Tag: travel

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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
Map

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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.

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Map 

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MiniTour: 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 

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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 
Map 

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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
Map

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Messy Suitcase Mini-Tour: Playa Rompeolas

Rompeolas means breaking waves, but what we found at this local 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 an enjoyable afternoon under a palm tree in the golden sand.

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Info

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Exploring Exquisite Boquerón Beach and Town

There’s a reason why Puerto Ricans put Boquerón at the top of their list of things to do in Cabo Rojo, the southwestern part of Puerto Rico. Its delightful combination of beach and beach town makes it an awesome place to spend a day!

We visited beautiful Balneario (Public Beach) Boquerón (pronounced Boh-kay-RONE) and discovered all kinds of wonderful things – soft golden sand, clear water in a languid mile-long bay, a grassy park dotted with flamboyant trees, a huge parking lot, a working (kind of) bathroom, a jumping stingray, some awesome open-water swimming, a boat club, and (possibly) Puerto Rican parrots. Just get there early enough to snag one of the shade trees and you are set for a lovely day. 

This beautiful public beach sits a short walk (or drive) from the colorful beach town of Boquerón, which bustles with shops, restaurants, bars (of course; this is Puerto Rico, after all), and a bunch of sidewalk kiosks. It’s quiet during the week but very lively (and loud) on weekends.

A big beach cleanup and reconstruction project to fix the damage inflicted by Hurricane Maria in 2018 is starting this month, so Boquerón should become even nicer very soon.

Definitely worth a visit!

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Balneario Boquerón (described from a local’s point of view)

MAPS

Balneario Boquerón
Boquerón Town

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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
Map
Aleli Tours

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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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