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!
I sometimes look at my own photos and can’t believe I live in this magical place!
Life is spinning by as fast as ever. We are entering the summer season and tourism is slowing down and the plants and rains are taking off. Here are a few pictures that don’t warrant a post in themselves but are fun reminders of this time in our life.
Our makeshift bird feeder at the cabin: old bananas. Zorzal and Troupial
As creatures we evolve to mimic our surroundings -haha
We’re still having fun playing music and performing with our band!
Rincón is so beautiful and colorful! Downtown plaza
Check out this weird mummified/dried out coqui I found in our closet!
I competed in a mechanical bull contest at a local bar and won 1st place of women and got some schwag (and a lot of bruises). Not too bad for my first time ever on one!! haha
You know this is a rural countryside kind of place when there are horses even in the projects
I don’t know if I will ever grow accustomed to the amazing creatures that just roam freely here
When we’re not having fun we are still progressing on the cabin -currently in the kitchen we are going for a tiki-bar tropical cabin in the jungle feel 😉
These guys live at the balnerio in Rincón and even have a TV! One of them, Glen, makes incredible tie-dye creations as seen in one of the earlier photos
I love these gorgeous tropical irises that are blooming all over our gardens
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.
