California 2 Puerto Rico » Puerto Rico

I Am Still Impressed By Rincon Sunsets

Stefan — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:08:16 +0000

I was about to upload this picture to Facebook so I could get it up real quick, but I bet you guys will really enjoy this sunset from last night. I took this picture while driving a buddy to a birthday dinner. This is a picture of Tres Palmas at 6:15. I’m sure many cervezas were enjoyed by many watching this. Click on it to view a full size version. If you want to use this on a blog or website, please feel free just give us a backlink!

Rincon PR Sunset

Shark Attack in Puerto Rico

Summer — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 17:33:30 +0000

When we moved to Puerto Rico, I was super stoked to hear that there are “no sharks” here. After hearing that, I did a little bit of research and there are actually sharks in Puerto Rico, but there had never been a shark attack on record and you do not see them in the water when you are surfing. (My theory is that the reef formations in Puerto Rico keep the sharks farther out to sea.) WELL, a tourist recently got attacked by a shark while swimming in the bioluminescent bay at Vieques!

The Washington Post reports:

“A shark estimated at 6 feet (1.8 meters) long bit a U.S. tourist earlier this week while she swam in a popular bioluminescent bay at night, doctors said Thursday.

The woman, identified as 27-year-old Lydia Strunk, faces several months of physical therapy and will remain hospitalized until the weekend, Dr. Ernesto Torres said.

The wound is about 10 inches (25 centimeters) long and runs from below her knee to the ankle, said Dr. Pablo Rodriguez, trauma director at the Rio Piedras Medical Center.

‘It was like (the shark) tried to tear away,’ he said. ‘She has an imprint of all the shark’s teeth.’

Strunk is expected to make a full recovery but will likely have some nerve damage and limited movement in her right foot, he said. Doctors repaired four tendons that are used for flexing the foot, and it will take up to five months for Strunk’s damaged nerves to grow back, he said.

Her mother said Strunk was doing much better, seeming to improve by the hour. She declined to go into details about the incident.

Stefan, my mom and I recently did the bioluminescent bay tour (the one in Parquera)…Yikes! It was creepy enough swimming around in that murky bay at night. Now that I know there may very well be sharks there, I won’t be doing that again!

Medalla Beer Is Oldschool

Stefan — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 02:05:15 +0000

I feel the need to share this great song by a local band here in Rincon. Check it out and let me know what you think about the Durty Rats.
Applesauce 002 remix cb 32bit to 16 by Durty Rats

Great Day in Rincon

Stefan — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 21:29:23 +0000

Today was a great day. These three photos are from today.

Mangos are in season. Stoked.

We have three mango trees planted on the property that may one day grow us delicious mangos like this one. The mature mango trees we have are all ‘con fibre’ which are really stringy.

Our pineapple plant is now a patch with young fruit.

This will be the fourth pineapple we have grown in our patch. We have about 10 pineapple plants growing in this patch. Weeding is difficult.

Assembled the new grill for the new deck.

We have been using the same little Weber portable grill since we bought the house. It lost its luster a long time ago, but we’ve been toughing it out, waiting for the new deck. Check out the lettuce Summer is growing in the background. That is 2 week old spicy lettuce from seed.

A Visit From Abuela

Stefan — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 11:25:34 +0000

Summers mom is in town visiting and having fun with us. As usual, Summer and I are busy running around doing our think with work, landscaping, home repair/completion so grandma (abuela) and Sydney have been hanging out having a good ole time! We have done the usual great things in Rincon like go to the lighthouse, go to the beach at the Marina but have mostly just been spending time together. It’s been awesome!

Abuela, Summer and Sydney at the lighthouse

Beautiful Clear Blue Ocean

Sydney and Summer Reading at the English Rose

Stay tuned for some house updates, we’ve been going hog wild! In the past two months, we finished the back deck, built an outdoor shower, replaced the steps to the shed, built a new shed down the hill AND planted tons of new plants. Also, Sydney is still growing…bigger and bigger every day. She even started singing songs with us this week. Paddycake has also been a blast. Stay tuned.

