Quebradillas: Behind-the-scenes making of the video
A while back before the lockdown began we had the opportunity to meet Heidi Aviles at an open house for her butterfly collection.
Since then we have stayed in contact and found that she is also an avid explorer of Puerto Rico and we made plans to meet up when things settled down a bit. Last week was our opportunity. We have done a little exploring of Quebradillas, but Heidi said there are even more treasures in this Pirate town!
These are a few videos from previous adventures to Quebradillas!
Cute little gazebos they call bohios, each with the name of a famous Cacique or Taino Indian Chief
Look at this cool “Octopus Tree” – it really does look like an octopus! Even has “eyes”
Our first stop was Parque el Merendero just beneath the Mirador that overlooks Quebradillas on the highway. I was impressed with how nice the trails and views were. I would definitely go there to stop for a picnic again as the name implies (Merendero means a place to snack/eat). The trails even led all the way down to the beach!
Next up, we went down the road where Heidi had found a “window” hole that looked through on both sides to the sea! It reminded me a little of Cueva de la Ventana except instead of a river/valley view it was the ocean! A really cool little hike through the quebradas and then up the cliff side to a spectacular vista!
Just spectacular!
Something I love about Puerto Rico is that these special gems are just hidden in plain sight. In other places of the world they would be turned into tourist attractions -and some are, like Cueva Ventana in Arecibo, but most are still raw and just there for everyone to find and enjoy!
Our final stop on our tour with Heidi was to the Puente Blanco. This bridge at one point in time was used for passenger and sugarcane transport train travel. From the top it looks like nothing special (besides the view), but beneath it you can see the wonder of architecture that it once was!
At El Puente Blanco in Quebradillas
View from the top of the bridge with our friend and guide, Heidi
We are already planning more explorations of the island with our adventurous new friend! Please subscribe to our channel on YouTube to see the latest adventures and updates to the farm. I’m also trying to use Instagram a little more if you’d like to follow along and see some fun pictures.
After a very long lockdown, Puerto Rico is now officially back open for business. It is not quite “back to normal” but for all intents and purposes, we are finally coming out of lockdown. That is not the same as having a pandemic end, but at least the self-imposed torture of “quarantine” seems mostly over.
Masks are the newest fashion! haha Masks for Britton & my neighbor/friend Omayra
Poco a poco Puerto Rico has loosened the restrictions to the point that besides the masks and some rules in certain stores (checking temperatures, not allowing children inside) the happy island I know and love is pretty much back. We have been appreciating our newly returned freedoms by going to the beach, hiking, checking out new waterfalls and spending time with friends in small groups again. How much we have missed these simple pleasures of life. Where the hurricane days stripped away the physical comforts of electricity, communications, and even water service, during the lockdown we were fully connected to those things but lacked and very sorely missed our social and nature connections. The lockdown was like an inverse hurricane. I’m not sure which was worse, but I don’t wish either on anyone!
Beachside days
Fun in Rincon
Flamboyan season has been soo beautiful this year!
Aeden’s first school photo. Daycare will even be starting up again in July! yay!
Good times once again
Gozalandia falls and El Ultimo Brinco in Rincon
Fun trip to Adjuntas-even saw a blue flamboyan (jacaranda)!
We had a nice time in Adjuntas visitng Charco El Mango, a suspension bridge and some other sights until Britton suddenly felt ill and we had to return home. Turns out his car accident a month earlier and a genetic disposition for blood clots was not a good combination. He’s doing much better now thankfully!
Quick stop at Playa Tres Hermanos on Father’s Day
Our little boy is growing up so fast!
An easy waterfall that turned into an adventure: Salto Collazo
Just off the side of the road, but waaay down below we found the tallest waterfall we’ve ever seen. Salto Dona Carmen
Overall, we are very grateful for every day we get on this beautiful island and in this strange life of ours. Hope everyone else is doing as well.
Life has sort of become a blur with every day bending itself into the next in a Groundhog Day sort of way. Without a purpose or reason for being it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish much sense in anything. For seven whole weeks everything in our life was on hold and we hardly saw another soul. Since we live way out in the jungle we don’t even get much interaction with neighbors.
Planting coconuts behind our house in the jungle
The lockdown in Puerto Rico has been especially harsh as the official rules were that we couldn’t have visitors even in our own house and couldn’t visit anyone. We weren’t supposed to leave the house even for walks (not even those with pets)! Of course I doubt anyone actually followed the letter of the law when it is that strict, but it does wear on you mentally to always be looking over our shoulder to see if there are police around. This is so different from how laid back Puerto Rico normally is which why it was all the more shocking. We were stopped various times by the police for very innocuous things like going to the hardware store and stopping and letting Aeden run around while we ate take out food (with no one else around).
