In February we welcomed both my dad and Nic’s family for a relaxing beach vacation in Puerto Rico. We rented a house and a mini van and spent two weeks visiting nearby towns along the west and south coast, exploring flavorful restaurants and bakeries, and hiking verdant trails to gorgeous beaches and stunning waterfalls. This post contains photos taken by family members as well. Thanks for making and sharing such great memories!
Though we are so far from where we started our journey aboard Rua Hatu, we’ve had the good fortune to be visited by our families in some pretty amazing places along the way. This February they again made the long journey to join us in Puerto Rico for two weeks of fun. With the boat safely anchored in Boqueron, PR, we shuttled ourselves, all of the pets and a dinghy load of stuff to shore to prepare for everyone’s arrival.
Welcome to sleepy Boquerón
Nic and I had not spent a full day/night on solid ground in quite some time, so moving in to the large rented house just a few blocks from the bay felt rather unusual at first. The house was plenty large enough to fit everyone comfortably and would serve as home base for our adventures over the two week visit. We also rented an equally accommodating minivan to explore farther afield than we typically venture, sans visitors.
Based on our observations of the town in the months prior to our family’s arrival, we expected Boqueron to be a quiet place to relax between our daytime adventures on the island. Unfortunately a combination of road construction and several very well attended weekend events kept the noise level high throughout our stay. But none of that stopped us from enjoying the town and the nearby beach. The procession of open-air party busses, car clubs and generally flashy automobiles were unique spectacles on our nightly walk to watch the sunset from the town’s public pier.
Points Northwest
We visited the northwest corner of the island at Rincon, where the island faces into the Atlantic ocean. The waves from the north rolled in beneath the lighthouse there and were significantly larger than the short, steep Caribbean swell we felt on the south side of the island.
Nearby, we ate lunch at a seafood restaurant perched on an abrupt hillside overlooking the large bay in front of Añasco and Mayagüez. Though everyone ordered something different from the menu, many common Caribbean ingredients (plantain, cassava, rice, beans) made up each dish. The flavors differed primarily by each dish’s unique seasoning, method of preparation or the accompanying meat. We tried the Puerto Rican trademark “Mofongos”, a plantain or cassava dough dumpling filled with stewed meat or seafood.
On the occasion of Nic’s father’s birthday, we ventured into the jungle blanketed mountains east of Mayagüez to visit a beautiful, and very swim-able series of waterfalls. Though privately administered, the Gozalandia park offered access to beautiful jungle trails along the steep river valley draped in dense green vegetation. Everyone got to take a dip in the cool freshwater, and a few adventurous lads (Nic and his father) scaled the steep rocks to dive into the pools. As an added bonus, we encountered many old Volkswagen micro-busses, beetles and “things” all headed to a meetup in Rincon!
Cacao farm “Jeanmarie”
On another day we drove up an incredibly steep mountain road to a small cocoa farm settled at the top of a ridge overlooking the lush valleys of Puerto Rico and the western coastline. There we learned all about the unique story of Jeanmarie Chocolat and their mission to establish Puerto Rico as one of the finest cacao producing regions in the world. Of course we also indulged in the flavors, sampling not only fresh cacao pulp, but the many varieties of roasted and candied treats they offered.
Ponce
We also visited Ponce, Puerto Rico’s second largest city on the central southern coast. We had hoped to visit the many unique museums and exhibits there, but were disappointed to find nearly all of them closed for renovation. Several of the restaurants we had picked out were also closed! Odd that such a large city was so empty. But all was not lost, as we enjoyed the vibrant paintings, masks and murals that cover much of the town. And of course we enjoyed a tasty meal at the local taqueria, thankfully they opened right as we arrived!
And much, much more!
On all the other days you could find us at the various beaches around the west side of the island. The galleries below show some of the amazing things we encountered while relaxing with the family in Puerto Rico. We are grateful to our family for visiting us in such distant locations, and we look forward to the next opportunity to meet up as we sail to new places.
