Tag: retire

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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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Carnaval de Ponce (Ponce Carnival) 2023

It’s Fat Tuesday – CARNIVAL TIME!

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 include 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 earplugs.) Enjoy!

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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 onto the water, and see countless reefs, plants and sea life. 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

 

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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.

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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. Bacardi, rum purists claim, is originally from Cuba and therefore not Puerto Rican at all – despite its huge factory in San Juan and its reputation worldwide as THE Puerto Rican rum of note.

We decided to tour both, starting with Barrilito. The name means Rum from the Little Barrel, a reference to the little barrels that the original moonshiner hawked his potion from in 1880. The factory is in Bayamon in greater San Juan, and easy to get to by Uber if you’re a tourist without a car. (Also a short drive, if you have rented a car and have the heart to navigate traffic in San Juan.) The tour isn’t cheap ($80), but it’s fun! You’ll learn a lot about the different types of rum and have a great time learning about island history and rum culture.

Learn more and buy tickets at the Ron del Barrilito website.

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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” absolutely yes! Watch and see.

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Messy Suitcase Mini Tour: Playa Montones

Playa Montones 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.

Puerto Rico Travel Guide
Discover Puerto Rico
Map

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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.

INFO

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

Puerto Rico is more than beaches and rum, 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.

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 in 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
El Rancho Original
El Nuevo Rancho
Map

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