Author Archives: Cassie

Explorations near Joyuda: Modern Ruins and Hidden Coves

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With the baby, we have found that we need to get out of the house and property more than ever. We have a sort of routine where we stay in one day and go for a drive the next. Sometimes it’s every two days or so, but we like to get out so we don’t feel like all we do is work around the property and take care of the little guy. This last week we did some explorations around the Joyuda area. Joyuda is between Mayaguez and Cabo Rojo. We take the cool backroad of 102 to have an ocean drive. We made it back to one of our favorite spots: Punta Ostiones also know as La Playita.


Area of Punta Ostiones


Trails


Secluded Coves


Postcard beach scenes


Me and Aeden in one of the coves -he loves to kick the water!


Noni fruit growing wild -edible and medicinal but very yucky tasting!


Hermit crab on shucked coconuts


Exploring through the Ostiones trails of coconuts and mangroves

We also briefly checked out a cool abandoned juvenile detention center that is now a mountain bike riding course. It was cool in a spooky way.  Then we went back another day with friends and explored more.


When we stumbled upon an old abandoned church that is being reclaimed by the jungle!


Creepy hallways of the old buildings -now used to play “Gotcha” or paintball


In the doorway to the church


Me and Aeden on the altar


Down the stairs


We’re off again! Grab the kid! Firewoman carry! 🙂


With friend Laura exploring the southern part of the trails


Aeden can keep his head up now which makes walking with him easier


A group of us exploring the ruins


Creepy hallways! “We’re watching!”


Britton and Aeden near the church


I did another photoshoot with Laura there. I can’t wait to see her results!


Later we stopped by the Gato Negro right on the water in Joyuda and watched the birds and tarpon fighting over fish scraps

 

Maricao Coffee Festival

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We took a last minute trip up the mountains to the Maricao Coffee Festival (Fiesta del Acabe de Cafe). Along the way we stopped for the beautiful vistas and some wild plants. We had gone up in years past and things seemed to have been revived since Maria. It’s about an hour drive from Rincon along very curvy roads. We took longer because we made several stops.


Me and Aeden at the Festival


Mountain views along the way


Lots of people


Some info on coffee types and growth


Along the way we met this friendly man who wanted to meet Aeden


He had on a shirt from the coffee festival 30 years ago!


People selling bags of local oranges


Kids playing the traditional game of “gallitos” or little roosters with the seeds of the Algarrobos tree. They hit the seeds at each other until one of them breaks. Sort of a pre-cock fight game for children in the countryside


Family fun!


Vendors selling traditional art


Bomba music and dancing


Beautiful flowers


It’s always a nice change of pace to go up into the mountains of Puerto Rico!


We stopped and briefly checked out Hacienda Juanita, an old restored hacienda turned resort

Overall it was a fun little day trip and we recommend you check out the local festivals if you come to Puerto Rico!

Living Abroad: Our Life Recently Around Western Puerto Rico

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Having fun at Villa Montana in Isabela on Valentine’s Day

Raising a baby takes a lot of the extra time I might be writing a post and puts it onto him. So please forgive all the photos and lack of text, but I just wanted to get a flavor of the times as we have been out and about in western Puerto Rico these last few weeks.

 
Visiting La Playuela, Wilderness and Pena Blanca in Aguadilla


La Playuela was considered for a mega hotel and a lot of protesting has (thankfully) stalled/ended it. It is such a cool area


Pena Blanca is just down from it


Cliffside beaches and coves

Save La Playuela

Like a throwback to a different time


Out to lunch at Tamboo in Rincon. Tuesday is Mexican food day! My fave!


Britton and Aeden at Tamboo


Fun at the lighthouse in Rincon


Lighthouse Park, Rincon


Fun at Sandy Beach


Another turkey girl hatched out some chicks!


Steps Beach babes! 🙂


Working on building another staircase into the jungle with friend Chris


Turkey and chicken inspectors


Lots and lots of wagneriana heliconias!


