Villa Sevilla Guest House & Vacation Rentals

Beaches, Caves, Petroglyphs and Shopping...All in a Day!!

2011-12-06T16:16:00.000-04:00

If anyone reading this is a business owner then you probably understand how many times it is difficult to take any time off. Even if there is not any "work" to do for a day or two, it always seems like our ever growing "To Do List" beckons with a voice of its own.

It feels like the only time we make ourselves take a day or two off is when we have friends or family who visit us, so this past month since my cousin David from Europe was visiting, I really wanted to find something unusual, beautiful and interesting for us to do. With houses cleaned and all our guests tucked in I once again consulted my favorite web site, Puerto Rico Day Trips.

I wanted a day trip that would include a scenic drive but also something that did not involve hours and hours in the car. My trip had to include a beach and also something of interest that I had not yet seen, so I focused on our North coast and entered beaches into the search box on the website. While 2 pages of material came up, the title "View Petroglyphs along the rugged coast in Arecibo" piqued my interest. Reading the article I knew this is one of the places we had to stop. But what else to see? Well one of the best features of Puerto Rico Day Trips website is that they have an interactive map, so when you are zoomed in at a location you can ask to find other points of interest within 5-10-15-20 miles of that location. See map feature

So with our day planned, we left Villa Sevilla about 9am (leaving after 8:30am will give you a better chance of avoiding morning rush hour traffic on roads) and our first stop was Mar Chiquita in the coastal town of Manati.

We arrived at this beautiful beach about 10:15 and from the moment I stepped out of the car and heard the crashing waves and saw the beautiful limestone cliffs I knew I would probably take a hundred photos (well it ended up being 136!).

The beach is a small crescent shaped beach protected (somewhat) by limestone bluffs which form an open circle.

At the opening point of the bluffs, the Atlantic waters come rushing through the narrow passage making some spectacular crashing waves and creating some nice surf inside the cove. Winter months or during summer storms you can have rough surf along the north coast causing rip currents and dangerous waves (the day we were here I would not recommend going in the water) but in summer months this may be a beautiful little beach for swimming.

The limestone bluffs surrounding the beach are sharp so be sure to wear good non skid closed toe shoes with a thicker sole if you plan on walking over the bluffs to get some amazing views and photos.

The beach itself was rather empty on the Thursday morning we were there, but you will unfortunately find some trash and broken beer bottles (I probably would not walk barefoot on the sand outside the surf),

and sadly there were several stray dogs who were desperate for a little love, food, and attention.

All this aside however, the views, sounds and colors of the sea will draw your focus, so we enjoyed about 1 1/2 hours here, walking the beach, climbing along the bluffs, taking photos, playing with the satos (stray dogs) and enjoying a lite snack.

Back into the car we continued on to our next destination which was to be Cueva de Indio in Arecibo. Taking Highway 22 we soon turned off onto some country roads that led us to Road #681. This was a beautiful scenic drive which weaved us through the countryside and coast. There are several very scenic and breathtaking sites along this road and so we just had to stop to take some photos.

...and now onto Cueva del Indio (Cave of the Indians) continuing on Rd #681 for a few more miles.

I'm not sure we would have found the parking area or the entrance site itself if I were not using the GPS on my phone with the map coordinates as the sign is pretty small and camouflaged with trees and foliage. The entrance to the trails is not a public park but actually sits on private property owned by a local family. They have a few bohios set up which offer snacks and cold drinks along with a few picnic tables. They do charge $2 to park on the property or 50 cents for walk ins. But they will tell you about the trails, and give you a bit of history on the caves and Taino Indians which used them. They also offer guide service for a fee which may be a nice way to learn much more information and see many things which we probably missed.

Behind the above buildings there are two sets of trails. Walking to the right will take you to the rock formations and some amazing views and photo opportunities and walking to the left will take you to the caves. It's an easy walk to the point of descent into the caves and there is a red flag marking the path. Again however you are walking on very sharp limestone so I was glad I had my closed toed and thick soled shoes.

In the photo above, Wally is standing at the point where you descend down. You will notice primitive steps chisled into the limestone, but the size of the steps are uneven so some will be a very small step down and a few are quite a BIG step down to the next step. A walking stick may help or if you need to, just sit on your butt and scoot down; it's really not bad at all. Once you are at the bottom of the steps you will enter a small open "hallway" between the limestone walls

From this point you can also get some amazing views when walking to the open area behind where the guys are standing

As you can see in this photo there are no safety railings so watch your step and be sure you hang on to your kids if they are with you.

From the "hallway" area 2 photos above you will see a dark area in front of where Wally and David are standing. This is where the final decent into the open cave will be.

You will go down about 3 "steps" cut into the limestone and then find a ladder made of 2x4's which is secured to the wall by a nylon rope. The ladder is tall so it will feel a bit rickety but Wally says it did feel more secure then more aluminum ladders he has climbed up and down from.

Once to the bottom on the sandy area you will immediately see some of the petroglyphs on the walls of the cave.

The cavern area is open and there are some small chambers to explore.

Along with some bats

Coming back to the top of the cave area we took several more photos

It was a warm day and we were definitely hot and thirsty, so coming back to the parking area we ordered a couple of ice cold cervazas which hit the spot perfectly!

Upon leaving the cave area I once again used the interactive map feature on Puerto Rico Day Trips to see if there were any other interesting stops we could make on our way back and we noticed that the Prime Outlets were located in Barceloneta right on the way home. These outlets are really nice and have some great stores such as Nike, Addidas, Osh Kosh, Bass, Old Navy, along with several dining options. So with a bit of shopping and a bite to eat we ended a great day and still avoided rush hour traffic to make it back to Villa Sevilla by about 4pm.

Marina Lawson

All photos and materials on this blog are copyrighted material of Villa Sevilla Guest House Inc.

Old San Juan in Photos

2011-11-29T22:25:00.000-04:00

Old San Juan is one of those places which I can go to several times a year, yet on each visit I seem to discover a new restaurant, see a new statue, and it seems like I always take hundreds of photos.

From the blue cobblestone streets...

Lively architecture and colorful buildings

Ancient history and forts...

Spectacular views from its walls...

... Statues

And Fountains...

People and Plazas bubbling with everyday life...

And we can't forget the animals

San Juan is a place that always captures my heart and I hope in sharing some of these photos you will also enjoy a day or two here on your next trip to Puerto Rico.
Marina Lawson
Photos within this blog are property of Villa Sevilla Guest House Inc

A Day Trip To Paradise: Caja de Muertos Nature Reserve

2011-11-09T15:00:00.001-04:00

Earlier in the year I read about Caja de Muertos on Puerto Rico Day Trips and knew that someday I just had to go here. Since my birthday was coming up we invited some friends to join us and it turned out to be the perfect way to spend a fun day!

Caja de Muertos (Coffin Island) is located about 8.5 km off the southern coastal town of Ponce and recieves its name due to the fact that the island resembles a coffin when looking at it from the mainland. We used Island Ventures Ferry which operates on weekends and holidays only. The ferry departs at 8:30am from La Guancha in Ponce so we left Villa Sevilla at about 6am to arrive for the 8am check in time.

Island Ventures Ferry at La Guancha in Ponce

Since the island is a natural reserve, there are no services (there are composting toilets but no running water) so you need to be sure to pack a cooler with food, snacks, drinks and plenty of water. There are small picnic pavillions that offer table, seating, and shade, but in summer months or holidays when it is crowded these may be claimed pretty quickly as people get off the ferry. So plan accordingly if traveling during those times and perhaps consider bringing an umbrella and beach chair.

Settling in at one of the pavillions, everywhere I looked appeared to be paradise. From the rolling green hills, flowering cacti, and the sea's varying hues of color... I didn't know where I wanted to go first until I noticed a beautiful lighthouse sitting on top of a hill on the eastern end of the island.

(As you exit the ferry and get to the wooden boardwalk there is a trailhead in front and left leading up to the lighthouse). The hike up is hot so be sure you are carrying plenty of water and most important your camera! Most of the trail is a pretty easy walk with a steady but slow elevation gain. (You will have most of your steep elevation gain on the last 1/4 part of the trail) The island is arid so you will see cacti, and small scrub trees along the trail, along with several shrubs that are irritants (there will be informative signs along the trail that point these out to you). From the start of the trail to the top took us about 25 minutes and this included several picture stops on the way up.

Hiking Buddies Wally Anton and Ray

Even though it was a hot walk up my jaw just dropped when we arrived to the top and walked out onto the lookout area. WAY worth the hike!

Just breathtaking!

Looking north

Looking to the SW tip of the island

The lighthouse is in a bit of disrepair and although you could not go inside, it sure made for some nice photos!

The hike back down was of course easier and coming back to our pavillion a beautiful lunch was ready to enjoy!

From left to right: Keishya (Barefoot Traveler Rooms), Ray and Gwenn (Coquis Hideaway), Anton (friend visiting from CA), Ingrid (Erin Go Bragh charters)

After a good lunch it was time to try some snorkeling. Even though the waters appeared clear, there was actually some turbidity so the visibility was not good. Also they do have DNR employees on the island who let us know rather quickly that we were not supposed to swim outside of the roped off areas.

If you do snorkel the best bet to see anything is near the pier. Ingrid reported seeing a ray and several fish in this spot.

After some water time, several of our friends decided on a siesta or rest in the shade while Wally and I continued to explore the island.

Protected Turtle Nesting Area

One of the buildings houses a small museum with exhibits on the flora fauna and history of the island. They also included a few nice large tortoise shells. The southern area of the island is off limits to walking or swimming as it is an important and protected area for turtle nesting. You'll also notice that the surf is much rougher on this side.

The rest of the afternoon was spent swimming, sunning, taking photos, laughing with friends and enjoying the fantastic views and tropical breezes. All good things however must come to an end and at 3:00 we heard the first horn sound announcing it was time to pack things up. So as sad it was to leave, I have to admit that this was one of my most memorable birthdays ever!

For more detailed information along with directions and interactive map you can read the Puerto Rico Day Trips Blog on Isla Caja de Muertos

For more photos you can continue below...

Heaven

Kiosk and Pub Crawl

2011-11-07T12:59:00.001-04:00

If you’ve done any research prior to coming to Puerto Rico, you have probably heard of the famous Luquillo Kiosks, but even if you haven’t we hope to give you a little taste of some of the wonderful food you will find on your next visit.

When driving down Road #3 in eastern Puerto Rico and coming into Luquillo, you can’t miss this landmark of eateries.

Over a block long, fronting the ocean and numbered from 1-60 anyone can find something they like. From local fried specialties such as Piononos, Bacalaitos, Frituras, Alcapurria, Empanadillas, Tostones, and cold Medalla beer, to Ceviche, Pizza, Burgers, Southern, Seafood, Caribbean fusion and Tapas.

While they may not look like much as you’re driving down the road, in recent years many of these kiosks have been remodeled and they are actually really nice and very clean on the inside.

Interiors are generally clean and well decorated

#36 - Bohio de Luquillo serves up great food such as sweet potato fries, BBQ chicken quesadilla, wings, nachos, pulled pork, blackened tuna, Thai churrasco, fish tacos, and mofongo. They also are one of the few places that serves beer on tap (including tap beer from Old Harbor Brewery ) and they make a great molten white lava cake.

Ice cold beer on tap at Bohio de Luquillo

#35 - Capones is a great stop when you are craving a good pizza with fresh ingredients and great service. (You can see the yummy pizzas below). Calzones are $9-$14, Pizzas are $8-$11 for personal size, $12-$15 for medium, and $15-$19 for large. Large choice of ingredients include cheese, sausage, pepperoni, bacon, ham, Italian sausage, chicken, shrimp, onion green pepper, mushroom and pineapple.

#31-Vejigante serves native dishes such as chicken sausage, pan seared codfish, stuffed cassava balls, chicken breast with breadfruit and mountain ham stuffing, pork chop stuffed with onions plantains and chorizo, grilled chorizo, and side dishes such as garlic mojito cassava, white rice with stewed beans, fried breadfruit and island root vegetables. The presentation of the food is a real work of art and appetizers range from $6-$10, entrees from $14-$18 and sides are $3.

#20 - Cerruno recently opened and they serve artesanal foods such as Chicharrones de Conejo (rabbit nuggets), Chorizo al vino (sausage sauteed in wine), Arepa Rellena de Pulpo (octopus), and entrees such as Rabbit, Rabbit stew, Grilled chicken, Steak, Grouper, Mahi, Salmon, Mofongo, Coconut rice and fish and Yellow rice with codfish. Side orders include, Fried sweet potato, Tostones, rice and beans, and fried sweet plantains. Desserts such as flan, bread pudding and tres leches complete a very nice meal. Appetizers range from $6-$8, Entrees from $8-$18, sides are $3 and dessert $4. In the photo below you can see a sampling of the rabbit nuggets with plantain fries.

#37 - Food Space is another new kiosk this year. They are unique as they feature delicious gourmet breakfast and lunch items such as their breakfast plate which features eggs any style, Lyonnaise potatoes, Virginia ham or Applewood bacon, and Arugula leaves with orange basil infusion. They also offer cheese tastings, truffle fries, antipasto, fish and chips, and deli sandwiches such as Po' Boy, Vegetarian (hummus, green pepper, cucumber, roasted peppers, onion lettuce and tomato), liverwurst, along with a 'design your own sandwich' option. They also serve a variety of organic leaf teas, fruit smoothies, French press coffee, and Italian soda. Breakfast items range from $6-$12, Cheese Tastings $12, Sandwiches from $9-$12. Food items including breakfast foods are served all day long.

Mixed Seafood Ceviche

Mixed Seafood Paella

#38 - Ceviche Hut is a must stop if you are a Ceviche fan, however even if not they have a great variety of other dishes such as mofongo, paellas, churasco, fish, chicken and wonderful Peruvian specialties which the wait staff will show you pictures of and explain ingredients and cooking methods. The ceviche is so fresh and comes in either a straight fish ceviche or mixed seafood which is marinated in fresh lime,onions and cilantro along with some spicy peppers (just let them know if you like it hot or not and they will individualize all dishes). Appetizers from $5-$9, Main dishes, $15-$17, Ceviche from $13-$18, Soups from $15-$17, Sides from $2-$4.

