Mini-Tour: Combate Beach Walk

There is so much to do at Combate (pronounced Come-BAH-tay) Beach in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico! Beto prefers to relax in his Tommy Bahama beach chair with its cooler and cupholder for his frozen Pitorro rum drink, doom-scrolling on his smartphone or reading a book on military history while watching the pelicans fish in the Caribbean Sea and la Policía zip around in their black speedboat chasing nautical scofflaws.

But Lisa likes to explore, walking down the beach looking for shells and sea glass, or hiking or running in Boquerón State Forest, at the edge of a lagoon that attracts a lot of birds, including unique migratory birds. The hiking/biking trail that meanders through the dry forest by the lagoon stretches 7 miles south to the Salt Flats.

Join her for a walk!

(Watch our original Combate Beach video)

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Combate Beach
Boquerón State Forest Hiking Trail
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Travel Back in Time at the Jane Austen Centre

Here’s a treat for Jane Austen fans: Come meet Mr. Knightly, Mr. Darcy, and Lydia Bennett at the Jane Austen Centre!

Bath is a great literary city, and no trip here is complete without a visit to the Jane Austen Centre. This icon of British literature lived in Bath for four or five years, writing Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. She mentioned Bath in several other works as well.

Lisa takes you on a tour of the Jane Austen Centre, which offers you a snapshot of life during Regency times and explores how living in the magnificent city of Bath affected Jane Austen and her writing.  Try your hand at writing using a quill pen and ink or have your photograph taken whilst dressed in our extensive selection of Regency dresses, bonnets and shawls. You can also visit the Regency Tea Room for a few scones and a trip into the past!

You can book your tickets online for about $18 at https://janeausten.co.uk/.

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Is Combate the Most Beautiful Beach in Puerto Rico?

We almost hesitate to share this video because we love El Combate Beach (pronounced Come-BAH-tay) so much. It is one of the most beautiful beaches in Puerto Rico, with golden sand, calm turquoise water that creates perfect swimming conditions, and lots of shade trees. Pelicans dive for fish and rays occasionally jump out of the water. Combate's location at the edge of Boquerón State Forest means we also get to enjoy a nearby lagoon that attracts a lot of birds, including unique migratory birds. The hiking/biking trail that meanders through the dry forest by the lagoon stretches 7 miles south to the Salt Flats.

The nearby village of Combate has our favorite waterfront restaurant, Annie’s, where you can sip a drink, nibble queso frito or red snapper, and enjoy the best sunsets in Puerto Rico.  It’s very quiet on weekdays but can become quite lively on weekends. But the faryher away from town you walk, the quieter it gets.

The biggest drawback to Combate is parking, or the lack thereof. There’s no lot and a long woodland path to get there. ! (We usually park on the street near Combate Beach Resort, and then walk in via the woodland path along the lagoon.) But it’s worth the effort!  

There are also no facilities, either bathroom or changing, so you might pay Annie’s a visit just to use the restroom. There are other places in Combate to get pina coladas as well.

https://youtu.be/0S0418-0SjQ

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Mini-Tour: Playas Clavellina and Jauca

If you’re searching for a good beach near Ponce, Puerto Rico, you might want to visit Playas Clavellina and Jauca. In our most recent effort to find that elusive quality south-coast beach, we followed the map to the coast, east of the Ponce Airport, past the giant windmills, to these small gems in Santa Isabel. They are located in a rich agricultural area that produces an abundance of tropical fruits such as mangoes.

Playa Clavellina is good for one thing: kite surfing. It was so windy we could only stay for a couple of minutes The sand whipping against our skin actually hurt! But for kite surfers, it was likely a gift from God. And it explained the location of the nearby wind farm.

Further down the same road, on the edge of the Punta Petrona Nature Reserve, we happened upon mostly deserted Playa Jauca. It was a black-sand beach with a few shade trees and a lot of mangroves, in quiet, shallow Jauca Bay, well-protected from the wind. We spent a relaxing couple of hours and even enjoyed a visit from the piragua guy!

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Map: Playa Clavellina 

Map: Playa Jauca 

Where Does Chocolate Come From? Touring a Cacao Farm, Part 2

We continue our walk through the cacao farm Finca Hekiti in northwestern Puerto Rico as we watch the cacao get harvested from the bean pod, learn the process of converting the pulp into chocolate, and taste the final product!