We’ve had great sales at the market on Sundays! It’s been fun to share the fruits (and flowers) of our labors


We like to go out to lunch/brunch after the market – Gastropark in Rincon


Britton and Aeden at the gastropark


Another fave restaurant is Picoteo in Anasco- check out that overlook!


February is about as cold as it will get to put baby A in clothes! 🙂


February has also been especially smoky! Lots of burning going on. (Check out the hillside behind me in this pic)


More hillside fires in the distance combating pica pica generally


Since things aren’t growing as fast we can work on some projects like clearing the paths of old fallen trees from Maria


Cutting a path through the jungle of the property to the backside of the cabin


Beach break at the Marina -a social and fun playa


Having fun shopping with the bebo -haha


Happy Baby yoga pose


Taking Aeden out for strolls has been a new development since he can hold his head up now


He is such a doll and loves being outside with us

Well that’s a lot of life in a few pictures. Life has been rolling forward. With a baby we notice it a lot more! Every day is precious. Here’s Aeden’s 5 month update.

We were also featured in another news program about people from Colorado who have moved all over the globe -Puerto Rico, South Korea, Tunisia and Vietnam. It’s called “Living Abroad” and I think it does a pretty good job of capturing the essence of our life here. I am not sure I would call it “abroad” exactly, but it is hard to describe the move from the states here any other way. And like this sign says of all these choices: Rincon is the best place to live!


Rincon el mejor lugar para vivir!

Living Abroad from Jeremy Hubbard on Vimeo.

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Raising a Baby on a Budget

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If you’ve been following this blog for any time, you know that we retired young and moved to the Caribbean to live the life of our dreams. Some people have made the comment to us that it is all fine and dandy to do that as a single person or couple, but it is altogether different with kids. And that is somewhat true. Having a child changes a lot about your life and realigns priorities quick. Children definitely don’t make things any cheaper.

However, I would say that it is completely feasible to live financially independent with kid(s). Being frugal and budget minded was what got us here and it certainly doesn’t (or shouldn’t) go away when you have kids. If you have good financial habits you just sort of incorporate them into the new life with child. Here are a few tips and tricks we have learned so far in our journey as frugal parents.

Hand-me-downs!
Baby stuff only lasts a short while. Take any offer of hand-me-downs that you can get, whether as a gift or bought secondhand. Many times they are only 3-6 months old and in great shape. We have a hand-me-down crib, breast pump, carriers and lots and lots of clothes and toys among other things. The only thing we have bought new was a dresser/changing table.


Photo credit: Laura Malischke

Breast feeding
Breastfeeding is not as easy as it looks and can even be painful (as it was for me in the beginning), so I completely sympathize with moms who aren’t able to do it, or do it for long. But it really is the best gift you can give your baby to start them out: from a strong immune system to parental/child bonding, it is an amazing thing. But the added bonus is that it is free! If you added up how much we would be spending on formula we have probably already saved hundreds of dollars.

Diapers
I really wish I could say that I use the reusable diapers we were given more than I do. We don’t have a washer and dryer near the house (actually we don’t have a dryer at all), so cleaning diapers would be a huge chore. That said, they are a great money-saving and environmentally friendly option and we have used them some. The good thing about disposables, however, is that you don’t have to change them very often because they can soak up a LOT of liquid, so one diaper often lasts through a whole night and you don’t need to worry about diaper rash as much. We were gifted a huge pack of diapers when Aeden was born and have only recently gone through them. I estimate we will need to spend about $40/month on them until he’s ready to be potty trained (around 2 years old).

Healthcare
Thankfully here in Puerto Rico health care and insurance isn’t too expensive. To have our baby covered by health insurance is about $90/month and has very low co-pays ($10/doctor visit).


Britton and Aeden by the sea

So all in all our expenses have increased about $150/month since having our baby which isn’t too bad! Since we are both home we can do things to increase our income (like selling flowers, renting out the cabana, etc) and take turns watching the child. Babies really don’t need much. They just need to be fed, cleaned and loved. And that, my friends, is priceless.