#12 - El Jefe Burger Shack is the place to stop if craving a burger, and ice cold beer. They have taken burgers to a new level by offering burgers stuffed with either short ribs, chorizo, or jalapenos and green chilis along with plain burgers, build your own burger as well as chicken or talapia sandwiches and salads. They have some great appetizers such as sliders, wings, onion wedges, and nachos. They also make a mean El Jefe cheese sauce which is great on the nachos, fries or burgers. Besides all this you can enjoy a nice selection of bottled craft beers or an ice cold mojito or pina colada. Everything here is hand made, cut or prepared so it may take a little longer but their staff will take great care of you while waiting. Appetizers range from $3-$23, specialty burgers from $10-$12, regular burgers, chicken or talapia sandwiches from $8-$10 These are all served with freshly baked buns and hand cut fries. They also have a nice little outdoor area in back.

#13- Tapas 13 is a wonderful place to stop in the evening with friends or family. They serve amazing hot and cold tapas (small plates of foods to sample and share) along with oven baked sandwiches, full plates and soups and salads as well. Tapas include such delicious samplings as fried fingerling potatoes with spicy sauce, serrano wrapped asparagus, bacon wrapped dates, chicken skewers with tamarind glaze, octopus salad, and halibut mango ceviche. Full plates include steak, chicken breast, halibut, and paella. They also make an incredible Sangria and great Mojitos! Prices for tapas range from $7-$17, sandwiches from $8-$11, and full plates for $15-$21

While these are just a handful of the many options available,(and we'll continue to add more) we hope we've been able to whet your appetite and perhaps you'll stop in at some of these wonderful restaurants on your next trip to Puerto Rico!

Great 1/2 day trip from Villa Sevilla - Charco Azul and Guavate

2011-10-28T21:29:00.001-04:00

We finally had an opportunity to take a day off, so we decided to take a nice 1/2 day trip up into the Carite Forest to Charco Azul and Guavate.
When planning activities or looking for things to do one of the best sources is always Puerto Rico Day Trips This website not only gives great descriptions and information on activities and events but they include a wonderful map link that allows you to find your way as well as finding other things to see and do in a specified area you may be visiting.

Driving through Guavate

We left Villa Sevilla a little after 9am and arrived to Guavate about 10:15 on a Friday morning. (Now this area is pretty quiet during the week, but on weekends you can expect bumper to bumper traffic coming up Rd 184 into Guavate, so plan accordingly).

Since we arrived early we continued through the town of Guavate on 184 to the Charco Azul Recreation Area. (Distance wise it is less then 8 miles however the roads are windy and not in great condition so the drive will take about 15-20 minutes or longer if you are here on a weekend.)

Arriving to Charco Azul Recreation Area (KM 17.8) there will be an off road parking area to your right that has several picnic shelters. Park in this area and cross the street to the entrance gate.

Trail head entrance is through the gate

The trail to the actual pools is about 1/2 mile long and is paved with asphalt. I am not sure when they paved it last but there were several areas where the pavement was eroded or buckled and the trail was wet, and mossy in several places making it a bit slick.

Paved but uneven trail

This was the only steep area as seen on the lower right

Walking the trail itself is easy as the path is fairly flat with gentle inclines and declines. There was only one spot which comes to mind which was a bit steep and slippery coming down to a walkway across a creek. The walk itself is cool and beautiful as the trees are covered in bromelaids and moss. You will hear the birds singing, the soothing sounds of the water rippling over the rocks in the creeks, and you can definitely see a blue tint to the waters.

It's a beautiful walk in the cooler mountain air and shady canopy of trees

The real treat awaits at the end of the trail when you actually arrive to Charco Azul

This is the smaller pool but the water in this pool had such an intense aquamarine color

Charco Azul: This is the larger pool where you can swim and jump off the rock located mid upper right on the photo

I know I have seen photos of Charco Azul where the waters were really blue but today they were more of a beautiful green in the larger deeper pool (left photo) while an amazing blue (right photo) in the smaller pool. Perhaps recent rains may have something to do with it, but either way this whole area and the colors of the pools are amazing. Also as you can see we had the whole area to ourselves.

After spending some time here exploring and taking photos, our stomach's were telling us it was time for lunch so we headed back down the road to Guavate.

Guavate is a small town in the Carite forest that is known in a BIG way for it's lechon (roasted pig on a spit). The main drag of town is literally all restaurants serving this well known and loved Puerto Rican specialty. While the weekdays are quiet with only a few places open, the weekends turn this town into one large party. With the smell of wood fires, pine trees, and roasted pork in the air; the sounds of lively music and laughter... traffic getting in and out can be quite intense on weekends, yet it really gives a visitor to the island a great way to experience the joyous celebrations of life, family, and friends which is the root of the Puerto Rican Culture.

The restaurants are cafeteria style with all the meats and side dishes such as rice, beans, amarillas, batatas, plantains, veggies, salads etc...behind a glass counter. While someone usually always speaks English even if not, just pointing to something that looks good or that you want to try will work great. The food is fresh and very reasonable in price. In the photo below you will see the heaping plate of food you are served. 3 plates like this along with two beers and a soda cost about $22

We went on a Friday morning so while only a handful of the many eating establishments were open it allowed us to combine the great lunch with a visit to Charco Azul, and return home all in about 5 hrs time. So if trying to decide weather to go on a weekend or weekday just consider what you would like to get out of the trip. If like us, you want an easy 1/2 day trip with a good meal, then go during the week on a Friday. However if you want to experience the real Puerto Rican culture and be part of the lively festivities, dance, music and food then come on a weekend and plan to spend an afternoon in Guavate. Just be prepared for lots of people and lots of traffic.

Buen Provecho!

It Won't Happen To Me

2011-04-28T18:58:00.010-04:00

Trip Insurance is something most persons never consider when making their travel plans. However being in the vacation/travel industry for the past 7 years we have come to understand the importance of having this piece of mind. Personally we now never plan a trip without factoring this into our budget.

We’d like to take a few moments in sharing some of the scenarios we have encountered during the past few years both personally and in our business.

• Divorce or separation occurring after trip plans, and payments were made

• Medical emergencies such as surgeries which prohibited traveling

• Unexpected pregnancy or complications in pregnancy where it was advised by the physician not to travel

• Job Loss

• Unexpected Job Change not allowing for planned vacation time

• Family Emergencies such as a sick family member or death of a family member

• Unexpected Financial Burdens (house destroyed by fire, house foreclosed)

• Travel Delays created by weather (last winter we had thousands of people stranded in San Juan due to airport shut downs on the east coast. Most of these persons ended up paying exorbitant rack rates for hotel rooms on a last minute basis along with paying for meals, rental car, taxis, etc… for up to 3 and 4 days).

• Unexpected accident occurring while traveling requiring person to travel home immediately therefore cutting their vacation short.

• Accommodations were booked but airline tickets were not booked at the same time. It's coming down to the wire and airfare prices have gone up considerably and are now out of your price range; or a blackout period applied for the travel dates and prohibited use of frequent flyer travel awards.

On a personal note… when we travelled to Mexico several years ago the husband of a couple which we met had a serious cardiac medical emergency. While the hospitals and staff in Mexico were great, they did require cash or credit card payment on the spot in order to proceed with treatment. Also this gentleman ended up requiring a medi-vac flight to the states. The private medi vac company would not take the flight without a guaranteed credit card with a limit of at least $30,000.00 (they did not accept personal insurance – and how many of us travel with credit cards with such high limits?). This couple did have a health insurance policy from their employers (which they believed would cover all these expenses, so did not purchase travel insurance)

Personal health insurance however was not an accepted form of payment or guarantee of payment; they were expected to pay expenses by credit card or cash and were told they would have to submit the receipts to their insurance company at home.

Once at home and sorting through the thousands of dollars in bills, many many hours spent on the phone with insurance companies, along with a huge financial burden, they realized that their personal health insurance did not cover medi-vac flights and repatriation. It also took them over one year to recover the out of pocket medical costs which their private health insurance company did end up covering. While we all think “this could never happen to us” (I know we were one of those people) seeing this happen to someone we knew personally really hit home.

Not All Policies Are Created Equal
There are many travel insurance companies and several different types of policies on the market and if you’re like me, it can make your head spin in trying to read through and understand all the fine print and exclusions. Many times when you purchase airline tickets you will now be offered options of purchasing travel insurance, however be sure to read the print because many of the above scenarios will NOT be covered.

When we travel we purchase a “cancel for any reason” policy. While these types of policies cost a bit more (about 20%-25% of total trip cost) they do offer the most flexibility. (They allow you to cancel even if you get one of those foreboding/gut feelings that tell you not to go, and they will even cover preexisting medical conditions which many other policies will not). The important thing to consider with these policies however is that they must be purchased within a limited time frame usually 24-48 hrs of booking your trip and making any down payments or payments.

We finally found a great website that not only offers many plans, explains many things about trip insurance, but they also have a fantastic staff that will spend as much time with you on the phone or respond to as many e-mails as necessary to answer all your questions and be sure that you are buying the policy with the protection you need.

While I could take up pages and pages explaining different policies the best bet is for you go to The Trip Insurance Store’s website at http://www.tripinsurancestore.com/

They have so much information listed along with things I never thought of or knew about traveling and insurance. (We are not in any way affiliated with this company; however it is the best site which we have found out there. We appreciate the personalized service and the ability to speak to an actual staff member with many years of travel insurance experience. We no longer plan a trip without speaking to them first)

We’re Not The Bad Guys

In closing I just wanted to remind you that each airline, lodging establishment, rental car or activity will (or should) have a written cancelation/refund policy. If you have to cancel your travel plans and are not entitled to a refund (based on a businesses individual policy) please remember that we are NOT the Bad Guys. It is all of our individual responsibility as travelers to read and understand specific policies whether they be for an airline, hotel, or reserved activity.

Our Suggestions

Plan a budget for your vacation and put this aside as savings
Read up on and understand all policies/reservations/cancelations/refunds of any business activity or establishment which you will be reserving. (If you have questions, just ask. Most businesses will prefer answering questions ahead of time to be sure that you understand their policies)
Reserve lodging, airlines and any rental car or transportation at the same time
Purchase Trip Insurance

While these suggestions can not guarentee a perfect vacation it will surely help in preparing for a less stressful travel experience and hopefully assist you in cases of any unforeseen circumstances

Thanks so much for taking the time to read through this and we do hope that we were able to provide you with some good travel information.

Happy and Safe Travels!
Marina and Wally Lawson

Panadería: It’s not all about bread and pastries

2010-12-20T19:32:00.000-04:00

Bakeries or Panaderías as they are called here on the island are a great place to stop for fresh bread and pastries, but many visitors don’t know that they also have great sandwiches and wonderful coffee all for a very reasonable price.

These small bakeries are very popular with the local people for a good warm and inexpensive breakfast or lunch. Many stop to buy fresh bread on the way home or to stop in and have some coffee and maybe say hello to neighbors and friends who may also be there. Most of our guests fall in love with the bread, food and pastries and usually make several stops during their stay.

You can find small family owned panaderías all over the island even on small mountain roads and out of the way corners and neighborhoods. Usually they are owned and run by a local family and while each may have a few different things basically you can always find fresh bread, great coffee, pastries and sandwiches.

One of our favorites (along with our guests) is Panadería Don Nico right on the SW corner of Rd #3 and Rd #958 (this is the road you will drive up to come to Villa Sevilla). The staff is friendly, a few speak some English and there is usually always someone around who can help translate if needed.

You can have a wonderful (and large) breakfast sandwich such as ham eggs and cheese made with their wonderful fresh baked bread or something simple like toast and eggs or coffee. Lunchtime is also very popular with the locals as are their sandwiches such as a Cubano (a large sliced piece of fresh bread piled with baked pork, cabbage, pickles, mayo, mustard) or Tripleta. The tastiest part of their sandwiches is that they are pressed between a hot plate so are nice and crisp on the outside and warm on the inside. Most of these sandwiches are easily shared by two people and the cost is always under $5. Pair this with a nice coffee or juice and a fresh pastry and two people can eat for under $10.

So next time you’re on the road stop by a Panadería and try one of their great and very reasonable sandwiches and I am sure you won’t be disappointed!

Family Fun In Puerto Rico

2010-12-07T10:08:00.000-04:00

In 2009 we wrote about the adventures of a young group of friends traveling together in Puerto Rico. This year we wanted to take some time to highlight the adventures of a family trip. It worked out perfectly that one of our returning families was coming this past week. Anton, Bethany and their “almost” 8 year old daughter Sophia spent 8 nights at Villa Sevilla while graciously allowing us to document their adventure and use their photos. (Thanks guys!)

Day 1:Arriving to Puerto Rico-The flight from Miami to San Juan was delayed about an hour but otherwise uneventful. No luggage was lost, and they easily and quickly picked up their bags and headed outside. In about 15 minutes the van from Charlie Car Rentals picked them up to head to the office for paperwork which they said went quickly and soon they were headed to Villa Sevilla in a brand new Hyundai Brio (only 6 miles on the car and the plastic was still on the seats!). After greeting them and getting them tucked in, they said they enjoyed a couple hours on the patio at La Casita listening to the chorus of the coqui while sipping a few cold cervazas.

Day 2: Luquillo Beach (Balneario Montserrat) – This was their first order of business and since it was a beautiful sunny day they made sandwiches, packed up one of our coolers with snacks and drinks and headed to the beach by 9am. The entrance fee is $4.28 for cars and they were told that “for now” the beach would be open 7 days per week. (Hopefully this will be true as in past years they have closed the beach on Mondays and Tuesdays during the fall and winter months). Even on a Saturday they said there were maybe 20-30 other people on this huge beach, and they felt like they had it to themselves. They rented a couple of chaises from the beach vendor ($5 each).

Bethany had a nice run on the beach, while Sophia seemed to transform herself into a mermaid happily playing in the gentle surf.