(Watch Part One here)

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Airbnb Experiences Link 

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Where Does Chocolate Come From? Touring a Cacao Farm, Part 1

We visited Finca Hekiti on an “Airbnb Experience” to learn where chocolate comes from. We learned so much more about the conservation of the forest and the life within it, that we are releasing this video in two parts. It’s long, but if you are interested in chocolate, and in forest sustainability and diversity, take the time to follow Finca Hekiti’s Co-Founder & Co-Director Ricardo Albarracín on this tour of the nine-acre farm in northwest Puerto Rico.

This is how the Airbnb Experience we signed up for (at a cost of $35 each for 3.5 hours), entitled “Educational Farm Tour in a Cacao Forest”,  was described:

“We will receive the guest, walking through the cacao forest, learning about the farming practices when it comes to fine grain cacao, learn about the importance of agroforestry, permaculture and nature conservation. Depending on the tree production during the time of your visit, you will have the opportunity to view the cacao fruit, taste the fruit fresh from the tree and perhaps have the opportunity to harvest or plant cacao. We end the experience tasting the cacao fruit pulp and artisanal chocolate tasting.”

But Finca Hekiti is much more than a chocolate farm. It’s a passion. Hekiti Eco-Agroforestry Education Organization is a 501(c)(3) non-profit agro-ecological farm focused on the conservation and management of existing forests and their biodiversity in the Las Marias and Añasco mountains. It’s dedicated to education in agroforestry, agriculture, tropical fruit varieties (primarily fine grain cacao), forest inventory, fauna and flora. Oh, and chocolate! Come learn with us!

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Airbnb Experiences Link 

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Battle of the Puerto Rican Rums, Part 4: Ron de Barrilito Bartending

Even ordering a drink was an adventure at the Barrilito Rum Factory in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In this video, we will watch how it’s done as the bartender creates three drinks for us … with panache! He was a true artiste and the drinks were amazing. We actually went to Hacienda Santa Ana for a tasting tour of Ron de Barrilito, but found the bartender’s artistry equally fascinating, and wanted to share it.

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Barrilito Cocktail Recipes

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Messy Suitcase Mini-Tour: Playa Rompeolas

Rompeolas means breaking waves, but what we found at this locals beach in Aguadilla were not surfers but lots and lots of jet skis. The playa had a bit of an urban feel, with an expansive parking lot, a boat put-in, and a food truck area nearby. A local man befriended us and showed Lisa where to find some really nice snorkeling, and we whiled away a very pleasant afternoon under a palm tree in the golden sand.

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Kayaking up the Guajataca River

We enjoyed a lovely morning kayaking on the Guajataca River with Planeta Kayak. We also hiked up a mountain to an abandoned railroad tunnel (used long ago for sugar cane, or caña) called el Túnel Negro (the Black Tunnel, for obvious reasons. Thank goodness for cellphone flashlights!).

Rio Guajataca (pronounced REE-oh Gwah-hah-TAH-kuh) is located on the border of Isabela and Quebradillas on the northwest coast of Puerto Rico. The leisurely trip cost $40 cost per person, which included double kayaks, paddles, life jackets, and a two-hour tour. Although the water was placid and the pace relaxing, adventure seekers enjoyed a chance to dump into the river from a rope swing!

Our tour guide Jose spoke in rapid Puerto Rican Spanish, so we didn’t catch it all. But we saw mangroves and other interesting tropical trees and plants, fascinating birds, and even a nest with chicks right along the water. We suggest you wear a swimsuit under your clothes, wear good walking sandals for the hike, which is short but challenging. Don’t forget sunscreen! And bring your own water bottle, because our guide brought a cooler but apparently forgot to fill it with water bottles for his guests.

All in all, it was a refreshing day, and we recommend it! Afterward, you can head to the nearby beach and enjoy an afternoon under the palm trees.

Planeta Kayak

Rio Guajataca

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La Parguera and the Bio Bay

We visited the Bioluminescent Bay in La Parguera on a recent Friday night and discovered a fishing village that has come alive again, post-COVID.  La Parguera, in southwestern in Puerto Rico, is best known for its proximity to one of Puerto Rico’s three bioluminescent bays, but it also offers mangrove forests to kayak through and nature reserves to explore. The tropical waters are rich with marine life, and you can take snorkeling and diving trips out of La Parguera.

