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Feb. 13 – Cañon Blanco

By on February 14, 2023 in The Pearl
“Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the journey.” -Babs Hoffman 
There’s a saying that the journey is better than the destination or something like that. Our true adventure today was getting to the destination. If you travel to Puerto Rico I suggest not counting on Google to get you where you want to go. Yesterday and today it took us on some pretty out of the way roads that ended up at a dead end or turned into a river bottom. We could see we were so close but we just couldn’t get there. If Stan hadn’t been so determined to find our intended destination I would have given up and gone home. Some of the roads were a little scary. We were right on the edge of a mountain on roads that were no wider than our car, but the views were amazing. 

Some of the views while we were looking for Cañon Blanco.

We finally used Waze and arrived at Cañon Blanco on the Caonillas River. It was so impressive and worth the effort it took for us to find it. The glowing, white rock canyon, stands out against the lush greenery of the forest and the beautiful blue sky. It was completely different than anything we’ve seen.

Looking up river from the canyon.

Looking down river towards the canyon.

The beginning of the first canyon. The canyon was deeper and more impressive here.
This is the beginning of the second canyon we thought it was very pretty also.

We even found a waterfall called Cascada la Danzante (the dancing waterfall) at the end of the canyon where the river starts to flatten out.

This is as far as we explored…we loved this area of Puerto Rico.

In numerous places along the river we found pre-Columbian petroglyphs carved into the rocks by the Taino Indians.  

Feb. 13 – Cañon Blanco

By on February 14, 2023 in The Pearl
“Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the journey.” -Babs Hoffman 
There’s a saying that the journey is better than the destination or something like that. Our true adventure today was getting to the destination. If you travel to Puerto Rico I suggest not counting on Google to get you where you want to go. Yesterday and today it took us on some pretty out of the way roads that ended up at a dead end or turned into a river bottom. We could see we were so close but we just couldn’t get there. If Stan hadn’t been so determined to find our intended destination I would have given up and gone home. Some of the roads were a little scary. We were right on the edge of a mountain on roads that were no wider than our car, but the views were amazing. 

CONTINUE READING HERE…»

Feb. 12 – Jayuya, PR

By on February 13, 2023 in The Pearl
“Travel doesn’t become adventure until you leave yourself behind.” –Anonymous  

Today we left the beach and headed inland to Jayuya (hah-YOO-yah). The town is known as the “Town of The Three Peaks” and is located high in the central mountain region of the island, north of Ponce. It’s the site of the highest mountains in Puerto Rico, surrounded by the Cerro La Punta and Los Tres Picachos mountains. We plan to do a little hiking and explore the mountains and waterfalls in the area.

We spent the morning enjoying our last view of the Atlantic Ocean. We’ve truly loved being here, but we are ready for something a little different. The road through the mountains was an adventure in itself…beautiful but narrow and very windy. It’s a good thing Stan doesn’t mind this type of road. Google tried to send us on a few shortcuts, but the friendly locals set us straight. 

Believe it or not this is one of the wider mountain roads we were on today.

This Caonillas Lake we passed it on our way to Jayuaya.
The house we’re staying in isn’t fancy, but very adequate. It’s a historic house built in the 1920’s and it sits across the street from the town plaza. We wandered around this afternoon and it’s a pretty little town on the Rio Grande del Jayuya. The people are super friendly. We were invited to join a local family to watch the Super Bowl, but we passed. We were just too tired.

Our home for the next three nights.
The house is basic but we have three bedrooms and two baths. Each bedroom has AC, but the evenings are in the low 60’s so they are only needed to keep out the sounds of the town and the roosters.
Our Lady of Monserrate Parish in the plaza across the street from our house. The bells ring each morning at 6:30…no need for an alarm clock here.
One of the pedestrian bridges that cross the river in town.
The Rio Grande del Jayuya that runs through town.

These stairs lead to the monument that pays homage to the Taíno culture of Puerto Rico. The Taínos were the indigenous inhabitants of Puerto Rico. It is located just off the plaza where our house is.

The sculpture at the top of the stairs is a bust of the Taíno leader Hayuya. The stairs lead to the tomb. The words made with mosaic tiles in the steps greet visitors and are the Taíno names of Puerto Rican towns.

The view from the top of the stairs.
We ended up going to Patria Mia for lunch and dinner since it was close to the house and so good. We were the only turistas in the whole place.
Way over there in the west is where we came from today.

