Category Archives: Tropical

Paso Finos, Pulgueros y Playas

Britton and Aeden at the beach

We’ve been staying pretty busy with the kiddo, the cabana rental and the flower business but we also get out and about quite a bit as well. We recently went to Costa restaurant in Mayaguez for brunch (very good place!) after selling flowers at the farmer’s market and stumbled upon a Paso Fino competition. Paso Finos are a type of horse that has a very light gait (Paso Fino means Fine Step). The riders “jinetes” were judged on their posture, how their hands were in the reigns and other signs of an easy ride. The judges checked the horses for an even step on each of the four hooves as well as the general aesthetics and beauty of the beast. It sort of reminded me of rodeos in Colorado except you would never see a cowboy there in a tuxedo haha!

Paso Fino Competition Mayaguez

Me and Aeden at the competition

Paso Finos

Playa Buye

Then we drove down to Playa Buye for a quick afternoon stop. It is always a busy and popular beach.

At Buye Beach

We’ve also been checking out the local Pulgueros. Pulguero means Flea Market and is almost a direct translation since the word flea in Spanish is “pulga.” We like to go to the big market in San Sebastian on Friday mornings and we also made it just in time for the one in the Mani sector of Mayaguez Sunday mornings. We are not so much interested in all the household and random goods as the produce, plant and animal selections we can find. I am trying to talk Britton into some water features at the property and would love to have ducks, geese and koi fish for them. We found some pretty neat fruit trees, flowers and other interesting plants as well as a connection for some more heliconias and gingers. Britton says he can’t believe he is back visiting flea markets since he spent so much of his youth at them that he came to avoid them. But they are a little different here than in Colorado as you can see.

Angel Trumpets are awesome plants that smell wonderful but they are also semi-illegal/regulated in Puerto Rico because of its dangerous poisons (I still want them though!)

This variety of banana is called “Johnson” here in Puerto Rico. It’s actually a Cavendish but look how big they grow!
Flea market fried food fare: The golden brown thing is a “taco” (very different from a Mexican taco) and the darker brown one is an “alcapurria” They are both stuffed with meat, potato and seasonings

We saw this as we were leaving San Sebastian! Holy Plantains!

Mani Pulguero as it was clearing out -A seaside flea market!

At the Mani Market

Checking out all the kids stops too: at Yogufruti in Anasco (I love frozen yogurt so the fact that kids love it too is just an excuse! 🙂 )

Aeden really is a good kid and just goes along wherever we go! We need to start bringing a stroller though because he is getting big and harder to carry!

Nuestro bebe colora’o

Whenever we go out people exclaim “Colora’o!” “Colora’o!” At first I thought they knew we were from Colorado and then I realized that they were talking about Aeden’s red-colored hair! 🙂 They also LOVE, LOVE babies here. Women almost always get a super high pitched voice and say “Ayy que lindo! Dios lo bendiga” and sometimes can’t help but touch him. I will often offer him up to abuelitas (grandmothers) to hold when I see them longing for him. They love to pat him and smell his head. They also tell me about their children and grandkids and give lots of advice. It’s very sweet.

At Pepe’s Pizzeria in Stella of Rincon another seaside favorite

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Britton’s Surprise Birthday Party and Dome’s Beach Trail

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With some friends

We always have fun going out and about as well as staying in at the property, but for Britton’s birthday we had a little something different in mind. A surprise! Our neighbors Kim, Anthony and Lamar and I helped plan a surprise birthday party just up the street and it was so much fun! Britton had no idea when we stopped in to say hello before our planned beach outing that there was a party there just for him. We had a great time and love our neighborhood and friends.

Surprise!
Anthony, Kim and the birthday boy

A make-your-own pizza party and homemade carrot cake! The best!

Fun times, good food and great friends

We had to whisper the Happy Birthday song because Aeden was starting to fall asleep. In Puerto Rico you can sing the English version of “Happy Birthday to You” or the Spanglishized version “Cumpleaños Feliz” but you should always add this song after:

Feliz, feliz en tu día
Amiguit@ que Dios te bendiga
Que reine la paz en tu vida
Y que cumplas muchos más

It translates to: Such happiness on your day, my friend we hope God blesses you, that peace reigns in your life and that you celebrate many more birthdays!