The trip to the Bio Bay happens after dark and is impossible to capture in a video. But come visit the village at night with us! We’ll walk a boardwalk teeming with people, music, restaurants, bars, artisan’s kiosks, and more.

Our tour operator was Aleli Tours, a small operation run by a bilingual, U.S. Coast Guard-certified captain, marine biologist and ecologist with over 30 years of experience. The cost for the two-hour tour in a small powerboat was $150 for the first three passengers and $40 apiece after that, up to six people. http://aleliecotours.com/

Learn more about La Parguera.

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Aleli Tours

Messy Suitcase Mini-Tour: Buye Beach

Messy Suitcase Mini-Tour: Buye Beach

Buye is a popular family beach in Cabo Rojo, on the west coast of Puerto Rico. It can be a little crowded on weekends and very lively. The water is calm, perfect for swimming, and there is a kayak concession at the southern end and some decent snorkeling at the north end. You’ll also find an open-air restaurant, a mini-market and a frappe place (usually only open Friday through Sunday). The beach fronts a popular family cabin camping area.

Don’t expect Buye (pronounced BOO-yay) to be as pristine as some of the public beaches you’ll find on the island. But if you’re looking to sit under a shade tree and watch the kids play in the sand while you listen to someone else’s radio pumping out Bad Bunny and take in the beauty of the turquoise water, you could do a lot worse than Buye Beach. It’s not a pristine touristy beach. What it is might be even better: a true Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, beach experience.

Buye has some unique features: a close parking area ($4, or park farther away for free), bathrooms, showers, and a spectacular hiking area nearby, Guaniquilla.

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Time to Party! Carnaval de Ponce (Ponce Carnival) 2023

Carnaval de Ponce (Ponce Carnival) 2023

The southern Puerto Rican city of Ponce (pronounced PONE-say) has been celebrating its annual carnival for 165 years, making it one of the longest-celebrated carnivals in the Caribbean. The festivities are brought to life by vejigantes, a local folk character that wears a colorful paper-mâché mask and a bright jumpsuit. Since we have commissioned a couple of vejigante masks from renowned mask maker Miguel Caraballo, we were eager to see the colorful masks in use during a carnival parade!

The event spans six days right before Lent. The carnival parades includes King Momo's appearance and the Carnival Queen's coronation, a masquerade ball, and the Burial of the Sardine, a simulated funeral marking the beginning of Lent.

We were there on Saturday night for the kids’ day and Queen’s Coronation activities, which included a family-friendly version of the main event. It was a delight! (But thank God we brought our ear plugs.) Enjoy!

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Messy Suitcase Mini-Tour: Playa Ostiones

Messy Suitcase Mini-Tour: Playa Ostiones

Playa Ostiones is the very definition of off-the-beaten path. It’s a little neighborhood beach, not mentioned in any tourism brochures. It has a small, deeply-potholed dirt parking lot among the palm trees, a put-in for small boats and jet skis, a small beach and swimming area for families, and a few wooden benches. No bathrooms. No restaurants. No facilities. There are a couple of small condo complexes behind it. But if you have simple tastes and a deep appreciation of nature’s beauty, it has everything you need.

You can walk through a nature reserve down a path beautifully maintained by a dedicated local man by the name of Harvey John Ducot, and take your choice of countless small beach areas tucked within the mangroves. You can sit under a low shady tree and watch the placid water. You can snorkel from a beach, or kayak out, and see countless reefs and plants and fish. You can do yoga in the sand, fish off the jetty, or just laze the day away.

(Shh, don’t tell anyone!) Playa de Ostiones is our definition of Paradise.

Note: In the summer, the crowds on weekends can be loud and raucous, with lots of jet skis and speakers blaring Daddy Yankee.

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/Nb2xz99utRrFkgug9

https://youtu.be/4f1CcPIpdbI

The Battle of the Puerto Rican Rums, Part 2: Bacardi

The name Bacardi is synonymous with Puerto Rican rum – even if is originally from Cuba. We decided to take a tour of its factory! We combined it with a $75 mixology class, which you can watch in a separate video.