Free Classified Ad Website for Rincon, PR

Summer — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 16:35:44 +0000

I had an idea the other day, so I decided to whip something together to help better our community. Introducing…ClasificadosRincon.com!

Clasificados Rincon is a free classified ad website for Rincon, Puerto Rico. After living here for so long, I’ve noticed that it is really hard (impossible even?) to buy/sell used stuff around here. Clasificados Online is okay, but it seems like most items that I’ve been looking for are all listed in San Juan (which is way too far away for me to go check out someones $50 treadmill). So, I put together this site for the residents of Rincon to use in order to buy/sell stuff around our little town. Check it out and let me know what you think!

It’s free to post an ad, so if you’re in Rincon, list some stuff and let’s get the ball rolling!

The Best Coffee in Puerto Rico

Stefan — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 00:48:01 +0000

Yeah, that’s right. I said it. I am going to lay claim to the best coffee in Puerto Rico.

Before I tell you that Cafe Rico makes the best whole bean coffee, I need to set the foundation of what kind of coffee drinker I am. Here is a shot;

I would prefer no coffee at all to gas station coffee
If three cups in a row doesn’t give me the jitters, it’s not worth my time
Adding a table spoon of sweetened condensed milk should only slightly lighten the color
Whole coffee beans should be oily
The best coffee is brewed in a French Press

Ok, with that said, if you are a Maxwell house drinker or don’t mind gas station coffee (in the middle of Texas), my claim of the best coffee in Puerto Rico probably isn’t one you need to pay attention to.

Cafe Rico Espresso 100% Cafe Puro En Grano” (whole bean coffee) is absolutely the best coffee in Puerto Rico. It is roasted on the South Coast of Puerto Rico in Ponce and a one pound bag costs about $6.

I’ve tried to like all the locally grown and roasted organic coffee beans but they are all super expensive and I haven’t found one that could stand up to the bold flavor and kick in the ass caffeine buzz a cup of French Pressed Cafe Rico will give you.

I buy Cafe Rico at the Econo grocery store in Rincon and I am guessing it can be found in any grocery store around Puerto Rico. Here is a picture of the bag for your reference.

Cafe Rico - The Best Puerto Rican Coffee

I Thought I Felt an Earthquake – I DID!

Stefan — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 00:47:44 +0000

Sydney and I were playing a very important game of peek-a-boo this morning when I felt the house start to shake. It was barely moving and we have a lot of rain storms and thunder/lightening storms in Rincon as of late, so I almost dismissed it as distant thunder until the windows started to rattle.

Rincon PR – 3.3 Earthquake – November 8, 2010

Rincon, PR - Earthquake 11-8-10

The last time I felt an earthquake in Rincon all of the windows and shutters were rattling like crazy. More than just a normal storm.

The shaking/rattling of the earthquake only lasted about 15 seconds and it was barely noticeable. If I were asleep there is no way I would have felt it.

I downloaded a really cool earthquake tracker application for the iPhone that updates you on all the earthquakes around the world real-time and this one was reported to be a 3.3 on the Richter Scale.

Paying Property Tax in Puerto Rico

Stefan — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 18:26:10 +0000

That’s right folks, even people living in paradise have to pay taxes! Up until this point, dealing with the administration and/or government in Puerto Rico has only been easy if you had a friend walk you through the steps and where you need to go or if you paid someone to make your moves for you.

Today, when I got my property tax bill, I was given the option to go online and pay there. The CRIM website is all in Spanish, but if you visit it in Chrome, Google will give you the option of automatic translation. I entered my CRIM tax ID (provided in my bill), entered my credit card info and I paid my bill as easy as pie. Just like that.

If you would like to pay your Puerto Rico property tax bill online, here is the website: CRIM.

It just got that much easier to live in paradise

Great Surfing Video of Puerto Rico

Stefan — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 03:48:36 +0000

It has been a long time since Summer and I have posted, but it has been a long time since we have been at the house. Our friends are living at the house with the dogs while Summer, Sydney and I travel.

One of my friends on facebook just posted this video, stating; This is Puerto Rico. I couldn’t agree with him more. Check it out: