5 hours at a beach. So we had plenty to eat and drink and there was even a bathroom on the island! We enjoyed grilling up food, hanging out in the water, jumping off the pier and even painting ourselves like Tainos with a special purple clay! Here are a few fun pictures and a video from the day. Some of these photos are from Lowell, Amanda and Daisy.
We had a spa day with mud masks and kelp hair treatments haha!
We were a little concerned about a rainout but it was a nice sunny day!
Fun on an island in the sun
Andrea and I are painted like Tainas
And these guys are just silly
Good times!
Cheers to Daisy for organizing this trip!
Getting goofier!
On the other side of the island with the remains of an old pier
We took a little drive down the coast of Mayaguez as we have been recently and found a little hidden jewel near Joyuda. I didn’t even know what it was called as we walked down the neatly raked trails that twisted and turned throughout the mangroves. We came upon a couple of younger guys hanging out on one of the rustic little benches and I asked him where we were. “Ostiones, o la playita,” they replied. And said that the trails went pretty far down and there were other many little benches to stop and enjoy the beauty.
Down long trails
Little sitting spots
Twisted mangrove roots
Entrance to the sea
Beach art as made by nature
Awesome coconut tree grove through the middle part of the trail
I have always been a fan of the television show Survivor and this special spot reminded me a lot of where they would have secret conversations and find hidden immunity idols! Places like these are why I often feel that my life is playing out like a tropical movie or TV show.
Fun group outing to the sugar mill pier in Aguadilla
Our friend Summer had quite an adventure in mind when we set out on Saturday to the old abandoned sugar mill and pier (Molino y muelle de azúcar) in Aguadilla. I had no idea how much of a wild ride it would be, but it was amazing! It is not the type of day trip that just anyone can do, and is certainly not for children or the faint of heart. Along with Britton and our friend Brandon, we traveled together to a neighborhood in Aguadilla where there was a “Private Property” sign that everyone, including a policeman issuing parking tickets, completely ignored.
No Pase? No Problem! Just go around the side
The abandoned sugar mill and bank-owned 30 acre property including private pier is currently for sale!
It was a short little hike around the property
Inside one of the other abandoned buildings
Inside the massive 30,000 sq ft mill was like a huge cathedral
Eerie and cool at the same time (thanks to Summer for some of the photos in this post) We then came upon the sugar mill pier structure. This building is in complete disarray and is slowly disintegrating from lack of maintenance and lots of salinity. In order to reach the actual pier we descended through the complete dilapidation of rusted out or missing stairs, floors that had fallen through, broken glass and graffiti. It was quite dangerous, but also thrilling! I felt like we were in an adult jungle gym. The kind that they make for kids with rubber floors, only this one you could actually die if you stepped wrong or slipped.
Watch your step and hold on tight!
Literally nowhere to step
When we left we found (thanks to a helpful man behind us) that we could have rock-climbed out. I am not sure which is more dangerous! They each had pros and cons.
Like a choose-your-adventure story both are fun!
Eventually, slowly and cautiously we made our way down to the actual pier. Of course, this was in no better shape than the rest of the structures except that we would now be on a catwalk suspended 100 ft above the ocean and need to walk about 500 ft on about 2 inches of steel beam. Pretty freaky!
Where we were going!
Britton takes a breather on a portion of the bridge that actually had some grates after the successful crossing
Faces of relief, but we still had to descend to the platform
When we reached our final destination, the fun continued. We set up a swing, jumped off the piers and I even worked up enough courage to hang from a crane and drop about 60 feet into the ocean. It was exhilarating and I felt so proud of myself for working through my fear! It helped to have so much encouragement from others who had done it before. The ocean was so crystal clear and turquoise blue I was just mesmerized. We were talking about how Disney and other similar theme parks try to put something like this together, but it always comes across so fake. This was the real deal. It is also completely dangerous and officially not allowed though throughout the day many others joined us and enjoyed chilling and thrilling.
Contentment under the pier
Chillin’ on the rusted stairs
Hanging out and setting up the swing
Swinging and jumping
People would boat or jet ski from Crashboat over to the sugar pier
This was the structure we walked ever so cautiously across!
It was a fantastic day in so many ways! The island is full of adventures big and small, and some, like this one, that you will never find in any official tourist guide (probably for good reason). Disclaimer: This is just our experience. If you decide to check out this wild adventure, it’s on you. No one will probably stop you, but you are putting yourself in a lot of danger. Have fun, but stay safe out there everyone! Happy trails!
It had been something of a rough week emotionally, so Britton and I thought some Vitamin Sea might be just what the doctor ordered. Which beach should we explore? There are so many beaches in Rincón, but we often go to the same ones all the time which normally are the north beaches near our house. So instead, we chose to go down south near Corcega and Almendros Beach.
Britton enjoying the warm Caribbean waters
I have seen the Millan Boat from afar before, but I have never gone and explored it. From what I understand it was built in the mid 20th century by Mr. Emiliano “Millan” Altiery as an homage to the fishermen profession.
Bote Millan from a distance
Wow! Up close it looks a lot like a boat!
Another cool place to take photos
And look snazzy whilst drinking our morning coffee
Up on top it really did feel like a boat!
Ahoy, mateys!
Right nearby I noticed a cool swing! Being the adventurer that I am, I had to take a ride! Swinging on a coconut palm while the waves crashed next to a small river outlet reminds me how much my life seems like a dream and this is the carnival scene.
Swinging to the sea!
Over the river
After swimming a bit more we began to get hungry. We packed up our beach chairs and headed down the road in the Millennium Falcon, our nickname for the warp-speeding Mustang. We picked up a pollo asa’o sandwich, chatted with a friend and then blasted off to find a little deserted beach in Añasco.
The Mill Falcon on a new planet
Exploring paths unknown
Deep in the jungle
All in all, I’d say it helped us perk up a bit to remember what a beautiful place and time we get to live.
We had a spa day with mud masks and kelp hair treatments haha!
Andrea and I are painted like Tainas
And these guys are just silly
Cheers to Daisy for organizing this trip!
Getting goofier!
On the other side of the island with the remains of an old pier