The tour itself was very crowded and not as comprehensive as we expected for such a sprawling factory, but the drinks were great! Interestingly, Bob did this tour in 1994 and it was dirt cheap, maybe $5. How times have changed! Rum tours are now big business, and an obvious revenue stream from tourism. But if you’re on a Puerto Rican vacation, why not? Experiencing rum is an important part of experiencing the local culture. Bacardi offers a number of different tours, ranging in price from $40 to $200.

Normally, to get there, you take a ferry across the water from the ferry terminal in Old San Juan – an awesome experience in its own right! – then grab a quick Uber to the factory in Catano. We went on a Puerto Rican holiday when no ferries were running, and had to drive.

Learn more and buy tour tickets at the Casa Bacardi website.

The Battle of the Puerto Rican Rums, Part 1: Barrilito

Ron del Barrilito is the original Puerto Rican rum, and many would say the finest. Or is the ubiquitous Bacardi better? Guess we’ll have to tour both rum factories (in the name of research, of course). Join us!

https://lnkd.in/etmVZYgf

Mini-Tours: Southeastern Beaches - Punta Santiago and El Cocal

We spent our time in the southeastern corner of the island searching for beaches. Since the one at Palmas del mar was covered with seaweed and had dangerous waves, we headed west, and discovered El Cocal and Punta Santiago.

We waited out a rainstorm to discover one beautiful beach with sea turtle nests taped off. The other provided a view of Monkey Island!

Return to the Vermont State Fair

It had been at least 15 years since we attended the Vermont State Fair. Back then we had small children and spent a lot of time in the 4H Barn looking at the cows. Now it was just the two of us, going back to the Rutland Fairgrounds in summer 2022 to see if this annual Vermont tradition is worth our time as adults.

The answer: hell, yeah! Watch and see.

Mini-Tour: Montones Beach in Puerto Rico

Playa Montones, or Montones Beach, is a beautiful family-friendly beach in Isabela, Puerto Rico. It has sand dunes as well as rock formations, though not a lot of shade, so bring your umbrella.  

Its shallow water make this natural pool the family-preferred beach in Isabela, a safe environment for kids and toddlers to play around. A natural wall prevents the strong surf from rushing in.

The beach is also right next to the jogging/biking trail in Isabela, so you can add a nice walk to your day out.

Watch where you park, though! We got a ticket for facing the wrong way on the street.

LINKS

Puerto Rico Travel Guide 
Discover Puerto Rico
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Messy Suitcase Mini-Tour: Playa Santa in Guanica, Puerto Rico

After indulging ourselves on pinchos (kebabs) at a little food truck park on the way, we spent a peaceful weekday afternoon at Playa Santa, a quiet neighborhood beach in Guanica on the south coast of Puerto Rico.

There were no restrooms, though it looks like on weekends it’s quite lively, and you can take advantage of food kioskos and kayak rentals. The surf is calm and the kids are plentiful.

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Discover Puerto Rico
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Puerto Rico’s Pork Highway - “La Ruta del Lechón”

Puerto Rico is more than beaches, coffee and conquistadors. It’s also pork!

For a glimpse into the real Puerto Rico, with a little tourist kitsch thrown in, we suggest you pay a visit to the Pork Highway, or La Ruta del Lechón. https://www.discoverpuertorico.com/article/guide-to-guavate-la-ruta-del-lechon

Locals and visitors alike gather together friends and family for a day trip to the lechoneras of the mountain town of Guavate.

They drive along winding Route 184 up a mountain to feast on lechonera after lechonera serving slow-roasted whole pork (also chicken), heaping portions of rice and pigeon peas, yuca al mojo, mofongo, and other traditional Puerto Rican dishes, all ni a party atmosphere. Get ready to dance!

Don’t worry, vegetarians – the yuca and rice are also outstanding.

Lechón means roasted whole pork, cooked for hours over hot coals or an open flame, so that the skin gets crispy while the meat remains tender and juicy. This is a dish you can typically only get in the countryside of Puerto Rico. 

LINKS:

Discover Puerto Rico Guide to the Pork Highway - https://www.discoverpuertorico.com/article/guide-to-guavate-la-ruta-del-lechon

El Rancho Original - https://www.elranchooriginalpr.com/

El Nuevo Rancho - http://www.buenapetitopr.com/paginas/restaurantes/lechonera_el_nuevo_rancho.php

Map - https://goo.gl/maps/vKDYDpq758HtK6y7A