They enjoyed Pina Coladas and Pinchos (chicken grilled on a skewer smothered in BBQ sauce) from the kiosk, took a long walk around the point, and even had some coco(coconut) and parcha (passion fruit) sorbet from the vendor’s push cart on the beach. About 4pm they said they packed it up and headed back to Villa Sevilla where they grilled dinner on the patio and enjoyed another pleasant evening relaxing.

Day 3: Old San Juan – Weekends are always wonderful for visiting Old San Juan, so with the sun shining again, they left Villa Sevilla about 9:30am for a full day of history and shopping. Traffic was very light early Sunday morning and they arrived to OSJ about 10:15am and parked and Dona Fela Parking Garage near the cruise ship terminals.

It so happened that the King Tut exhibit was in town and on exhibition in the adjacent building, Galeria Paseo Portuario so they took the opportunity to buy tickets. They said it took them about 1.5 hrs to get through everything and although they said it was smaller then they imagined but they were still glad to have seen it.

From this point they found Lupi’s Mexican Grill and Cantina for some lunch. They said the food was fair and hit the spot. With bellies full they next walked up to El Morro and spent about an hour taking photos, reading about the history and looking at the few exhibits. They said this fort had the most beautiful views and you could really get a great perspective for the shear size, but they did prefer San Cristobal which they visited on their last trip as they had more exhibits and a more informative ranger talk.

Exiting the fort, several families were enjoying a day out picnicking and flying kites on the large grass lawn in front of El Morro. With the breezes blowing and puffy white clouds in the sky, Sophia got mom and dad to buy her a kite and she spent almost an hour honing her flying skills (she reports that only one time did the kite hit the ground!). The rest of the afternoon included a visit to San Juan Cathedral, a look inside The El Convento Hotel (an old convent converted to one of Old San Juan’s most charming hotels), a stroll down the beautiful tree lined San Juan Street, photos in front of the large Puerta de San Juan (gates to the old city), a look at La Forteleza (Governor’s Mansion), a walk down Paseo La Princessa, and then back up Recinto Sur for some Pina Coladas, snacks and souvenir shopping.

Day 4: ‘Chilaxin’ (as Sophia informs us) at Villa Sevilla – The sky was overcast this morning and everyone was pretty tired from the long day in Old San Juan so they decided it was a perfect day to relax and enjoy some time on the property. They spent the morning walking around and taking photos, lounging in the hammock, reading books and the afternoon was spent at the pool.

Even though there were a few passing rain showers, Sophia was not about to get out of the pool (which by the way she says is her favorite part of Villa Sevilla).

The evening took the family to the Brass Cactus Restaurant in Luquillo where they say they enjoyed some of the best burgers ever.

Day 5: El Yunque, shopping, and baseball – Another early start at 8:00 with some clouds looming over the peaks of El Yunque, but ‘what better way to really enjoy a rainforest’ as Anton says. Arriving to the Park Entrance they decided to pay the $3 admission and spend some time at the visitor center. While many people don’t bother to stop here, the visitor center is a beautifully designed building that gives the feeling of being suspended above the forest floor. Anton, Bethany and Sophia spent about 40 minutes walking around, looking and some exhibits, picking up a trail map and speaking to a very nice ranger.

From this point they decided to hike up to Mt Britton and once there they would re-evaluate and make the decision about going all the way up to the top of El Yunque.

They said the hike was beautiful, with good trails (although slippery in some spots). Sophia did a great job keeping up and enjoyed all the lush plants and trees along the trail. Once at the top of Mt Britton they were pretty much in the clouds with a bit of mist so decided not to continue on to El Yunque.

After a brief rest stop they started back down and decided to go to La Mina Falls. “The walk down was beautiful with several small streams and waterfalls along the way and there really weren’t that many people by the time we got down to the falls”. After a few photos they took their time coming back up and decided they would make a quick stop at Yokahu Tower before heading out of the park. The walk up the tower (many winding steps) was fun for Sophia (but not so sure about mom and dad at this point) but their effort was rewarded with a beautiful view down to the town of Luquillo and its beaches.

After exiting the park they stopped at Coqui International Artist and Artisan Gallery in the small town of Palmer where they made several unique souvenirs purchases and spent some time meeting and chatting with Tom, the very kind, funny and delightful owner.

By this time they said they were pretty hungry so they headed to the Luquillo Kiosks where they had their ‘…best Puerto Rican meal’ at La Parilla (kiosk #2). The kiosks are a long row of about 60 restaurants located on Rd #3 right before the exit to Luquillo beach. In the past couple of years many new restaurants have opened and now the kiosks offer so many choices from typical fried Puerto Rican snacks, to Italian, Pizza, Mexican, Burgers, Ceviche, Oysters, and some great seafood and Puerto Rican specialty restaurants. While many people take a look at the kiosks as they are going down the road to the beach many just keep driving and never think of stopping. However we really do encourage guests to stop in and dine at some of these great places.

After dinner they made a quick stop back at La Casita to drop Bethany off and then Anton and Sophia continued on to some winter baseball at Roberto Clemente Stadium in Carolina. The game started at 7:30pm, Parking was $2.00 and for just $4.00 Anton bought himself a mid level seat while Sophia received free admission! They said there were not many people in the stadium so they could basically sit where ever they wanted.

Anton was very impressed with the large clean modern stadium and said it was a shame more people did not come out to enjoy a game as it was a great family evening. There were musicians that strolled the isles between innings and the Carolina Gigantes pulled off a victory against Mayaguez in 10 innings.

Day 6: Aricebo Radio Telescope and Caguana Indigenous Ceremonial Park – Traffic can be bad through San Juan during weekday mornings so we encouraged our guests to wait until 8:30 or 9:00 am before heading out for their adventure. Once on the road they said they were able to find the observatory with no problems as the roads are all highway until you reach Arecibo and then well marked after this point. The trip took a bit less then 2 hrs from Villa Sevilla and they said they really enjoyed driving through this beautiful karst region.

They were very impressed with the shear size of the worlds largest radio telescope and spent about 1.5 hrs reading about and looking at the exhibits, watching the short movie, taking photos and having some lunch. They felt like there could have been a better explanation of the telescope and that the movie could have focused more on ‘how the telescope works’ rather then the life of the scientists at the observatory. All in all Anton said it was something he really wanted to see and being there up close to see the shear size was pretty amazing.

From Arecibo the family headed south on PR-129 in hopes of arriving to Caguana. Unfortunately the roads were not well marked and after a bit of back tracking and a few wrong turns they finally arrived at their destination. The park itself they said looked really nice however it is built on a grassy field and because of recent heavy rains it was much to muddy to walk through in order to get a close look at the exhibits. They thought it would have been much better if they had laid even some gravel walking paths through the area. On another note though they did not have to pay for admission and a very nice guide spent about 30 minutes with them telling them some history and explaining the different exhibits. They also said they were the only ones at the park.

Day 7: Relaxing at Luquillo Beach – After the very long day yesterday Bethany, Anton and Sophia (especially Sophia) decided another day at Luquillo beach was much in order.

They spent another lovely day playing in the warm water, soaking up some sun and drinking several cold cervezas. For lunch Anton said he walked over to the kiosks and ordered several of the typical fried goods to try such as chicken tacos (pastry filled with meat and deep fried), papas rellaño con carne (mashed potatoes stuffed with ground beef rolled into a ball, lightly battered and then deep fried), and pionones (ripe plantain rolled around ground beef, lightly battered and deep fried). Bethany and Sophia also discovered a small trailer making batatas (smoothies) and enjoyed a coconut strawberry smoothie that was a real work of art!

Late afternoon they drove back to Villa Sevilla for another great dinner on the grill and the songs of the Coqui’s.

Day 8: Las Cabezas de San Juan Nature Reserve Tour – This morning our guests asked us where they can go for a good breakfast and this was a bit difficult as Puerto Rican culture does not typically eat an American type of breakfast. We encouraged them to stop in at Don Nico bakery on the corner of Rd 958 and Rd 3 and order some breakfast sandwiches and coffee. They ended up loving this place! Anton said they had 2 ham, egg, and cheese sandwiches that were then pressed and toasted (and big enough for two people to easily share), one café negro, one café con leche, a hot chocolate, a chocolate milk and a pastry all for under $10!

From here they decided to take a small detour and look around inside the El Conquistador Resort. This resort property sits on the eastern tip of the island on some cliffs above the sea and offers spectacular views of the sea and small island cays. Bethany was hoping to get a bit of gambling in; however the casino did not open until 4pm. It’s a beautiful place to stop for a drink and a stroll around the beautifully landscaped grounds. They also have a small water park and you can purchase day passes for this.

Since they still had a bit of time before their 1:30pm tour at Las Cabezas, they decided to spend a bit of time at Seven Seas Beach.

After paying the $4 entrance fee and finding a nice spot to sit, a good squall blew through the area causing them to find shelter and abandon the idea of Sophia going for a quick swim (Sophia was not too happy about this unfair decision she later told me).

On to the tour at Las Cabezas... Anton and Bethany agreed this was one of the most organized, informative and well put together activities which they have attended on the island.

Once you are checked in, you will board a tram which will take you through 7 different ecosystems located within the reserve. From beach, to dry forest, to mangrove, you will learn a great deal about the diversity, flora and fauna of these systems. From the lighthouse area you will have a fantastic view of the island cays and on a clear day (as was the case today) you can see out to Culebra and even St Thomas. Also at the lighthouse they will tell you of its history and they have several exhibits of animals and sea creatures which you will find on the reserve. Sophia learned about the biobay and even got to hold a slimy sea cucumber!

After the tour, they stopped at the Luquillo Kiosks at El Jefe Burger Shack for a few micro brews and some great burgers. They said the food was good, beer was cold and the staff were exceptional!

Belly's full they headed back to La Casita to pack up and get ready for the trip back home in the morning.

Day 9: Heading Home- A long day of traveling ahead; but with suitcases in the car, hugs all around and promises to come back again next year, they all admited that this was one of their best family vacations and they hoped to come back next year with more friends and family in tow. For now though they will cherish the memories of the warm ocean waters, tropical breezes, and pina coladas in the Caribbean sun.

Behind the Scenes

2010-10-19T19:53:00.000-04:00

This month I just want to take a few minutes to recognize all the wonderful people who work behind the scenes helping us to make Villa Sevilla a special and comfortable oasis for our guests.

Vicky is our right hand when it comes to making beds and cleaning on our busy check out days. Not only is her smile infectious, but her bubbly personality, and beautiful singing voice always makes working with her a real treat.

Besides these great qualities, Vicky can make a bed that any drill sergeant would be proud of! We just love you Vicky!

Bugs are another issue we’ve had to learn to make peace with here in this climate. However we have reached the compromise that as long as they don’t invade our homes we won’t invade theirs. This is where Joey comes in once a month to treat the homes so that everyone can have their boundaries. He is also a wealth of knowledge on the different insects and best products with least amount of harm to the environment.

Now there are just some jobs that we look at and scratch our heads and wonder how in the world we will ever get it done. This is where Ismael and his team (Freddie and Luisito) come in.

They can look at a project and methodically work through a way to get it done. Whether it is painting 22 ft ceilings, building a difficult project, or finding the best way to lay tile this crew is not only professional, and meticulous, they will never be intimidated by any request or job.

Driving up to Villa Sevilla most will notice the lush tropical grounds. Believe me they don’t stay this way by themselves. In this warm tropical climate everything grows as if it were on super hormones! It is a constant effort to keep the jungle from reclaiming this little spot on the hill and because of this we don’t know what we would do without Agapito and Sammy’s help. Their weed eaters go where no man would go! No matter how steep or how muddy a hillside, they will get the job done.

The machete also seems to be an extension of Agapito’s arm as we have seen him clear a hillside of vines, trim branches, open a coconut and clear weeds in no time flat. We have nicknamed him super man because of his tireless spirit and amazing work ethic.

In closing I just want to thank all these wonderful friends and neighbors not only for all their help, wisdom, and time over the years but most importantly for the warm friendship which they have extended to us.
We could never have done it without you!

What's the buzz about?

2010-09-25T23:56:00.000-04:00

Bees! That's what it's all about.

If the buzzing sound of a bee sends you running down the road, arms flailing and shrieking like a child, don't worry you're not the only one. As a matter of fact I used to be just like you until I finally decided to face my fears and make time to learn about and get to know these "scary" little insects. So here is a little bit of what I learned...

The honey bee is one of the most valued commodities of agriculture. They are the sole pollinators for many crops such as apples, almonds, apricots, avocados, blackberries, cantaloupes, cherries, cranberries, cucumbers, pears, raspberries, strawberries, and watermelon. They also pollinate many vegetable crops so that the seeds will be fertile for re-sowing.

In recent years it has been estimated that as much as 1/3 of our world bee population has died off. Theories for this phenomenon range from climate changes, pesticide use and viral/bacterial infections which the bees are susceptible to. Although scientists are still struggling to determine what the main cause is, it is most likely a combination of all these factors. The most frightening aspect of this would be the impact on our world food population. It is estimated that in the US alone, crops pollinated by bees are worth 10 billion annually. If bees were to continue declining, it is predicted that there would be famine, food shortages, and extinction of some crops along with spiraling prices for many of these foods that we now take for granted.

Pollination occurs as bees travel from one blossom to another and the pollen clings to their fuzzy bodies. It is then transferred to the other flowers of the same species. This pollinates or fertilizes the plant. Plants can then produce their own fruits and seeds.

Honey bees are very social insects and their colony can contain thousands of bees that must cooperate in nest building, food gathering, feeding, cleaning, and brood rearing.

The colony consists of just one Queen Bee and she is the only sexually developed female of the colony whose sole purpose is to reproduce. The queen lays up to 1500 eggs per day at her peak. The qualities of the colony depend on the egg laying and chernical production of the queen. Her genetic makeup, along with that of the drones she has mated with, determines the quality, size, and temperament of the colony. Wow! No wonder she is the queen!

Drones or male bees do not have stingers and are an important aspect of the hive even though they are generally only part time occupants (usually during late spring and summer). Drones are sexually mature about 12 days after they emerge and their sole purpose is to fertilize the queen. While only a small percentage of drones are capable of fulfilling this important duty, the ones that do will die instantly upon mating.