We did have one little party pooper there though 🙂

We didn’t miss out on celebrating Britton’s birthday his expected way as well though. Taking a nice walk down one our favorite trails in Rincon following the Spanish Wall by Dome’s Beach is one of his favorite things so we made sure to do that as well.

Britton and the munchkin

Me and the babe with Pools Beach and Aguadilla in the background

Such a cool trail!

Out enjoying our beautiful town of Rincon

Dome’s Beach is named for this, well, dome -the non-working nuclear reactor plant

It’s a favorite beach for surfers

And a good place to hang a hammock

Spanish Wall was formerly a railroad used by the sugar cane industry

Sad Palm

Happy Family

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Tropical Garden Expansion

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New garden area we are working on- what we call the Hobbit Garden

One of our favorite things about living here in Puerto Rico are the tropical plants. Since our plant hobby is now paying for itself with the sales of flowers at the Sunday farmer’s market we have decided to keep expanding the gardens. It is sort of a scavenger hunt to find some of these exotic tropicals like the rare heliconias, gingers and fruit trees.

Upper garden level where we will soon be adding stairs to lead into the jungle

Our cabin in the jungle is surrounded by lush gardens!

Rare sighting of a century plant (agave) in bloom

Bees on the agave bloom

We have learned from years past that we cannot clear and maintain an area unless it has water. You would think (or at least we did naively when moving here) with it being a tropical environment that we wouldn’t need to water, but that is not the case. We can have torrential rain pours, but then 7 days of nothing and everything dries out. So in order to not just throw money and effort away on all the plants we buy and find, we have to first make sure there is water to the area. This often entails clearing out the underbrush and weedy trees and throwing them into a pile, then installing tubing above ground along the border and if the tubes go into a visible garden area, digging a trench for them as well. Then we hook up a spigot and hose.

Britton hooking up the waterline from Hawk Alley to the Hobbit Garden

Aeden hangs out with us as we work

Now that we have expanded the property we have different names of the sections of the property so that we know what we are referring to. The final (and most fun!) step is to seek out the plants and plant them. Some of these are transplants from our own property like the huge torch gingers and coconut palm starts, but many we must buy or find.

Britton and Aeden at a garden store in Hormigueros

Dragon fruit growing at one nursery

Lots and lots of plants -many of them are too small and dainty for our large-scale garden

It’s not all work out there, though. We often find weird random things like alcohol bottles from the 40s and 50s, old clothes and furniture from who knows and we also play- climbing trees and swinging from vines. Now that I am not pregnant I can help (and play) a lot more. And since it’s not so hot and humid it’s much more enjoyable in general. We have to remember when we have these pushes to the outer boundaries of the property that we will have to maintain these areas as well which means getting a mower through there or planting it thick enough that the vines and weeds are thwarted.

Swinging from the vines

New flowers we found. Not sure of the name

There are always so many iguanas around and sometimes they destroy our plants. But they are also so cool to see

New bench in the Hobbit Garden

Here’s a little walk through of some of the flower gardens

Oh and we’ve been growing more than just plants! Aeden is now 4 months old and growing, well, like a weed 🙂 Here’s his 4 month update!

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Colorful Aguadilla

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Apparently the artist who painted the town (literally) of Yauco has been going around the island and finding other similar neighborhoods to paint. We had heard that Aguadilla got the touch up as well and just had its grand hurrah a little bit ago. We spent the afternoon wandering around and stopped by Rompeolas by the sea for a bite to eat. It is pretty cool, but I think it would have been a little neater had they changed it up a little (maybe polka dots instead of patchwork?). Still very eye catching and a fun little jaunt up many a flight of stairs.

From the park, El Parterre, in Aguadilla looking up; it’s hard to miss!

The subdued park is such a contrast

El Parterre park was very old European in design

I am still surprised people live in this type of hodge-podge and very poor neighborhood. There is no way this would be allowed to fly in modern building codes, but I think they have been sort of grandfathered in from long ago when these were just squatter shanties during the sugar cane days.

Britton carried Aeden all the way to the top!