Category Archives: Holidays

Puerto Hermina and El Puente La Bellaca Quebradillas

For my birthday this year we took a day trip up to the northern coastal area of Quebradillas. I had heard about a cool area called Puerto Hermina and wanted to check it out.

Puerto Hermina, Quebradillas PR

Old pirate lair ruins

There was a lot to explore at Puerto Hermina including one of Pirate Cofresí’s old lairs, various trails, beaches and even caves!

Great photo ops!

I explored a lot of the area and even found a cool carved Indian face in the stone hills though I have no idea how long it has been there.

That’s what you call stone faced 😉

This was the entrance to one of the bigger caves

A nice little fishing spot

Enjoying the sights and sites of Puerto Hermina

Selfie time!

We stopped and checked out a few other spots in Quebradillas like the Guajataca River and I could even spot the tunnel in the distance. It was a pretty windy day though down by the beach so we didn’t stay too long!

Crazy wind-blown hair at the beach in Quebradillas!

Rio Guajataca has a nice little campground area -not sure if it’s only for day or nights as well

Beautiful beach scenes as usual in Puerto Rico

Beaches, river and tunnel in the distance

Our next stop was the Puente La Bellaca which is just down the same road as Puerto Hermina. This bridge has a very funny name in Puerto Rican Spanish. Bellac@ can mean crooked or a scoundrel, but in Puerto Rico more often than not it is a sexual term that means “horny.” In this case a horny woman. I have no idea why this bridge is named that, but that’s what it is!

Entrance to El Puente La Bellaca

It’s a nice little walk on a paved sidewalk through the jungle to this bridge that spans about 100 feet and is about 100 feet in the air above the treetops with a view to the sea. Unlike the sugar mill pier, though, at least there are grates to walk on and it appears to be pretty well-maintained because it is a currently in-use sewer pipeline.

One side of the bridge

Another cool photo spot

After our outing we were ready for a couple drinks and a nice meal. Overall, it was a fun excursion and I would recommend checking out Quebradillas!

Chinchorro para la cumpleañera

Here’s a short video I made of our day:

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Happy 4th of July -Puerto Rico Style

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In Puerto Rico on the 4th of July you won’t see people strutting around in American flag clothing or even lighting fireworks except at the military bases. Occasionally stateside people will buy a bunch of fireworks and throw a party, but in general, fireworks are not a thing here on the 4th of July. I don’t think Puerto Rico ever really got indoctrinated into the whole Independence Day history of the nation, though it is part of it. The history of this island is so much longer than the 200 some years of the USA that it hasn’t quite fully worked its way into the pride of most islanders as it does with most mainlanders.

4th of July at Almendros Beach, Rincón

Still, because it is a federal holiday, Puerto Rico gets the day off. And no one is going to argue with that. This year, for many, that meant an extra long weekend of partying. And partying in the summertime means going to the beach! In Rincón both the balneario and Almendros beaches were packed with people, while other beaches were quite calm. This is a social, loud island, so the parties get more and more packed and more and more crazy! Some people set up camp right at the water’s edge to be right in the milieu melee. It’s fun for extroverts, but people who dislike crowds or noise should avoid these festival type events.

It’s a huge party on the beach complete with a hula hoop dance competition and air horns!

We ran into local Rincón celebrity “Bienvenidos” who often helps direct traffic and is always welcoming

Such is life….is such a good mantra. Row, row, row your boat

We went on a beer run for some people at a pinchos stand. Everyone piled up in the truck. And then we drove, not to a store, but to someone’s personal house and bought some beer. I talked to an old man there who had lived in the area since it was all sugarcane fields. The layers and webs of life here make everything here just little wilder.

No back seats, no problem!

There were supposed to be two other (calmer) parties in Aguada and Aguadilla, so Britton and I packed up and left. When we got to Aguada, no one was to be found. Perhaps it was too windy to set up. So we headed to Borinquen Beach, one of my favorites in Aguadilla, for another party. When we got there, we didn’t find a soul we knew either! It was spitting rain and windy too, but we swam a bit and enjoyed the peaceful contrast from earlier in the day.