Worker bees are the smallest in size but the most abundant in a hive and they are all non fertile females. Workers have specialized structures, such as brood food glands, scent glands, wax glands, and pollen baskets, which allow them to perform all the labors of the hive. They clean out the cells, feed the brood, care for the queen, remove debris, handle in coming nectar, build combs, guard the entrance, and air condition and ventilate the hive before going into the field. In the field, they forage for nectar, pollen, water, and propolis (plant sap).

Besides this most important role in agriculture bees also are valuable for their honey and wax. Bees produce honey by eating nectar and storing it in a special area of their stomach where enzymes are added to the nectar and partially digesting it. The "honey" is then regurgitated while the group of worker bees will work the honey together (ingesting it and then regurgitating it several times) until it reaches a desired quality. After the final regurgitation the honey is then left in a honeycomb cell unsealed. At this point the honey still contains a high water content and natural yeasts which can cause the honey to ferment so the bees then work together fanning their wings to create a strong draft and assist with water evaporation. By evaporating a good portion of the water the sugar concentration will rise and thus prevent fermentation from occurring.

An Active hive we found inside a tree that Wally cut down

Honey is highly stable against microbial growth because of its low water activity, low moisture content, low pH, and antimicrobial constituents. It is even said that properly stored honey can remain stable for decades.

So in doing this research it has opened my eyes to this remarkable little insect and I have gained a great deal of respect for its importance in my everyday life. I think I have also conquered my fear because most of these photos were taken between 1-3 inches from the bees. Even though the constant buzzing and swarming still managed to get my adrenalin flowing they graciously allowed me to share their space for these photos. I am happy to report that I survived without running screaming or flailing my arms. But most importantly without getting stung!
Below is a short video showing the massive bloom of the Royal Palm along with the hundreds of bees that are enjoying the bounty of this feast.

Some Sources of information for this article and for more in depth reading about bees:
Bees in the ecosystem
The Colony and Its Origination

Have you ever seen this?

2010-09-17T20:58:00.000-04:00

If you are wondering what this alien looking thing I am holding is, I can tell you that it is a delicious fruit called Soursop or Guanabana as it is known here in Puerto Rico.

Guanababa is native to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and the northern areas of South America.

The Guanabana tree is a small to medium (up to 25 feet) broadleaf flowering evergreen which is adapted well to warm humid climates.

Ideally the fruit should be picked before it's fully ripe. (This is always the tricky part because even though I vigilantly monitor a ripening fruit I can’t tell you how many times I have waited too long and found it smashed and bruised on the ground making a great meal for the chickens lizards and ants). Once picked the fruit should be allowed to ripen for a few days until the flesh feels soft and the skin has turned a lighter green color.

To eat the fruit when ripe, use a knife to slice it lengthwise down the center and you will notice white creamy flesh with rows of black shiny seeds. The fruit can be scooped out with a spoon or knife and eaten fresh out of hand. The flesh is creamy (almost like an over ripe pear) and slightly fibrous but has a sweet flavor resembling a mixture of banana, strawberry with a hint of coconut.

The most popular serving method is to strain the fruit making a delicious nectar for drinking. Guanabana is also processed commercially into delicious ice cream, sherbets and juices.

The leaves and roots of the Guanabana do have some medicinal properties while the fruit itself is high in vitamins B1, B2, and C.
I did find an article which stated: Research carried on in the Caribbean suggests a connection between daily consumption of soursop and Parkinson’s disease due to high concentrations of Annonacin.
Annonacin is a chemical of the class of acetogenins, found in fruits such as the guanabana (and other from Annonaceae family). It is a member of the class of compounds known as acetogenins. Recent reports have shown that daily consumption in rats caused brain lesions consistent with Parkinson's disease.^[1] ^[2]
Source: Wikipedia

Well of course this peaked my interest so in conducting further research, surprisingly I also found articles which stated the FDA was looking at Annonacin in studies against cancer (particularly prostate cancer) .

So to eat or not to eat…hmm, I think having a fruit or two on occasion is still a great treat.

Flower bud on Guanabana tree

What's in a square?

2010-08-20T21:47:00.000-04:00

According to Wikipedia... A town square is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings.

A typical plaza in Old San Juan

In Puerto Rico every town or municipality as they are known here has a town square. While larger and older towns such as Old San Juan will have multiple plazas throughout the city, the smaller towns usually have one central square. The square is usually surrounded by the local city hall, a church and other government offices.

City Hall

In the last few years several of our local small town squares have gotten big make overs. And while exciting to see the renovations going on, I have usually been disappointed at the outcome. Many of them were designed with lots of concrete, a few lights, a bench or two and no trees or other architectural details. I just never understood how walking or sitting in the blazing sun would entice anyone to come out to enjoy some of these squares.

Town square Rio Grande, PR

Today however we had to visit downtown Rio Grande for some business and while Wally went in to take care of things I actually walked around and thoroughly enjoyed our little plaza in Rio Grande.

The plaza had a HUGE overhaul a couple of years ago and I have to admit the mayor and city did a fantastic job. With beautiful natural stone, fountains, palms, shade trees, small kiosks, seating areas, gazebos and people milling about, I really think Rio Grande hit the mark.

Our lady of Carmen Catholic Church

A vendor is selling coffees and frappes, government workers are taking a break in the gazebo, people are walking through to the various offices to take care of business, the trickle of water from a fountain evokes coolness on this warm summer day, and the beautiful church is framed by two growing palms.

Beautiful Gazebos

Yes, I am really proud of our beautiful town square in Rio Grande and if you happen to be in the area, why not stop by, take a stroll or just sit and enjoy a cool drink or nice coffee while taking in a bit of typical life in Puerto Rico.

Beautiful details at the town square in Rio Grande, PR

Revisiting El Yunque's Visitor Center

2010-08-08T15:03:00.034-04:00

El Yunque National Forest encompasses over 28,000 acres of land and intertwines the towns of Río Grande, Naguabo, Luquillo, Ceiba, Canóvanas, Las Piedras, Fajardo, and Juncos. And while the smallest of US National forests, it is the only rainforest within the US forest system.
With over 200 inches of yearly rainfall, visitors are immersed in a thick green canopy while surrounded in sounds of waterfalls, creeks, frogs, birds, the patter of rain, and occasional thunderous storm.

While it is not necessary to stop in at the visitors center when planning a day exploring the forest, we always encourage our guests to do so.
There is an entrance fee (only if going to the visitor center) of $3.00 (adults) $2.00 (seniors) and several decent sized parking areas are available. The visitor center is open from 9am-5pm and includes restrooms, cafeteria, permanent exhibits, gift shop/book store, along with a short movie about the forest.

While not an extensive visitor center there are always several forest rangers available that can answer questions or give advice about trails along with a hosted information desk at the entrance to the center. The cost of admission is used to help maintain trails and areas within the park so we never mind making our small donation (entrance fee).

Entrance to visitor center

The center itself is beautifully designed; seeming to rise from the forest floor and suspended within the forest's canopy.

Lush Flora at entrance

Coming from the parking area, you will pass lush plants and shortly come to the entrance in front of the suspended walkway leading to the visitor center.

Suspended walkway leading to visitor center

The morning that we were here we were fortunate enough to encounter the rare opportunity of seeing a beautiful endangered Puerto Rican Parrot (in captivity) which was on exhibit from the DNER's aviary management program. (The forest service hosts several informative programs along with local artists throughout the year. Information can be found on their website on the link provided below)
El Yunque National Forest

Endagered Puerto Rican Parrot

Creek running through

the visitors center

Blue lizard lounging on a boulder

Trail head sign at visitor center
located off the parking area

Besides the visitor's center, there is an easy short 0.4 mile trail just off the parking area.
This trail will take you down to the forest floor, passing native and exotic plants and fruit along with the opportunity to spot native birds, lizards, coqui, snails and other flora and fauna. This would be an easy hike to do with young children and afterward you can always enjoy a stroll through the visitor center.

Either way taking a few minutes to walk through the center or perhaps taking a short break to enjoy the beautiful surroundings, the visitor center will provide an educational, relaxing area to explore a glimpse of the sites and sounds this tropical forest has to offer.

Below is a short video taken from the suspended walkway

Papayas pack a nutritional punch

2010-08-04T12:44:00.000-04:00

Before moving to the Caribbean, I never really cared much for papaya. I always thought they were fairly tasteless, until moving to Puerto Rico and finally experiencing a fresh ripe papaya directly from the tree.
Most of the papayas available in local grocery stores of the US are picked when they are still maturing in order to facilitate transport. They must be allowed to mature fully in order to experience their wonderful flavor. (If picked too green they will never fully develop a sweet flavor even though the flesh will turn an orange yellow color).
A papaya should be picked when it begins to turn a yellow/orange color and allowed to ripen for several days at room temperature. When ready to eat the papaya should be deep yellow/orange color and slightly soft to the touch.
There are two varieties of papaya. The Hawaiian variety is smaller in size; pear shaped, weighs about a pound and are the most common varieties found in stores. The Mexican variety is what is mostly grown here on the island and while not as sweet as the Hawaiian, they are much larger and some varieties can weigh up to 10 lbs and grow over 15 inches. The photos below show this 'monster' variety. This one measured 15.5" and weighed in at over 10 lbs.

To serve fresh papaya:

Select a ripe fruit, and cut in half length wise. Inside you will see a center which contains black seeds (some papayas have hundreds while some may only have a few).
Next take a spoon and scoop out the seeds. (Although we have never tried it, it is said that can save the seeds and use as a pepper substitute as they have a distinct black pepper taste - or alternatly if you live in a tropical or subtropical climate you can save the seeds and grow your own papaya)
Finally slice each half lengthwise once again and then use a paring knife to peel away the layer of skin from the fruit.
Now cut in small sections to enjoy.

Scoop out seeds

Cut papaya in half

Cut each half again in half

Cut the skin from each slice

Squeeze some fresh lime juice over the
papaya chunks for additional flavor

Eating papaya plain is very good, but squeezing fresh lime juice over the fruit also provides for a wonderful flavor combination. For breakfast I also enjoy them with vanilla yogurt and a sprinkling of granola.

Nutritionally Papayas pack a real wallop! Bursting with antioxidants such as Vitamin A, C and E, great sources of fiber, folate, potassium and lycopene

Perhaps the best health benefit of Papaya is its digestive enzyme Papain. This is a 'super' enzyme which can digest 200 times its own weight in protein. Papain aids in the breakdown of protein and helps to facilitate quick absorption of nutrients in our body. It also has the ability to dissolve fats, and soothe inflammation in the stomach.

The following link is a great website where you can read much more information on Papayas' MANY health benefits.

Papaya the super fruit

So the next time you see a papaya, think about making this fruit part of your daily diet.

A Mid Summer's Night Bloom

2010-07-12T17:01:00.000-04:00

Epiphylum Oxypetalum or commonly known as Night Blooming Cereus or Dutchman's Pipe Cactus.

This plant is from the cactus family and when not in bloom its gangly sprawling appearance would not even warrant a second look by passersby. However walk by this plant at night when in full bloom and we guarantee you'll want to put this on your must have list.

The plant consists of thin tubular gangly stems from which emerge large wide flat leaves as seen in the photo below to the right.

NBC (Night Blooming Cereus) will usually bloom from late spring to early autumn in our area.

The blooms will start out as small buds forming from the sides of the leaves. (The buds on the photo to the right are about one week old).

The flower buds will emerge in a hanging pattern and in watching the blooms you will notice a pretty significant growth with each passing day.

A couple of days before blooming the buds will begin to turn upright and resemble a Dutch pipe and hence the common name of "Dutch Pipe Cactus"

This photo to the left shows the bloom making the upward turn about 2 days before fully opening.

The next photo below to the right shows the upturned bloom 1 day before fully opening. You can somewhat see the dutch pipe form.

The photo to your left was taken in the late afternoon before blooming. You can see how the bloom is continuing to grow and widen. On the day of the bloom you can see visible changes almost every hour as the bloom continues to open.

The real show however will begin once the sun goes down. The opening of this bloom is very dramatic and will literally happen right before your eyes (so it's most important not to miss it as each bloom only lasts one night).

This photo was taken about 8pm just as the bloom was begining to open

Once this bloom opens you will be rewarded not only with its show stopping beauty but the fragrance is just heavenly. The scent for me is strongly reminiscent of the bushes of peonies which adorned our yard while growing up in the midwest.

The flower will only bloom through the night and by morning it will already be closed and begin its quick demise.

Catching up

2010-06-23T11:51:00.000-04:00

Just this morning I logged on to our blog and can not believe it has been SO long since our last entry! I really don't know where the time goes but I thought I better sit down and do some catching up.

Our winter and spring season at Villa Sevilla were very busy this year and it was great fun meeting many new families, making new friends and even welcoming some of our returning guests.

We've also had a bit of an unusual weather pattern this year. Normally we experience a dry period between Febrauary and April, however this year the dry weather pattern seems to have alluded us. We've had much more rain and have set record high temperatures almost every month since January! This being said there were still many days of sunshine and there always seems to be an abundance of things to do rain or shine. (Not to mention that the ocean temperatures never went below 80 degrees this whole winter!)

Speaking of the wetter and warmer weather, I do have to say that our flowers and plants are really thriving! We have seen such vivid growth and so many beautiful flowers and fruit this spring.

Personally we had several visits from friends and family this winter and spring so actually spent a few days playing tour guide and hanging at the beaches. It's always so nice to see family and friends and now we have these wonderful memories to treasure.

Being business owners and managing Villa Sevilla on our own, we rarely get the opportunity to take vacation or to travel off the island. This year however we decided it was finally time. We partially shut down Villa Sevilla during April/May and spent one month off the island. We had the opportunity to visit family and friends in California, took a few days to visit Las Vegas and Hoover Dam and then enjoyed two weeks of R&R in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. (More on our vacation in an upcoming blog.)

It's always refreshing to take a break and recharge and it really made us realize how important it is to take some time away from work and the stresses of everyday life.

Now however we're back in Puerto Rico, welcoming our summer guests and catching up on a month of work...It's good to be home!

Feliz Navidad Del Campo

2009-12-24T21:24:00.034-04:00

Merry Christmas from the Country

Did you ever wonder what Christmas in Puerto Rico would have been like 40 or 50 years ago?