A sad lonely Easter at home
For a while the lockdown had alternating license plates (odds could leave one day, evens another) and it was really hard because it backed up everything and the lines to the grocery stores went on for 3 plus hours. Then Easter weekend was the worst. They shut down everything including grocery stores for three whole days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and patrolled heavily; I assume because they anticipated people would be celebrating the holiday. But what it did was magnify the backup for a couple of weeks before and after. It was so hard to get anything that we even ran out of diapers and mostly just ate the eggs and fruit of our farm. Suffice it to say, the lockdown has been super nuts here in Puerto Rico.
He’s getting so big and active!
This last week, on Week 8 (after 50 days of locking down), we were finally given the ok by the Governor to go out for personal reasons like walking, hiking, exercise, etc. And a huge sigh of relief was felt even by the most devout hardline lockdown people (because even THEY don’t want to wait in line with potentially infected people for 3 hours in the hot sun)! Access to the sand on the beach and the water is still not officially allowed though we can look at it and walk nearby. They even stepped up enforcement and started arresting surfers! So crazy. But we have other places to go than just the beach. We love waterfalls so that helps that we know of a lot of “secret” spots to hike and explore. I feel much better just knowing that we have a little freedom and can leave our own house without quite as much authoritarian strain.
A favorite spot: Salto de la Encantada in Anasco
We have been ok through this. It has certainly added a lot of stress and strife to our life, but we are overall in much better shape than many people. We have taken the time to push further on the farm and do some deep cleaning and maintenance projects that we put off.
Cleaning up an area up top
Unfortunately Britton was involved in a pretty serious car accident (no one else was injured thankfully when he was run off the road) and so we have also been dealing with the aftermath of that which is more complicated because of all the government offices being closed and he definitely didn’t want any medical care during this time even though he probably should have. We found a replacement car, so we are doing ok on that front though. Oh, the adventures never truly end do they?! haha
Car crash! Oh no!
Waiting in line for a marbete (registration sticker) for the new car
It has been economically difficult for us and all of Puerto Rico too as tourism came to an abrupt stop. Thankfully this week we received our economic relief check, but I know a lot of Puerto Ricans who don’t file Federal are still waiting for theirs and hoping their small businesses will survive this devastating time.
Double masked employee while working fast food
Puerto Rico’s numbers remain pretty stable and that is good news as we slowly begin to open up a little. We are now required to wear masks pretty much anywhere in public which I am starting to get used to.
Masked biker/walker
We can now go to hardware stores and car shops and laundromats again which were initially closed. When the government offices reopen we will be able to register the title of our new car. We really miss day care, but for some reason Puerto Rico considers education the last phase to open (even though children are the lowest risk and high need sector). And tourism will probably also be slow to build up. But Poco a poco we return to something closer to “normal.” And at least for now we have some room to breathe.
We have moved most of our “daily life” updates into video form. Please subscribe to our channel on YouTube HERE and give us some feedback. We’d love to hear from you! Do you prefer the written form or the videos? Stay safe, stay optimistic! We’ll get through this. And you will too!
The Coronavirus (Covid-19) has spread across the world igniting a global pandemic. Every country across the world has had to deal with this new virus that suddenly appeared on the map at the end of 2019/early 2020. Puerto Rico has not been spared in having to deal with this new reality.
Keep your distance!
This virus is not very dangerous to those under 65 and healthy. To most, it is self-limiting meaning you will recover without any outside medical help. In fact, many people will walk around completely asymptomatic and recover without ever even knowing they had it. Healthy children and young adults especially are at little risk for serious illness. Unfortunately, those same mild or asymptomatic people can pass it on to those at higher risk (older age, heart disease, diabetes, lung conditions, cancer) and in some cases it can result in their death. While these same groups are also at risk for other flus and illnesses doing the same, Covid-19 is much more deadly when it strikes.
So while the virus is not very serious to the vast majority of people it IS extremely contagious and spreads much more easily than many other viruses. Therefore it can circulate for a long time before hitting a vulnerable target. This means that 2 to 4 weeks before there is even a case or a death, the virus has hooked itself into a population. This delayed and seemingly sudden increase in illnesses would cause a huge strain on the medical system and result in many deaths (estimates of appx 1-3% of confirmed cases that were severe enough to be tested). But by the time most governments decide to act, it is already too late.
Beaches like the Balneario in Rincon are roped off
The whole world watched from afar as China and then Italy and many others grappled with it, hoping it would be contained there. But being as new and contagious as it was and not having many tests to monitor its spread, we quickly learned how very intricately we all are connected worldwide.
Puerto Rico was bound to see some cases if it didn’t get contained abroad because it is a premier travel destination. People from all around the world frequently visit via planes and cruise ships mainly. There was some talk in February about a cruise ship passenger who was known to have tested positive and then some other large events that would be easy transmitters. Finally in early March the first few cases were confirmed on the island.
On Thursday, March 12 the newly appointed governor of Puerto Rico, Wanda Vazquez, asked for all festivals and large events to be closed and to take personal precautions and take up moderate social distancing. She also enlisted the help of the National Guard. Then on Sunday March 15 with only about 4 hours notice to the whole island, apparently under some sort of guidance, she scolded Puerto Rico for not taking it serious (though there was no indication of that) and doubled down efforts and put the island into one of the world’s strictest most authoritarian lockdowns and by far the most extreme of any state in the US.
