Category Archives: Moving

Coffee Zone in Puerto Rico

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I saw the following article on the Internet today. This is really similar to what Britton and I would like to do there in Puerto Rico. I wonder how difficult it is to become a “Coffee Zone Certified Hacienda”?  There is even one in Lares, which is the city we will be in…hmmm.

New Coffee Zone Warmly Welcomes Visitors

Puerto Rico is a popular tourist destination with much to offer travelers who choose to explore this exotic country. Ever mindful of the fact that tourism is a major source of income for the country, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC) has announced that ten historic coffee plantations will receive certification by the Department of Agriculture and the PRTC to form a new tourism concept that will be known as the “Coffee Zone”.


Puerto Rican Coffee Berries

These ten haciendas are located in the towns of San Sebastian, Jayuya, Ponce, Adjuntas, Lares and Las Marias. The objective of the new Coffee Zone is to draw attention to this thriving local industry that generates around 60 million dollars annually, while at the same time promoting the ever increasing interest in agrotourism. Visitors will be introduced to the daily way of life on a plantation, as well as being able to enjoy a host of activities such as hiking, walking and bird-watching in the lush mountainous regions where the plantations are situated.

Coffee in Puerto Rico is graded and certified in line with international standards and is exported to different parts of the world as well as supplying the needs of the island. The selected coffee plantations are eager to participate in this new concept and to welcome tourists to their plantations, thus the PRTC will be highlighting the Coffee Zone in upcoming tourism promotions. The selected and certified plantations are Café Bello and Sagra in Adjuntas; Anna Coffee Estate, Hacienda Gripiñas and Hacienda San Pedro in Jayuya; Café Laredo in Lares; Palma Escrita/La Casona in Las Marias, Hacienda Buena Vista and Hacienda Patricia in Ponce; and Hacienda El Jibarito in San Sebastian.

The Puerto Rico Tourism Company, which has been in operation since 1970, supports the development of the Puerto Rican tourism industry by evaluating tourism facilities and establishing standards of quality. With offices and representative on the United States mainland, Canada, Latin America and Europe the PRTC actively markets Puerto Rico as a tourism destination. Certainly Puerto Rico is a country of great natural beauty and the new Coffee Zone will no doubt encourage more people to enjoy what this fascinating country has to offer.

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Phone call with Carlos, the lawyer in PR

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I called Carlos. 

 

Basically he doesn’t know how long it will take for the department of natural resources to do their part. (all the rest is hear-say)

 Carlos hasn’t told Alwilda yet.  Then he went off on “he doesn’t know how long she can wait”. 

BK: well she doesn’t really have a choice does she?

Carlos: They may need to sell it to someone who has the cash upfront.

BK: Why would someone buy a property that isn’t titled correctly?

Carlos: It would be the same kind of deal that it was when she bought it.

BK: What kind of deal is that?

Carlos: A cash deal

BK: Well I don’t know many people that have that much cash, is there someone else waiting to buy an un-titled/not properly titled property?

Carlos: You would be surprised, that is how we do things in the rural parts

 

Which comes back to, if a bank can’t buy it because it is missing something or there is a problem with the title I don’t see how anyone would want to buy it (unless of course they didn’t know).  Makes me wonder if Alwilda even ‘owns’ it!?!

 

I suggested that we could talk to Alwilda and maybe work something out until the bank financing goes thru and he said that is something that “she would have to decide”.
It’s tough working on something like this that you have no idea how to influence from 2000 miles away.  

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Brick Walls and Dreams

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“The brick walls are there for a reason … to show us how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.”
-Randy Pausch

As we embark upon our dream we have already started to encounter brick walls. I think our system in general (society) is not setup for us to do the things we really enjoy or want to do. For instance the rules for a ‘conforming’ mortgage are written for people who live in sub-divisions not for people who want to live in the forest. Of course you can still get a loan, but it’ll be more expensive (higher wall).

I had a really cool feeling last night when I was driving home from work. I was thinking about moving to PR and how we are going to make it work and I got the overwhelming feeling that you can do anything. I know people say it, but I am starting to feel it. Its a good feeling. Then I saw this video today and it just re-enforces that you can achieve anything you want if you put your mind to it and work towards it.

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Puerto Rico Update! – looong post by BK

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We called Alwilda who is the current owner of the property in Puerto Rico. She said that her lawyer received some papers back from the government / title company (I am not entirely sure how it all works down there yet). Apparently this is the last paper that needs to be signed for the property to be registered/titled correctly. I sure hope so.

When we asked Cassie’s uncle about purchasing property in Puerto Rico he wasn’t entirely sure because he was licensed in particular states, his advice was to make sure you go thru the larger well known companies. I would have to say that after our first attempt at the purchase this was true. The bank has lawyers and they checked out all the property access requirements and survey/appraisal which is wonderful. They are the ones who found out that the title wasn’t setup properly.

We are getting closer to re-applying for the loan. Hopefully this time it will go thru; we asked for more time intitally (in January) and boy did we get it!


Satellite Image of PR

I was thinking about this summer / fall because I think that is when Hurricane season starts. I actually am kind of excited to experience one. People here are somewhat proud that we don’t have such disasters. But less than 10 miles away we had a pretty large tornado roll thru here, so even we aren’t ‘safe’.


Greeley/Windsor Tornado

There is also one other thing that I find really interesting and dangerous about PR.  The trench to the north of the island.  Well that AND the fault line. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico_Trench 


PR Trench

“The island of Puerto Rico lies immediately to the south of the fault zone and the trench. The trench is 800 kilometers (500 mi) long and has a maximum a depth of 8,605 meters (28,232 ft) at Milwaukee Deep, which is the deepest point in the Atlantic Ocean.”

Which is also why I am ok with not being on the beach front.  If an earthquake hits apparently from what I’ve read the trench can have underwater avalanches that cause tsunamis.  Although here in the mainland we have the ‘economy’ which could be way worse than any tsunami.  Look at our trench!


US Trench

I dont know which is deeper?  I guess I will take the one that only crashes once every hundred years (PR Trench) not every 30 (stock market).

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