Well we are going to take a few moments to introduce you to our neighbors the Rios Family. Not much has changed over the years and Christmas is still celebrated here in the Puerto Rican countryside as it was many generations ago .

Even though today the roads are paved and no longer muddy tracks... and you arrive via car instead of oxen cart or horseback (well some still do arrive by horseback)... the menu, and cooking methods of a traditional Christmas meal have remained the same through the years.

The Rios family own a small acreage and family farm in our neighborhood and raise much of their own food including chicken, pigs, rabbit, bananas, bread fruit, plantains, peppers and fruits. Typical homes in the country all have a ranchito or outdoor party area complete with a spit which is used for outdoor cooking and get togethers. A traditional Christmas menu in the country will always include the following:

Lechon Asado (Roasted Pork on a spit), Arroz con Gandules (Rice and Pigeon Peas), Pasteles (The Puerto Rican version of a tamale except instead of masa a mash of plantains or yuca is used and the filling is usually pork. This is wrapped in banana leaves instead of corn husks and boiled), Verdura (which means vegetables, but it is not the typical veggies us North Americans envision, instead Puerto Rican vegetables are usually boiled roots and starches such as yucca, or other roots, green bananas and green plantains), Potato salad (pretty much like the North American version except the Rios family also add crisp apple chunks) and dessert is usually always Arroz con Dulce (sweet rice beautifully seasoned with raisins and cinnamon).

Preparation always begins the day before when a young pig is selected and butchered by the men of the family. After butchering, the hair is completely scraped off; the pig is thoroughly cleansed and seasoned with salt, garlic, and other spices, then wrapped in plastic and set to marinate over night.

The women meanwhile are busy in the kitchen preparing the pasteles and prepping for the other dishes that will be served.

As the afternoon of the celebration approaches, a fire is started below the spit and once a nice bed of coals has formed, the pig is placed on the spit and set down to cook with everyone sharing the duty of turning the spit continuously for about 4 hrs. The green bananas are picked and set to boil... and final preparations are done for the remaining foods.

As evening draws near, family and friends start to arrive, greeting each other with kisses and blessings for a Merry Christmas. Music is playing and delicious aromas are filling the air while everyone waits with anticipation for the feast that is about to be laid out. Soon large pots are placed on the table and the women begin filling the plates...

Rice is cooked and banana leaves are placed

over the top to seal in moisture and flavor

Pasteles Heaping plates of food

The pig is lifted off the spit and placed on a table where Edwin does the honor of carving and dishing out this traditional holiday feast.

A prayer giving thanks for the wonderful feast and gathering of good friends and family is given by Edwin's sister.

The older children begin serving the guests with heaping plates laden with the wonderful food which has been carefully prepared over the past two days.

The pork is so tender juicy and flavorful that it practically melts in your mouth. If you are in Puerto Rico you must try this specialty!

The evening is coming to and end and with bellies full, belt buckles loosened, Christmas music and conversations filling the air everyone gives thanks to the Rios family for allowing them to share in another beautiful traditional dinner en el campo.

Since moving to Puerto Rico in 2004, the Rios family have opened their arms and embraced us as part of their family. Through the years we have watched their teenage sons turn into gracious men now with their own loving families. We have watched their daughters grow from sweet little sisters into beautiful teenage girls. We have welcomed the addition of another generation of Rios' this past year with the birth of their first granddaughter.

Ivy and Edwin Rios

So we just want to take a minute to give our special thanks to the Rios family for allowing us to share in their lives and especially for sharing this magical yearly event that reminds us of the true value of family friends and celebrating the meaning of Christmas together.

Tis the Season

2009-12-18T12:47:00.020-04:00

For us low season typically runs from September through Thanksgiving which coincides with several events such as our peak hurricane season, children returning to school and families shifting back to work and routine schedules after summer break. This usually gives us the opportunity to come up for a breath of air, switch to a slower pace, enjoy a few beach days but most importantly it is also the time when we try to check off some items on our ever growing "to do" list. It might be hard to imagine but our climate is actually very harsh. From constant high humidity, constant warm temperatures, and salty sea breezes everything needs consistent cleaning, maintenance, repair and/or replacement.

With over 100 inches average rainfall the jungle never stops growing and always attempts to reclaim the land we have stolen. A few rainy days and the mildew begins seeking a foothold on sidewalks and houses. Through the months the warmth and humidity begin to destroy paint, metals, and take a toll on all electronics. In a few weeks the salty sea air leaves a stubborn film on the windows and dust begins to settle on all the screens. Besides our usual monthly chores, there are some things that are better done when guests are not present... Power washing sidewalks and paths, washing windows and screens, deep cleaning inside and out, repairing walkways, pruning trees, touching up paint on the houses, re-sealing and painting the pool deck, working on landscape projects, replacing some appliances and bedding, and of course continuing on with our never ending jungle abatement program (this is machete work at its best). Well with most projects finally completed and under our belts, this weekend our slow season will officially come to a close. Tourists have begun flocking to the island to escape the winter blues and enjoy the holidays relaxing among coco palms, warm trade winds and festive island events. With the start of every new season we look forward to embracing our returning guests, catching up on their lives and seeing how their families have grown. It's also a time to welcome and meet our new guests and take the time to introduce them to island life and the many treasures that can be found in Puerto Rico. Most important for us it is also a time to give thanks to the many guests new and returning who have helped to make Villa Sevilla into the success it is today! Thank you everyone

The Gold Star goes to...Carambola

2009-11-18T20:06:00.009-04:00

Carambola is best known to most of us as Star Fruit. The ripened fruit has five points so when cut crosswise, a beautiful star shape results. The tree is native to Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and India but is now cultivated in Asia, the South Pacific, Caribbean, and Florida and Hawaii. The tree is a moderate grower reaching heights of 20-30 ft and grown in tropical and some sub tropical climates. With wide bushy branches and feathery leaf structure and pink flowers the tree itself looks beautiful as a specimen especially as the fruit begins to grow and mature on its branches. The tree at Villa Sevilla bears the most fruit during the months of Oct-Jan.

When ripe the fruit should be a deep yellow/golden color and its ridges firm with a light brown color.

The fruit is moderately firm, slightly juicy with a very mild slightly sweet flavor. It is low in sodium, acid and in sugar (only 30 calories per fruit), high in fiber, Vitamin C, antioxidants and polyphenols.

To eat the fruit, take a paring knife and gently slice off the thin layer of brown skin on the points of each ridge. Slice off the top stem portion and then slice crosswise and remove any seeds. Serve by itself, as topping on a fruit or even a green salad.

The fruits can also be juiced making for a refreshing, healthy and low calorie juice. Either way you slice it Carambola or Star Fruit is a visually appealing, healthy and refreshing fruit and seems to be a favorite of our younger guests. So next time you are at Villa Sevilla you may just find a few "stars" waiting for you.

My Place of Peace

2009-11-13T15:38:00.018-04:00

My feet sink into the warm sand as the sea breeze caresses over me. The sun kisses my skin with warmth while the lapping waves and ocean scents stir something deep inside my soul.

I stand here this morning looking down the length of beach, tall shadows are cast across the sand as the sun is still rising to its zenith. No one else is here. I take a deep breath and I feel like I am seeing the beauty around me for the first time.

The light is perfect, the water incredibly blue and clear. So many beautiful things before me as I take out my camera and begin walking down the beach snapping photos.

A palm tree framed in the blue sky...

Waves lapping the shore...

My husband casting his fishing line...

Small fish hiding

in the tide pools...

A crab peeking between rocks...

Ancient boulders

carved by the power of the ocean...

With each step I walk, each breath I take, each photo I frame, I can feel the stress falling off my shoulders, my feelings of sorrow over the recent loss of a beloved pet settle into a peaceful comfort. My frustrations of the week seem to be pulled out to sea with the waves. I lay in the sand staring up into the blue sky watching the clouds ever changing shape. A Frigate circles high above weaving tighter and tighter patterns in search of a morning meal. I hear the drone of a prop plane over the lap of the waves. My eyes close and I feel the strength of the sun and ocean flow through me.

This is my place of peace.

All of us have a "Place of Peace" and perhaps on your next trip to PR you can also discover yours.

Today we were in Loiza at the beaches of Pinones State Park. Weekends and summer months can be crowded here but during weekdays in the fall, winter and spring you can many times have the beaches all to yourself.

From Rio Grande you would head to and drive west on Rte 187 into Loiza. Look for mile markers on the side of the road. Starting from km 14.5 through 13 you will see groves of palms with inlets to drive into. Just pull into any cove and stake out your perfect spot. On this day we parked at about KM 13.9.

There are no lifeguards or services at these beaches, however closer to KM 14.5 there is a roped off swimming area. As with any beach, pay close attention to waves and tides.

You can pack a cooler and bring your lunch and snacks or head further west on 187 until you run into several kiosks and food stands.

There are many shady spots above the shore so unless you are planning to stay at the roped off beach area (where there is not any shade) an umbrella is not really necessary.

Be sure to bring and apply sunblock and re-apply often (we recommend SPF 30 or over). The sun is very strong especially when in the water.

There are several small reefs and you can find some juvenile fish and small adult fish such as tangs and Sargent Majors along with some small fan and other corals that are beginning to establish.

Below is a short video to enjoy!

2009-10-27T20:39:00.013-04:00

I've tried deep sea fishing twice since living here in Puerto Rico and both times have spent over $500 and come back empty handed, so since our friend Anton (my fishing buddy from CA) was coming to visit, I decided to give Captain Marcos at Light Tackle Paradise a try. Captain Marcos does light tackle, fly fishing and bottom and reef fishing. He has the option of 2 boats. The first is a 22 ft catamaran with twin 85hp engines. Max passengers are 4 and cost is $350 for 4hrs. The second is a larger 26 ft catamaran with twin 115hp engines. Max passengers are 6 and cost is $450 for 4 hrs. Payment is accepted in cash only and if a receipt is needed Captain Marcos will e-mail this to you. The boats have live wells and there is a T-top for some shade. No fishing license is needed, free soda and water are provided along with all fishing equipment and bait. If you want to take any of your catch home, you should bring your own cooler. Beer is not provided so if this is something you want... it is BYOB. (There are no bathrooms on board however, so this is something to keep in mind).

We initially contacted him via phone but he was out fishing with a group and promised to return our call as soon as he came in. True to his word he called back within a few hours.

The day that we were free to go, Captain Marcos was not available and his 22 ft boat was out for maintenance so we arranged an afternoon trip with his co-captain, Captain Juan Carlos Torruella on the 26ft cat. We had a few questions after booking the trip and did send an e-mail which Captain Marcos also promptly replied to and answered all our questions.

Fishing day arrived and we met up with Capt Juan at Puerto Chico Marina, next to Sea Lover's marina in Fajardo. This is a small gated marina with ample space for the parking. The day was beautiful with temperatures in the mid 80's, sunny, with a brisk wind out of the east, some clouds hanging over the mountains and a few distant squalls over the waters.

Once on board, introductions were made, and we were on our way. (Heading out Captain Juan tossed a net into the water and actually caught our bait). Within 10 minutes we were at our first fishing spot and basically stayed in the general area across from the ferry terminal or south of the Isletta Marina condos in Fajardo.

The Fajardo river empties into the bay here and Captain Juan explained that the best time to catch Tarpon is after a heavy rain as they come in to feed on the river runoff entering the bay. He told us a bit about the variety of fish that could be caught and these included, Tarpon, Snook, Bonefish, Permit, Snapper, Jacks, and Kingfish to name a few. Captain Juan is also the editor and contributing photographer for the free local magazine, El Pescador, a publication dedicated to sports fishing around Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. He speaks excellent English and is great resource and experienced fisherman and captain.

Captain Juan baited the lines and we spent the next several hours fishing. We caught and released a Lady Fish, Jack and Yellow Tail, we had a small Tarpon on the line, but that is the one that got away (see video) and brought home a couple of snapper to have for dinner.

All in all it was a great day and much more action and fun then I had the two times we went deep sea fishing.

You can contact Captain Marcos at: 787-646-2585 or via e-mail at: 787fishing@gmail.com

Website is:http://www.worldwidefishing.com/puertorico/b1579/index.html

Passionate for Passion Fruit

2009-10-20T20:21:00.010-04:00

If you've never had Passion Fruit, this is the one thing you just HAVE to try when in Puerto Rico. Also known here as Parcha, you can find Parcha growing at Villa Sevilla and the juice is available in most all stores. If you are at the beach and hear the jingle of an ice cream cart, be sure to ask for the Parcha and you'll be sure to enjoy a heavenly treat. Passiflora Edulis or Passion Fruit is native to South American but is widely grown in tropical and subtropical climates such as India, New Zealand, Australia, Caribbean, Central America, South America, Israel, South and East Africa, Hawaii, Florida and California. Passion Fruit is a woodsy vine that requires a sunny spot and good support. In its natural habitat it will climb trees and it's tendrils cling to branches in the canopy of the tree. It can also be planted to climb along a trellis. The vine will produce for 4-6 years and pruning or cutting back will increase production. The fruit starts out green and will turn yellow and drop from the vine when ripe. There are many varieties but the two we have are about the size of tennis ball or large goose egg. When the skin begins to wrinkle the fruit will usually have achieved the peak of its sweetness. Nutritionally Passion Fruit is high in Vitamin A, Potassium, Fiber and a great source of Vitamin C. Also Passion Fruit contains several phytochemicals including Harman which has blood pressure lowering, sedative and antispasmodic actions. (source: Phytochemicals) The Passion Fruit bloom is one of the most intricate and beautiful I have seen. From the complex and intricate structure of the flower to the beautiful contrast of colors. Spanish missionaries to South America are said to have given it the name 'Passion' because of the religious association reflected in the flower.

The 3 stigmas were said to represent the 3 nails in Jesus' feet and hands

The threads were seen to be the crown of thorns

The vines tendrils were representative of the whips used on Jesus

The 5 anthers represent the five wounds inflicted while on the cross

The ten petal and sepals were said to represent the apostles other then Judas and Peter

Besides the beautiful flower, once you cut open the fruit, the aroma and flavor will excite your senses.