Enjoying Borinquen Beach in Aguadilla -while some guy attempts to ostrich himself? 😉

We watched a beautiful sunset

And rainbows

Unfortunately all we had brought to eat was a huge watermelon and lots of beer because we were anticipating BBQ at one or the other of the parties. So, we were getting pretty hungry. Then it started pouring rain so we headed out. We were wet from swimming so we didn’t want to go to any sit-down restaurants. Wendy’s it is, I guess! When it rains hard, often the power goes out and that happened even at this corporate fast food joint. The worker came out to our truck at the ordering window with an umbrella and told us that if we had cash they could serve us. So we had our American-style meal on the 4th of July after all. You just never know what you’ll run into or where you’ll end up here in Puerto Rico. Such is life, indeed.

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Spring and Easter in Rincón

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In Puerto Rico because it is a tropical environment, many people think that there are not seasons. This is not exactly accurate. While it does stay between 75-85 degrees F year round there are still subtle changes. Because we work outside a lot and we live in a cabin in the middle of the jungle we notice these changes perhaps a bit more than some people. For one thing, many of the plants begin to flower in preparation for fruiting in the summer. One of my favorite flowering plants are the robles (Tabebuia rosea). For about one month these trees add a rose colored hue to everything including the ground! It is like living in a pink snow globe especially when you see them softly twirl to the ground.

The trees and I are pink!

Roll out the pink carpet!

Turkeys enjoying the changing colors of spring

The rambutan are already flowering! Let’s hope they form fruit!

Like this grosella

The papaya and bananas are constantly producing! I love the way this trunk looks like ancient carving

I think all plants are beautiful in a certain way, but not all of them are friendly! We have been working on clearing around the cabin and replanting with fruiting trees and ornamentals. In doing so we have to clear out some pretty mean and nasty stuff like the Puerto Rican poison ivy they call Carrasco that no matter how careful I am, I always somehow manage to get on me. About 2 days after this happens I swell up really bad and start itching uncontrollably. Then my skin erupts in a pus-y mess and then finally scabs over. It is not fun!

Spring for the Carrasco plant too! Here is its flower/berry

Another mean plant are the wild bromeliads. While beautiful they have the most vicious spikes on them. I have many pokes and stings from these bad boys. They are very difficult to eradicate from an area. We just threw them over the fence line. They would make a good living fence because no one would want to walk through these!

Wild bromeliad and its thorny weaponry

Side of the cabin that we cleared of bromeliads and other brush and have begun to replant

When we’re not enjoying spring in the jungle, we have been out with friends at various events including the Stand Up Paddleboard race, and Spring/Easter parties. The 2017 tourist season was a little slow, but that doesn’t mean the partying was. One thing about living in Rincón (and I think Puerto Rico in general) is that there is never a shortage of parties! It’s a good-time island. We have to consciously choose which events to go to and which not because we’ll never get anything done around the property otherwise!

Villa Cofresí and her famous piratas during the SUP contest

Fun times with friends!

On Easter weekend we went to a friend’s farm in Aguada and set up a campground. We sang songs around the campfire and toasted marshmellows and relaxed. The fireflies came out and danced alongside us. It was truly magical!

Road through the woods to the campsite

Campsite by day

And by night (thanks Daisy for this pic)

Easter we had a wonderful time with a variety of friends!

The Van Ees

So much fun! Slip-sliding away…even with chickens!

¡Felices Pascuas!

And another party at the beach!

So yes, there is a spring in Puerto Rico even if it isn’t quite as pronounced as up north. Everything is in bloom, the birds and insects start mating more, the rains begin to come more regularly, the temperature and humidity go up a little and the ocean warms up just a bit. In Rincón the northern tourists leave and the local Puerto Rican tourists start arriving. I hope we can continue playing music through this summer, but if not, come check us out at our next show this Saturday at Willie’s Bar and Grill in the marina!

Rincón Continentals Live

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¡Feliz Año Nuevo! Bienvenido 2017

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Here we are, another year gone by. Each year that passes we have an opportunity to reflect on the one before and plan for what’s to come. For us, this has been a year of many beautiful moments and also many challenges and hard work. We are hopeful for what the new year brings. As we finish up the cabin and get the cabana ready for visitors, we move to another level in our property and goals here. We are also evolving in our relationships: in the band, in our friendships and family and in our marriage. We hope that your 2016 was a good one and that 2017 brings you joy and all the lessons you need to fulfill you on your journey!

Feliz Año Nuevo from Cassie and Britton!

This New Year’s Eve we ran some errands and then jammed with the band. Later that evening we went out to La Copa Llena for the countdown and party. It’s a beautiful place near the Marina where the ocean laps peacefully at the soft sand beach. Here are some photos of the day and evening.

Turning a corner in The Corner (Rincón)