Most people (besides ‘essential services’) were only to leave for groceries, pharmacies, take out food, gasoline, hospitals/doctor’s office. A curfew of 9pm to 5am was enacted. A buying frenzy ensued similar to before a hurricane with everyone rushing to the grocery stores and buying everything they could. People who two days before walked around nonchalantly now wore masks and squirted disinfectant on everything. Stores and businesses were stunned by the suddenness of the executive order. Literally overnight, the streets were emptied and patrolled by police and wide-eyed tourists and others were given warnings to get off the beaches or face fines. The friendly, relaxed, loud party island vibe became paranoid, fearful, quiet and policed.
Time to hang some hammocks because we will be home A LOT!
Puerto Rico has reason to be concerned. With an aged population like Italy and a struggling and overburdened medical system, it would not be able to handle the surge of patients that this outbreak will create. It also relies strongly on the US for support and the US has been one of the slowest countries to react to this pandemic. Though lockdowns work to slow down the spread, they are unsustainable because people cannot live cooped up for too long before needing more than just food and medicine not to mention what it will do to the economy (utter collapse) and people’s mental health. Lockdowns also don’t target the source of transmission. For instance, in Rincon we had our first case of a childcare teacher with respiratory conditions die after also contracting the virus. She was married to a police officer who came into more contact than nearly anyone in lockdown. Her son and husband also worked part time in the Econo grocery store, also potentially continuing to spread the virus.
The best practices world wide have been extensive testing. Those who are negative can go about their day in a somewhat restricted manner with moderate societal lockdown measures but for the most part are not limited. Those who are positive go into quarantine and receive care until they recover after which they are immune and no longer a threat and then also go about their lives. In places like Germany and South Korea, their extensive testing has helped them come through as shining stars while maintaining a remarkably stable society and economy.
Obviously Puerto Rico doesn’t have that option now until more tests become available or local labs develop them. So until then we will be waiting in limbo in a sort of house arrest scenario apparently until the rest of the world goes over the peak of the curve and there are more in recovery than new cases (some estimates of early May, but projections vary wildly) and/or we get more tests. The propaganda tells us that we are “stopping” the virus, but most health experts agree that it is likely not fully containable and that most if not all of us will get this virus at some point (or have already had it). What these actions are attempting to do is called ‘mitigation’. It is a last ditch effort when all other hope/plan is gone. The idea isn’t that it will stop it but rather slow it down enough so that the medical system is not inundated all at once, but rather can treat patients as they trickle in and are able get a ventilator to save some lives (known colloquially as the “flatten the curve” method).
Here on la isla there is a sense of solidarity and sacrifice that is heartwarming. People are willing to stay at home under extreme conditions for a month (or more) because it is for the better good. There hasn’t been much civil disobedience and we all feel in it together. But everyone is also counting the days when we can go back to normal. We miss the beaches, our freedom and our friends and family and no one knows how we are going to pay our bills or if there will even be an economy at all after all this is through. This has been especially tough for the small businesses that were barely making it before this in our super fragile economy in Puerto Rico.
As we approached the March 30th deadline for the lockdown order we began to have hope that this imprisonment and grey depressing world would lift up even if just a little. But just a few days before the order was to expire, the governor extended it another 2 weeks until April 12 which is Easter Sunday. It also included even more restrictions including which days you could drive based on the number on the license plate and with no one driving on Sundays and even earlier curfew of 7pm. A few days later, she did finally allow some exceptions such as a few hours for car/tire repair (that we desperately need) and some hardware stores.
Playing our own version of Naked and *not* Afraid
As for us, this has been very difficult. While we have no fear at all of the virus or illness personally since we are at extremely low risk (and healthy babies and children have little to no risk), we have been affected by the lockdown. Through this I am hit by the trauma from Hurricane Maria, my dad’s death from lung failure and my long scary stay in the hospital here. We have missed more farmer’s market days than even after Aeden was born and all bookings for the cabana have been cancelled. The disproportionate fear and paranoia of people (everyone looks like a ‘vector’) is something we are not used to and the patrolling police state is altogether dystopian. We thankfully have plenty of space on the finca and have been cleaning and clearing the land and the house. I still go through the stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance often and especially when I feel unrequited hope that this might be over sooner than later.
Compared with the slow and ambivalent reaction in the states, we are in much better shape here in Puerto Rico because our governor took swift and decisive action, albeit a little too late and with extreme Draconian measures. But at this point in time all we can do is wait. And wait. And wait. And then deal with the ever rumbling aftermath that this tidal wave washed over the world. Here in Puerto Rico, we’ll be ok. We have dealt with one disaster after another and people here are made of a resilient and caring cloth. We will get through this together, even if it means standing 6 feet apart.