The outside of the fruit is waxy smooth with a tough thick rind. Within the rind is a cavity filled with aromatic membranous yellow to orange colored, juice filled sacs. For me, the flavor is a combination of Guava and Concord or Muscat grape with an acidic quality a bit like a citrus. The easiest way to eat passion fruit is to cut it in half and just spoon out the pulp, however since it is a bit acidic, you can always add a bit of sugar to the pulp before scooping it out. One of our guests added the pulp to her vanilla yogurt every morning which was quite delicious. In doing some research on the uses of the fruit, I came across an article that stated the Australians scoop out the pulp, add sugar to taste and then add a bit of cream. Since I had all the right ingredients I decided to try it. I scooped out the pulp of two fruits, added 2 tsp of Splenda and then 1 Tblsp of cream and placed this in the freezer for about 20 minutes. Wow! This is really really really good! Most locals here collect a bunch of fruit and then scoop out the pulp and strain it to retain the juice then add water and sugar to taste (kind of like making homemade lemonade). Wally has even added passion juice to the summer beer he brews and it has become a fast refreshing summer favorite. Weather it's juice, ice cream, beer, or straight fruit we're sure once you taste this amazing fruit you will also become passionate about passion fruit.

Hidden Treasures

2009-10-05T12:17:00.013-04:00

Breakfast Anyone? Drive down any road or through just about any neighborhood in Puerto Rico and you will see chickens. They are part of life and culture here on the island. When we first moved here I thought it was so "cute" to see a mama hen waddling down the road with 5 or 6 little baby chicks following close behind. Well within a few weeks of moving in, one neighbor showed up with a sack which contained two juvenile hens...soon after another neighbor presented us with a rooster who did not make the cut for for the cock fighting ring (thank goodness) and so our feathered family started. I knew nothing about chickens other then the fact that you can find a carton of eggs in the dairy case and a package of chicken at the meat counter, but with our new feathered family we soon set about on a new learning experience. First off the chickens which you see here on the islands are free range (other then the commercial operations), raised by families for food, eggs, or in the rooster's case to hopefully win money in the cock fighting ring. (Cockfighting is legal in Puerto Rico and there are cockfighting arena's in almost every town. This is such a large part of the Puerto Rican culture that any attempts to ban this by animal rights groups has been immediately shot down with huge outcries of preserving the culture). I don't know the breed of our local chickens, but they are much smaller then the hens and roosters I have seen in the states and they can fly short distances. As a matter of fact in the evenings you will see the chickens and roosters fly up into trees to roost and it's quite a sight to see. As a result of their ability to fly and the fact that they are not sitting in small cages but roam about freely, they have well developed muscles... so when a neighbor invites you over for a chicken dinner, don't expect to find white meat on the platter. Most of the meat is darker in color and more like a pheasant. Our chickens of course are pets but they do have natural predators such as hawks, the Puerto Rican boa, wild dogs, and feral cats will hunt down baby chicks. Since our chickens are free range, it is always a challenge to find their egg laying nests as they are hidden away under bushes and brush. A hen will lay eggs for up to two weeks (usually one per day) at which point she will brood, or sit and incubate the eggs. Fertilized eggs will keep for up to 6-8 weeks as long as they are not incubated. After a hen lays her egg she will come flying out of the nesting area with a very loud cry of triumph. She will continue crying out until all the other hens and roosters gather around and join in her victory song. This is the best hint on where to find the nest. (see video below) One of our hens after laying an egg. These past two weeks we have been lucky enough that two hens have picked a great nesting location which is our planter right outside the kitchen door. Each morning they give their victory cry and I come along behind them and collect the eggs.

The eggs can be colored from a dark brown, to bright white depending on the breed of hen. The ones we are collecting are a light flesh color and medium in size. When the eggs are cracked open you will notice that the yolks are large with a deep yellow color. There are studies that show free range eggs have many more nutritional benefits compared to commercial eggs. Free range eggs may contain: 1/3 less cholesterol 1/4 less fat 2/3 more Vitamin A 2 times more omega 3 fatty acids 3 times more vitamin E 7 times more Beta Carotene (source: Mother Earth News)

Making for a wonderful breakfast in the rainforest!

Holy Guacamole!

2009-10-04T12:12:00.016-04:00

It's avocado season in Puerto Rico! The avocado trees are heavy with fruit gracing us with their delicious bounty. Avocados many times get a bad rap because of their high fat content, however they really are one of the most nutritious fruits and have many wonderful health benefits. Avocados contain mono and poly unsaturated fat which can actually help reduce cholesterol levels overall while also decreasing LDL (bad cholesterol) raising HDL (good cholesterol) and decreasing triglyceride levels. They are rich in minerals such as iron and copper; vitamins such as A and E (antioxidants), C and several of the B complex. Along with this they also contain lutein (helps to maintain healthy eyes) and beta sitosterol, a plant sterol which aids in maintaining healthy cholesterol levels. Avocados are native of Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. While there are over 400 varieties available, the fruits you will find here are fairly large, with smooth skin varying in color from green yellow to deep green. You will find some shaped like large gourds, round like softballs, and most commonly pear shaped. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avocado At this time of year we enjoy avocados with most of our meals. For lunch we'll make wraps using flat bread, low fat turkey, lettuce, tomatoes and several slices of avocado. For a snack we'll make a bowl of fresh guacamole (see recipe below), and for dinner we'll slice up an avocado to enjoy with our grilled chicken or add it to our salad (see recipe below). Fresh Guacamole 2 medium-large avocados 1/2 sweet onion such as Vidalia (minced) 1 bunch of cilantro finely chopped 1-2 Serrano or jalapeno peppers finely chopped Juice of 1 lime Salt to taste Cut avocados in half lengthwise and remove seed. Cut the fruit inside the skin lengthwise and crosswise (making small squares) and then use a tablespoon to scoop the fruit from the skin into a medium bowl. Add onion, peppers, cilantro, salt, and lime juice. Use a large spoon and mix all ingredients together. Garnish with a fresh pepper or sprig of cilantro and serve with tortilla chips. Caribbean Dinner Salad 1-2 hearts of romaine lettuce chopped 1/2 red pepper sliced into thin strips 1/4 red or sweet onion thinly sliced 1/2 mango thinly sliced toasted almond slices 1 avocado sliced Place lettuce in colorful large flat bowl. Arrange sliced peppers, onion, mango, and avocado over top of lettuce and sprinkle with toasted sliced almonds. Serve with dressing such as Poppy Seed, Honey Mustard or Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette.

2009-09-20T19:55:00.008-04:00

September's "What is it"

Monstera Deliciosa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monstera_deliciosa

Believe it or not this strange looking object is actually edible.

The object I am holding is the fruit of the plant Monstera Deliciosa-a member of the philodendron plant family.

This plant is native to tropical climates of Mexico and Central America and is a climbing type of Philodendron attaching to trees or other supports. As the plant attaches and begins to creep upwards it can reach heights of 20m while its leaves are split (hence the common name of Swiss cheese plant) and can reach up to 1m in width.

Once established it will generally take about 3 years for the plant to begin producing fruit and the fruit will take an additional year to ripen into the edible fruit pictured in the main photo.

(fruit ripening on the plant)

The elongated fruit resembles an ear of corn lined with hexagonal scales which will pop off as the fruit ripens.

WARNING: Do not eat the fruit unless the hexagonal scales have popped off. The immature fruit contains a very high amount of oxalic acid which will cause severe throat irritation and swelling of mucus membranes. (Okay I did this the first year we were here and while not horrible, it was not a pleasant experience)

(the edible fruit is the creamy colored flesh under the hexagonal scales which will pop off when the fruit is safe to eat)

In the photo to the (above) you can see the scales popping off where the fruit is ripe. If you notice the small black seeds on the scales, these also contain oxalic acid (the same is found in kiwis, and berries).

At our house, we wait until the fruit falls off from the plant and then collect it and place it in a paper bag for a few days until all the scales have come off. Alternately I have read that you can place the base of the fruit standing in a container of water and leave it in a dark place for a few days to ripen.

When ready you can just cut away the fleshy creamy colored fruit from the core and you will have a surprisingly sweet pineapple banana flavor.

Who says Puerto Rico mainland beaches are crowded?

2009-09-02T19:02:00.017-04:00

It's September and a calm has descended on the island. The kids are back to school, parents are back to work, and tourism is virtually at a standstill. While not great for business it certainly gives us the chance to catch up on projects, do our fall maintenance and most of all take a few days off to enjoy the island and remember why we moved here in the first place.

The summer months in Puerto Rico can be crazy busy especially for coastal towns and beaches. Our local families have multiple holidays during the summer months so many combine these to take extended vacations enjoying time on our beautiful beaches. Besides this we have many Puerto Rican families who have settled stateside and come in the summer months to visit their family here on the island, add to this all the families who can only take vacation when school is out and life here on the island can get pretty congested and crazy in the summer.

When we traveled we always tried to go during the fall months which for many destinations is considered "low season". The majority of destinations are less crowded and prices are usually at their lowest making it not only economical but so much more relaxing and fun.

Today we decided to take a day off and head to the beach and we'll show you why the fall months are the perfect time to come to Puerto Rico!

Our destination for the day were two little known beaches. Access is achieved by going to Seven Seas beach in Fajardo, walking to the end of the beach area (when facing the water walk to your left) and then hiking about 20 minutes on a back trail.

When you arrive to the end of the sandy beach area at Seven Seas beach you will have two choices. If the tide is out you will see an outcropping of rocks ahead of you. Just walk to that area and around the point where you will connect to the hidden beach trail (this is the shorter way and will cut about 5 minutes off your walk). If the tide is in and the water is high, just walk to the end of the sandy beach area and to your left you will see a small trail between the trees. You will then come to a "T" and you want to go right. Follow this trail through the dry forest and it will connect to the beach trail. Arriving to the beach trail you will come to a "Y" with trail markers showing you the way to both Playa Colora or to Playa Escondida.

If you take the right "Y" you'll walk about five minutes and arrive at Colora.

This beach is a beautiful crescent shape with several rocky outcroppings where you can tuck yourself into a cozy and shady nook. There is no protective reef so you can definitely hear the surf as it rolls onto the beach and it is very reminiscent of some Pacific coast beaches (although the water is about 25-30 degrees warmer). When walking to this beach someone had written "Playa Colorada nude beach" on a sign. While nude sunbathing is not allowed in PR, I suppose on a day like today no one would be around to care. The waves were strong the day we were here so we did not swim.

Now heading back to the "Y", if you take the left branch of the "Y", you will walk about 10 minutes along mangroves and dry forest and arrive to Playa Escondida.

This is a beautiful large beach protected by several reefs. The day we were here the water was very calm and clear so perfect for swimming, snorkeling, and small children to play in the warm tide pools near shore. Not only this but you will also have a picture perfect back drop of El Yunque's peak and mountain ranges.

The beach is lined with sea grapes and other vegetation and until about 1pm you can find several shady areas. (After this time the sun heads west eliminating the shade).

The waters here are very clear on calm days and several old reefs have formed large tide pools where the water is shallow, very warm and wonderful for young children to play. If you want to snorkel in the shallow reef areas you will find several varieties of colorful juvenile fish such as Tangs, Sergent Major, and Yellow fin to name a few. If you swim out a bit and follow the turtle grass the bottom will drop out to between 10-15 ft and you can follow along a reef in this area. There are no corals, but today I did see several large Parrot fish, Tangs, Yellow fin, along with more juveniles. There was a bit of current in this area so only snorkel here if you are experienced and comfortable in the water.

***I also want to mention that although on the day we were here the waters were very calm, this area has posted signs which state "no swimming". There are times when we can recieve northerly swells making for large waves, dangerous undertows and strong rip currents. There are NO lifegaurds on duty at these beaches. As with any beach always check local weather conditions for these events and use caution and enter the water slowly.

This was our only company today at these beautiful beaches, so we hope we have convinced you to visit Puerto Rico during the "Quiet Time" ...But just in case you need a bit more convincing... below are two short videos of these beaches...

Playa Colora....

Playa Escondida

***Even during busy times on the island, many people both local and visitors do not know about these beaches, add to this the effort it takes to carry your gear and walk 20 minutes to reach the beach and for many this is just too much effot, so in reality both of these beaches will be fairly deserted at anytime (however all bets are off on summer weekends and summer local holidays and we personally avoid all beaches in Puerto Rico during these times)

What is it?

2009-08-17T15:42:00.008-04:00

This odd looking but beautifully colored object is actually a delicious fruit called Rambutan Rambutan is native to Indonesia and SE Asia however it has been introduced and is doing well in other tropical regions such as Hawaii, Central and South American and also right here in Puerto Rico. While we do not yet have any mature trees at Villa Sevilla, this year we saw the fruit readily available in season at such stores as Sam's Club, and Super Walmart. The tree bears fruit twice per year, usually in early winter and late summer. The fruit is clusted on pendulant stems containing between 10-20 fruits each. The evergreen Rambutan tree with its brightly colored fruit clusters makes for a lovely specimen and show piece in any tropical garden. Rambutan is a good source of vitamin C, calcium, niacin, iron and fiber and contains around 60 calories per fruit. While it is an exotic looking fruit, don't be afraid to try it! I use a paring knife to score the upper 1/3 of the fruit and then just pop off this "scored cap". You can then peel the remaining rind like you would an orange or use a small spoon to scoop out the fruit. The fruit is a translucent white color and is the texture of a peeled grape with a wonderful sweetness. There is a medium sized single seed in the center so you can use a paring knife to clean the fruit off the seed or my favorite way to eat them is to just pop them into my mouth and eat the fruit right off the seed. All these photos and talk have left me craving more of this fruit's wonderful sweet taste, so I'll be out on the veranda enjoying a few more of these exotic treasures!

You're on island time, so always be prepared with PLAN B

2009-07-16T09:55:00.009-04:00

I know its vacation time and while many of us are lucky to get a week or two a year to escape; the tendency is to want to pack all kinds of things into this short time. Just try to keep in mind what it was you were trying to get away from and try to remember what a vacation is supposed to be all about. Sometimes the hardest thing to overcome (especially if traveling outside the continental US) is trying NOT to assimilate our own belief, culture or ideals of ‘the way things are or should be done’ from our own cities states or countries. It’s important to remember that we are the visitors. It is best to go in with an open mind and use the opportunity to observe and accept and learn from the way things are where we are visiting. Recently we wanted to take the passenger ferry over to Culebra. Even though the recommendation is to arrive an hour ahead of time to purchase tickets, we knew it was summer and would more then likely be busy so we gave ourselves 1.5 hrs. Arriving at the ferry terminal we noticed that the parking lot was almost full and knew we were probably in trouble. Approaching the ticket windows, we saw the line snaking down the block, around the corner, and halfway down the next block. We decided to be optimistic and lined up regardless. However after standing in the brutal hot sun for over 45 minutes and moving only about 20 feet in line our neighbor who was with us decided to push her way up to the ticket window to see if any tickets for the 9am ferry were even available. Well the 9am ferry was sold out however no announcements were ever made and any announcements that were made were only in Spanish. Okay to plan B…Since we had coolers packed, beach gear with us, we just decided to go to Seven Seas Beach.

What a great choice it was. Swimming, hiking, playing in the water, some snorkeling and even a nice siesta…

This is what living on an island is all about…PLAN B

2009-06-26T21:11:00.006-04:00

What Happened to the View?

Waking up this morning it reminded me of the day two years ago that we landed in San Diego for our first vacation. That day two years ago happened to be the peak of the fires in San Diego and LA County when so many persons were mandated to evacuate their homes and so many homes were lost. Well in our case the poor visibility this morning was not due to fires but to a Saharan Air Layer. That’s right dust from the Sahara desert all the way from Africa! Dust storms from hot arid conditions along with convection in the Sahara can cause mineral dust (composed mainly of oxides and carbonates) to rise. Riding on the warm air currents the dust can rise up to 15, 000 feet into the atmosphere above the Sahara. From here the dust hitches a ride on the tropical trade wind flow and is carried for thousands of kilometers over the Atlantic, Caribbean, Central and South America and can even flow all the way to Florida. It is believed that poor farming methods and droughts in Africa since the 1970’s have caused an increase in this phenomenon. It is now estimated that between 60-200 million tons of dust per year come from the Sahara. So besides obstructing my normally beautiful view, what are some of the other effects of this African dust?

Poor Air Quality- may cause an increase in respiratory symptoms such as asthma
Decreased Visibility- may cause flight delays into the area.
Coral Damage – The Saharan dust also carries the fungus Aspergillus sydowii which causes a fungal disease in coral sea fans. It is also theorized that the dust contains nutrients such as iron and nitrates which causes an over population of macro algae or phytoplankton which can cause red tides. The dust may also contain organic pollutants such as pesticides from farming.

Well can any good come from these days of “Saharan Air”? If you can believe it the answer is “Yes”.

Hurricane Suppression- The dust layer basically acts in three ways.

The air mass which carries the dust is usually up to 50% drier than warm ocean air. This dry air helps to create a very strong wind shear which basically takes the top off of any developing storms.
Because of the huge number of particles in this dust layer, no one particle can absorb enough water to actually form a water droplet.
The dust particles absorb solar energy which causes further heating of the air. This layer of very warm air basically forms a barrier not allowing the moist ocean air to rise and in effect putting a lid on any storm formation. So although I may not have an incredible view, I am happy that the dust is here during hurricane season!

This photo shows the view of El Toro peak from our house on 6/25

This photo is the same view today on 6/26

For a satellite view of the Sahara Layer you can follow this link: http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/real-time/wavetrak/winds/m8g10split.html

Exploring some beaches in Fajardo

2009-06-18T19:44:00.018-04:00

With all our guests tucked in, errands and housework done, sun shining brightly, we decided to spend a few hours at Seven Seas Beach in Fajardo.

It has been a while since we have been here so we were pleasantly surprised to see that some improvements have been made and that they have actually achieved a Blue Flag Beach designation.

Blue Flag designation: The award of a Blue Flag beach is based on compliance with 29 criteria covering the aspects of:

1) Environmental Education and Information

2) Water Quality

3) Environmental Management

4) Safety and Services

We found informative signage and billboards, recycling areas, painted life guard towers and the most notable improvement was to their restroom facilities (although not great believe me they were a great improvement over past years). We did not however see any open food or drink vendors on our visit although there is supposed to be a restaurant which serves drinks and the usual Puerto Rican fast food specialties. At any rate we usually pack a cooler with sandwiches, snacks and drinks so we were good to go. The beach area is much smaller than Luquillo but is lined with both palm trees and pines all along the beach so there are plenty of shady spots to set up for the day.

As part of the environmental management strategy, Blue Flag beaches are to leave any algae or other vegetation to decay naturally on the beach.

While we did not notice any algae or sea grass, there are pine needles and small pine cones under the trees but it is no big deal. The beach is protected by a large reef so the waters are calm and perfect for kids or persons who would like to try and become comfortable snorkeling their first few times. It is also said on a clear sunny day you can see seven different hues of blue/green in the waters (thus the name Seven Seas) and I think today this was true.

After a nice swim and about an hour of soaking up the sun while reading a book, we noticed a bus load of school children arrive down the beach. Well not ones to sit idle for too long we decided it would be a great time to hike to Playa Colora and Playa Escondida. (If you are facing the water, walk to the end of the beach on your left and you will come to the trail head).

Taking a nice walk through a mangrove path the trail comes to a “T”. If you go right you will go to Playa Colora and continuing straight will take you to Playa Escondida.

We took a right and headed to Playa Colora first.

As the mangroves opened up in front of us we were rewarded by a beautiful empty strand of beach flanked by large boulders.

We were into the beautiful water for another quick swim to cool off and then spent a bit of time soaking up the solitude, while listening to the distant call of a mangrove cuckoo.

Well time to explore Playa Escondida, so back to the trail and to the “hidden” beach. On this trail we encountered several iguanas soaking up some rays but other then this we were the only ones here. Coming out of the mangroves we were again amazed and this wonderful deserted beach waiting to be explored. Here you can walk right out onto a reef so I donned my mask and snorkel and went exploring. At this reef I encountered a cute school of squid, juvenile tangs, and a variety of other small to medium sized fish along many small conchs.

After about an hour here we reluctantly decided to make our way back to Seven Seas, but both of these beaches are a wonderful hidden surprise. Anyone who doesn't mind a bit of a hike and who would like to get away from the traditional beach of Seven Seas, these two beaches are great options as most folks will not hike the 20-25 minutes to reach them and many folks do not even know they exist. (Sssshhhh…keep the secret).

All in all another great day at another great beach here on the Eastern side of the island.

Seven Seas Beach is managed by the Park Service and is a blue flag designated beach
Entrance fee for Parking is $4
The restaurant can be hit or miss so it may be easiest to just pack a cooler with food drinks and snacks
Carry some TP with you as even though the restroom facilities have improved the chance of actually finding TP stocked is pretty slim
If hiking to Playa Colora or Playa Escondido be sure to wear plenty of sunscreen and take some water to drink. This is an easy walk but will take about 20-25 minutes.
In the off season months (Sept-April) most beaches will have very few people. In summer months many local families also enjoy the beaches together and especially so on weekends. We recommend going early morning during the summer months and avoiding weekends if you don't like crowds.
There are no vendors with chairs or umbrellas so bring beach towels and chairs to sit on

2009-06-14T15:33:00.012-04:00

Part 6: Final Day at Luquillo Beach Some of our recent guests (Heather, Amanda, Shad, and David) were gracious enough to allow us to tag along and document a few of their adventures while staying at Villa Sevilla. This is part Six of our series and we hope you'll follow along with us and enjoy their journey! We arrived at Villa Sevilla this morning to check in on our guests and something was missing. Instead of the excited chatter of daily plans, we saw suitcases out being packed along with some pretty sad faces. “We’re not ready to go back home” was the sentiment echoed by both Amanda and Heather as they organized piles of clothes on their beds. In order to refocus their thoughts Wally asked what the plans would be for their last day. “I don’t know; we want to keep it low key, relax, but we also want to get in one last day of sun.” replied Heather Wally and I looked at each other and smiled as we said “We know the perfect place” and suggested they pack a cooler and head to Luquillo Beach. The smiles and chatter return as everyone organizes themselves making sandwiches, and filling the cooler with water, soda, beer and snacks and soon the cars are packed with beach chairs, coolers, towels, sunscreen, and books to read as we head down the mountain to Luquillo Beach.

Today there is not much traffic and we make it to the entrance at Balneario Montserrat or as commonly called, Luquillo Beach in under 25 minutes. We pay our $4 entrance fee and pull ahead to the parking area which at this time of day (10AM) only has about 10 other cars. Parking under a shady tree I tell everyone about a new service at the beach called Transporte Playero where a representative will meet you at your car in a large golf cart, load you and your gear and drive you to any area on the beach which you prefer. I call the number for transport and in less then a minute we are greeted by the warm smile of Julia who is the driver today. Loaded up we decide to make camp on the northern side of the beach near lifeguard tower #4. Julia asks if we need any beach chaises or umbrellas and promptly uses her walkie talkie to call over to the vendor and tell him our location.

Now with coolers, chairs, chaises, umbrella books, and towels organized at camp everyone heads to the water for a refreshing swim. Today the water is calm as a lake and just the perfect temperature to calm the suns heat. The rest of the day is spent sipping cold Medallas and slushy Pina Coladas, while reading, napping, swimming, eating, talking and reminiscing about the weeks adventures. The sun is getting lower on the horizon as the day seems to have quickly slipped by. Although trying to put it off; it’s time to pack up gear and head back to Villa Sevilla. Once again our guests agree that a day spent at Luquillo Beach was the perfect way to recharge and a great ending to a perfect week of vacation in Puerto Rico.

Luquillo Beach is a mile long crescent shaped strip of beautiful sandy beach which at one time was a coconut plantation. This beach is a Blue Flag designated beach and is maintained by the Park Service. There are lots of shady palms along the beach along with food and drink kiosks, souvenir shop, showers and dressing rooms. *Note: Many people enter the beach behind the kiosks and think that this is the famous Luquillo beach which is a big mistake and hugely disappointing. The Luquillo beach which everyone talks about is properly called Balneario Montserrat and located at the first exit PAST the kiosks when heading east.
Parking at the beach is $3-$4 and you can enter and exit the beach at anytime during the day provided you show your parking ticket.
If you would like assistance transporting your gear or if someone in your group is not able to walk longer distances you can call Julia at Transporte Playero at 787-461-6014 (Julia) or 787-344-2967. In the summer months of June – August Julia is available 7 days a week from 9am-5pm and during off season Wed-Sun from 9am-5pm. The cost is $1 per person (min $3) and we usually give a small tip of $1-$2.
Chaises can be rented for $5 and large patio size beach umbrellas for $10

Day 5: A day on an uninhabited island

2009-06-07T19:22:00.017-04:00

Some of our recent guests (Heather, Amanda, Shad, and David) were gracious enough to allow us to tag along and document a few of their adventures while staying at Villa Sevilla. This is part Five of our series and we hope you'll follow along with us and enjoy their journey! After a great day on the water with Erin Go Bragh everyone decided it would be great to spend another day out on the water or beach. We suggested that our guests contact Captain Mingo. Captain Mingo is a licensed captain and with his boat ‘Punta Brava’ he is able to take guests to the outlying island cays off the east coast of PR. He can drop you off and pick you up at a predetermined time or he can also stay with you while you snorkel at different spots around the outlying islands. The call was made and a 9:00 am meeting time at Las Croabas in Fajardo was arranged. 9:00 AM – We were at the pier loaded down with cooler, fishing pole, beach towels, sunscreen, umbrella and beach chairs just as Captain Mingo pulled up to the parking area. A friendly introduction and soon he was loading all our gear into the ‘Punta Brava’. He then helped all of us into the boat, and settled us in, gave us a short safety speech, programmed our cell number into his phone and off we went. Our destination for the day was Icacos Island and we were there in less then 20 minutes. As we off loaded all our gear Captain Mingo pointed out the reefs for snorkeling, and pointed out several spots where we could make camp. Our pickup time of 1:30pm was set, and Captain Mingo handed us a bag of delicious pineapple mangos which he just picked that morning! With a friendly smile, a warning to apply our sunscreen, and a friendly wave we were now alone on the island. With a bit of cloud cover overhead we all set up our camp for the day and while several of us decided it would be a great time to relax and read, David and Wally decided to explore the island. On the NW side of the island Wally and David discovered bird nests, hermit crabs, and other interesting marine life, while on the eastern tip of the island they discovered a graveyard of harvested conch shells. Back at camp, the clouds cleared, the sun was shining brightly and the waters were an intense postcard blue. We decided it was time for a swim just as we noticed all the catamarans headed toward us at Icacos . So much for our deserted island, but even with three catamarans in there was still plenty of space to feel fairly isolated and for our guests to have some fun. The rest of the morning/afternoon was spent swimming exploring, enjoying lunch and even a short siesta on our little piece of paradise. Shortly we noticed Captain Mingo and his yellow boat approaching and we couldn’t believe how quickly the time had gone by. Loaded up and talking about our great day we only wished it did not have to come to an end.

To contact Captain Mingo for a price quote call 787-383-6509
Prices vary depending on number of persons and level of service (drop off or snorkel tour)
The islands are uninhabited so be sure to bring beverages, snacks, lunch, plenty of sunscreen and an umbrella or extra t-shirt as the sun can be brutal and there is very little shade
Bring your cell phone and be sure you have programmed Captain Mingo’s number into your phone in case you need to contact him before your pre-arranged pick up time.

Day #4 - Sailing aboard Erin Go Bragh III

2009-06-03T21:42:00.023-04:00

Some of our recent guests (Heather, Amanda, Shad, David, Tina and Paul) were gracious enough to allow us to tag along and document a few of their adventures while staying at Villa Sevilla. This is part Four of the series and we hope you'll follow along with us and enjoy their journey! Up for a sailing adventure offering a more intimate experience the hands down choice was Erin Go Bragh III.

Leaving Puerto Del Rey Marina about 9:30 AM the new Captain Bill effortlessly maneuvered the 50 ft ketch out of the slip and we were soon on our way. This was to be the maiden voyage for EGB with a new captain at her helm and ironically our new captain is also a Captain Bill. Ingrid as always is a great first mate, going over safety instructions, and settling everyone in with cool drinks to enjoy and fun conversation about the island, marine life and life on a boat. Out of the marina and past the breakwaters, the head sail, mizzen and main sail go up. The engine is turned off and we are lulled by the whisper of winds in the sails and swoosh of the water as EGB III cuts through the waves. Soon we are sailing past the El Conquistador at the eastern tip of the mainland and coming up on Cayo Ramos. We sway to Jimmy Buffet’s ‘Cheeseburgers in Paradise’ coming through the on deck speakers and it sets the mood for the day.

The sun is burning through the high clouds as we approach Cayo Lobos which will be our first stop for the day. Stretching out on deck and soaking in the sun while listening to great music; no one can imagine a more perfect day.

Once at Cayo Lobos, we catch a mooring and soon Ingrid puts out bowls of fresh pico de gallo, mango salsa, hummus and chips for a pre snorkel snack. We devour these yummy snacks as though we have not eaten in a week when Ingrid announces that the snorkel gear is ready for us. She has even prepared zip lock baggies of bread for us to feed to the fish. Like follow the leader we all jump off the side of the boat into the amazingly clear water and head toward the reef.

The reef at Cayo Lobos is fairly extensive and in pretty good shape. We swim toward the reef and in no time we have a school of yellow fin tunas swimming with us. As we start dropping bread in the water we are soon surrounded by a colorful display of fish nibbling out of our hands. We see finger corals, fan corals, brain coral, sergeant majors, blue tangs, damsels, trumpet fish, parrot fish, yellow tail tuna, and squirrel fish to name a few. We spend almost 90 minutes snorkeling among the reefs and reluctantly decide to head back in.

Approaching the boat we are drawn by the incredible aroma of food cooking on the grill and Bob Marley playing in the background. We excitedly tell Ingrid about all that we have seen while she sets out heaping plates of food. For today’s menu we have pork veggie and tofu kabobs, tabouli, oriental salad and the local pan de agua. After clearing dishes with bellies full, the sun shining on us and the gentle rocking of the boat we are all lulled into a prone position on deck

while Capt Bill and Ingrid hoist sails and begin heading to our next destination.

“Oh my gosh” Heather shouts

as we approach the tiny sliver of Palomonito Island.

The incredible clear aquamarine waters are contrasting beautifully with the white sand beach framing a scene that is post card perfect.

Cameras come out and picture after picture is being snapped along with excited chatter from all aboard. Amanda thinks she has gone to heaven and Shad and David both agree that nothing could be more perfect as the sun's position in the sky just serves to highlight the amazing colors around us.

We all swim to shore of this beautiful little cay, and enjoy about an hour of swimming in the amazing waters and playing on the white sand beach. Our signal to board comes and we reluctantly swim back to EGB to complete our amazing day with a final sail back to Puerto Del Rey.

The end to another great day and so far everyone agrees this has been the #1 activity and truly a day to remember for a lifetime

If you would like to enjoy a sail and snorkel trip aboard Erin Go Bragh you can contact them through their website at http://www.egbc.net/

Day 3 : Around Villa Sevilla

2009-05-31T09:01:00.015-04:00

10:00 AM Today as our guests awoke, they could see thunder clouds building along the coast and over the mountain so they decided it would be a perfect day to just hang out, read a book, take a siesta and just take a day to relax. It was a peaceful morning enjoying the sound of the rain and far off grumbles of thunder along with a magnificent show of lightening over the waters of the Atlantic. 2:00 PM-By early afternoon the gray skies still hold but the rain and thunder have moved to the western side of the island. Shad decides it would be a great time to take a hike and explore the rivers and waterfalls at the end of our road. He gathers the troops and armed with hiking sticks and good walking shoes they head down to the end of the road and find the undeveloped trail that leads down to the river. After hiking about 4 minutes they can hear the river but a tree has fallen and is blocking the path. ‘No worries’ Wally says as he runs home for the chain saw and machete. Wally, David and Shad make quick work of the tree and soon everyone is at the river. There is a large pool at the end of the trail and you can see and hear the rush of water from the waterfalls that are both above and below this pool. Exploring the waters, climbing the rocks and having a few laughs the afternoon has slipped by. Emerging from the canopy of the trail our guests run into Tina and Paul who are also guests staying at Villa Escondido. After chatting for a few minutes, plans are made to all meet at the pool for an impromptu BBQ and swim. 5:30 PM – The sun is peaking out as it begins to set in the sky. A melody of salsa music wafts down to the pool area where everyone is gathered together talking about their adventures, swimming in the pool and enjoying a few cold cervezas. Shad and David fire up the grill and soon everyone’s stomach is growling as the delicious aroma of burgers cooking on the grill begins to fill the air. The girls are moving around like busy bees and magically a table is set out with bowls of delicious offerings. Potato salad, Cole slaw, macaroni salad, green salad, salsa, chips, buns, condiments and drinks it all looks incredibly good. Everyone gathers around the table and soon it becomes very quiet as plates fill and everyone enjoys the delicious offerings. 8:00 PM – Belly’s full, dishes cleared and drinks out, everyone settles back around the pool for a few laughs and good conversations as they all agree that it is another end to a perfect day.

Day 2: Old San Juan

2009-05-30T22:31:00.039-04:00

Some of our recent guests (Heather, Amanda, Shad, David, Tina and Paul) were gracious enough to allow us to tag along and document a few of their adventures while staying at Villa Sevilla. We hope you'll follow along with us and enjoy their journey! Today our guests have decided to get an early start and head to Old San Juan for the day so take a few moments come along and enjoy the day.

11:35 AM – After a 40 minute drive (today it is a holiday so there was very little traffic) we arrive in Old San Juan and park at the Don Fela parking lot near the cruise ship terminals on Comercio Street. (There are 3 parking garages located in this area which are both convenient and reasonably priced. Since the streets of OSJ are very narrow and parking is almost impossible to find your best bet is to utilize one of these garages for parking). Just across the street from the parking lot our guests spot a Starbucks and decide a frappacino would be a great way to start out the day while David notices a tent set up in the square where a local gentleman is hand rolling cigars.

Drinks in hand, cigars purchased and storm clouds approaching they briefly stop to pose in front of Plaza de Colon for a quick photo before heading one block up to San Cristobal Fort. (San Cristobal Fort is not as publicized as El Morro, however it really should not be missed as they have some wonderful displays and exhibits.)

11:50 AM - Once at the fort admission tickets are purchased to both forts for $5 per person (individual tickets to each fort are $3 per person so if you plan to tour both El Morro and San Cristobal this is the better way to go). The park ranger tells us that there will be a ranger talk in 10 minutes and we decide this would be a great way to get some background information and history. (The interpretive talks are offered at the top of every hour.)

12:00 PM – Just as the skies decide to open up with a torrential tropical downpour our park ranger shuffles everyone into one of the nearby rooms to begin the short 15 minute interpretive talk. We learn a good deal of history, along with some great background information on San Cristobal and she suggests the best way to go about our walking tour.

1:00 PM – Looking at all the exhibits, checking out each level of the fort, and after several photos the rain has finally calmed into a gentle drizzle as we exit San Cristobal. There is a free shuttle in Old San Juan which stops at all of the main attractions however all of the trolleys are bulging with tourists trying to stay dry so we make a group decision to chance the rain and start the ¾ mile walk over to El Morro.

1:15 – A bit damp but still in good spirits the sun starts to peek out just as we arrive to Plaza del Cuartel de Ballaja in front of the large lawns and walkway heading into El Morro. We can now see the steam rising off the streets and it feels as though the temperature has just risen 20 degrees while the humidity is thick enough to cut with a knife. Over our shoulders we hear the gentle jingle of bells and Amanda spots a friendly smile from a gentleman standing behind an ice cream cart. He beckons us to come over and enjoy a cool treat while taking a rest under the welcome shade of his umbrella. With cups of coco, parcha and arceola ice cream we enjoy our refreshing treat while chatting to the friendly vendor.

1:40 PM – We’ve walked up the long walkway and are standing inside El Morro. Everyone is heading in different directions as they are awed by the sheer size of this fort.

We explore every level of this massive fort while imagining the lives of the men who spent their time here hundreds of years ago. The clouds continue to clear and a great breeze begins to take away the humidity while everyone gathers for some great photos at their favorite spots.

3:00 PM - Walking into the city David spots Nono’s Bar near Plaza San Jose and decides we should all stop in so he can by us a round of refreshing drinks. After ice cold cervezas and creamy Pina coladas we are all refreshed and ready to continue our day.

3:45 PM – We find ourselves in front of El Convento Hotel and everyone wants to take a peek inside of this famous hotel and landmark. Walking across the black and white checkered floors, everyone is wowed by the ornate woodwork, antiques, and absolutely charming courtyard.

After a brief tour we head out and continue down Recinto Street which is shaded by a beautiful giant old ficus tree. We admire all the colorful charming buildings flanked by swaying palms and balconies overflowing with colorful plants. It's fun to envision what it would be like living in one of the lovely apartments, imagining what they might look like inside and imagining the history of the people who lived within their walls over the years.

4:15 PM – We arrive at a set of huge wooden doors, Puerta de San Juan, which were one of the seven entrances to the inside of the old city. As Heather poses for a photo we get a great perspective of the size of these beautiful wooden doors.

We continue our walk along Paseo de la Princesa

and come to the beautiful La Princesa fountain where Heather Amanda and Shad pose for another fun photo.

It is here where we are fortunate enough to run into the amazing photo exhibit “The Earth from Above” by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. We spend several reflective moments walking through and admiring the hundreds of amazing photos.

5:15 PM – We find ourselves on Recinto Sur in front of Old Harbor Brewery and our guests decide it’s time to refuel and stop in for a brew and appetizers. We are greeted by a friendly hostess who promptly seats us within the cool welcoming interior. Everyone orders the beer sampler which includes 4 ounces of each of their 5 current brews along with several appetizers to share such as salmon ceviche, cheese pizza, sausage and kraut sampler, hummus, calamari rings, and tomato mozzarella salad. After much deliberation it is unanimous that Old Harbor Brew Pale Ale is the taste test winner of the five sampled brews and all of our appetizer choices were extremely tasty and hit the spot.

6:30 PM – Exiting the brewery we find the streets filling up with tourists and notice that a Carnival cruise ship is now in port. With belly’s full and feet starting to drag everyone decides it is the perfect time to call it a day and head back to Villa Sevilla to relax around the pool. Everyone agrees that it was another great day in Puerto Rico!

Day 1 as guests at Villa Sevilla

2009-05-26T14:13:00.033-04:00

Day 1: Surfing

The guests are up early and heading to La Pared beach in Luquillo where they will meet a local surf instructor, (Bob Roberts) for their very first lesson. Many visitors associate surfing with the west side town of Rincon, however the east side of the island also has several surfing beaches many of which are great for beginners just starting out or intermediate surfers who want to hone their skills. La Pared is located near the town square in Luquillo and is great for beginners as this is one of the only sand bottom surf areas allowing surfers to concentrate on their new skills without having to worry about rocks or reefs. The water is also only chest high allowing Bob easy one to one access with all surfers once in the water.

8AM-Everyone's on the beach. The first 30 minutes of lessons are dedicated to instruction on safety, and learning the basic surf positions. While watching someone surf seems easy, we could see everyone was getting a great workout.

8:35 AM- The land portion of the instruction is over and the group heads to the water 8:50- They are only in the water a few minutes yet the first surfer is already up! Watch the short video... 9:15 - Shortly after they are all getting up and soon everyone is surfing!

10:20- Everyone is getting tired but all agree that they have had the best time and that they may even be up for another lesson before the week is over.

11:35- Storm clouds start rolling in and everyone's hungry so off to the Luquillo kiosks for lunch.

If you've never heard of the Luquillo kiosks, you need to make sure your trip to Puerto Rico includes a stop at one of the 60 yummy dining options within this block long stretch of eateries. Today the gang decided to head to #35 Capone's pizza which just opened last week.

What can be a better ending after a fun day in the sun then making a splash around the pool at Villa Sevilla

If you're staying on the east side of the island and want to try surf lessons you can contact Bob Roberts, a NSSIA certified instructor at 787-435-1760. Lessons are $60 per person.

If you're craving pizza with some atmosphere, head to the Luquillo kiosks on Rd #3 just before the entrance to Luquillo beach. Capone's Pizza is located at #35. Pizzas run from $8-$23

If you're looking for a great place to stay away from the usual tourist areas, consider Villa Sevilla Guest House and Vacation Rentals. Private fully furnished homes apartments and cottage starting at $125 per night. 787-887-5889

Showers bring Flowers

2009-05-15T11:15:00.015-04:00

While I may not LOVE the rain, this is truly the time of year when the island comes alive with the lushest shades of green intertwined with rainbows of colors from the many flowering trees and plants. It's a great time to take a drive through the countryside and experience this beautiful palette.

The Frangapini or Plumeria (shown left) have now grown their new leaves and are bursting with so many colorful and highly fragrant blooms. They range in colors from pink, pale yellow, red, and everywhere in between.

The Ylang Ylang trees are also blooming and every evening as the breezes stir their limbs their sweet fragrance fills our home.

While most tropical flowers do not have fragrances, the white ginger (pictured right) is the exception. It's sweet exotic fragrance reminds me of Gardenia.

Besides these fragrant bloomers color bursts from some of our other lovely tropicals which are pictured below:

Beehive Ginger and Bougainvillea

Lobster Claw Heliconias

Besides the beautiful trees, flowers, shrubs, and plants, the rainy season is also a perfect time to see the many island waterfalls in all of their majestic glory.

So if you are in Puerto Rico and it's raining; Don't despair... just pack a cooler hop in your car and take a leisurely drive through the countryside. If your not up for a drive, grab an umbrella and just take a walk through a forest or stroll through the gardens of where you are staying. We promise you will be rewarded with many beautiful photos and memories.