Feb. 12 – Jayuya, PR

By on February 13, 2023 in The Pearl
“Travel doesn’t become adventure until you leave yourself behind.” –Anonymous  

Today we left the beach and headed inland to Jayuya (hah-YOO-yah). The town is known as the “Town of The Three Peaks” and is located high in the central mountain region of the island, north of Ponce. It’s the site of the highest mountains in Puerto Rico, surrounded by the Cerro La Punta and Los Tres Picachos mountains. We plan to do a little hiking and explore the mountains and waterfalls in the area.

CONTINUE READING HERE…»

Feb. 11 – Aguadilla, PR

By on February 12, 2023 in The Pearl

“To find a seashell is to discover a world of imagination.” –Michelle Held

Today was our last day at the beach. The weather was wonderful and the surf was down, so we were able to truly enjoy the beach in front of our house. It’s been a fun week…mostly relaxing and taking in the view of the ocean and watching the power of the water. When the tide, wind and waves allowed I did a lot of beach combing for amazing sea glass. I found an unbelievable amount of great glass and some beautiful shells.

This is the path from the street and our garage down to the beach and our house.
The local fishermen returning to the beach. They roll the boat down to the surf and roll it up when they return.

Some of our treasures. We found so many more shells that I didn’t get a picture of…this was a great beach.

The town of Aguadilla is clean and beautiful and the water here is so pretty. We enjoyed walking along the shoreline and wandering through town. Here are a few photos from our week in paradise. 

So many stars in the sky.

A pretty little park in town.

Looking towards Aguadilla.

We enjoyed our last evening in Aguadilla at this little place overlooking the beach. We had a great very of the sunset.

Feb. 11 – Aguadilla, PR

By on February 12, 2023 in The Pearl

“To find a seashell is to discover a world of imagination.” –Michelle Held

Today was our last day at the beach. The weather was  wonderful and the surf was down, so we were able to truly enjoy the beach in front of our house. It’s been a fun week…mostly relaxing and taking in the view of the ocean and watching the power of the water. When the tide, wind and waves allowed I did a lot of beach combing for amazing sea glass. I found an unbelievable amount of great glass and some amazing shells.

CONTINUE READING HERE…»

Feb. 9 – Charco El Pilon Waterfall

By on February 10, 2023 in The Pearl
“To the tourist, travel is a means to an end; to the traveler, it’s an end in itself.” — Marty Rubin
Yesterday we took it easy. We hung out around the house and enjoyed our beach. I’m glad we did because the wind picked up today and the waves were so large they completely took over the beach. The water literally was up to the house. It has been fun to see how much our beach changes from day to day. 

Since it wasn’t a good beach day, we decided to be a little more adventurous and do a hike around San Germán. I had read that the Charco El Pilon trail took you to a beautiful spot with crystal clear water and a beautiful waterfall. The hike goes upstream along the Rio Cain. We had to cross the river 15 times before we reached the falls. All along the trail there were amazing places we could have spent the day playing in the water, but we trekked on to the waterfalls and then up to a slot canyon, called Charco la Iglesia (Church Puddle) above the falls. Each place was more spectacular than the others.

Our morning entertainment.

We came down this road from the parking area. The true trail began here.

Here are a few pictures of the trail to the falls.

Here it is…Charco El Pilon Waterfall.
The best part of this hike…we had the place to ourselves.

The safest route to the top of the falls was up this old stream bed.

Once we were above the falls we had to repel back down to the river. It was a work out but well worth it.

Our first glimpse of the Charco la Iglesia.

Looking upstream above the waterfall and slot canyon. 

I walked through the water towards the top of the waterfall. The pictures don’t show how truly spectacular this place was.

One of the many pretty butterflies we saw on the hike. This one is a Siproeta. (Stan took this wonderful picture.)

Since we hiked over three miles today we decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner at Peña Blanca this evening.

Stan took a short video of me swimming in the pool.

Feb. 9 – Hike to Charco El Pilon Waterfall

By on February 10, 2023 in The Pearl
“To the tourist, travel is a means to an end; to the traveler, it’s an end in itself.” — Marty Rubin
Yesterday we took it easy. We hung out around the house and enjoyed our beach. I’m glad we did because the wind picked up today and the waves were so large they completely took over the beach. The water literally was up to the house. It has been fun to see how much our beach changes from day to day. 

CONTINUE READING HERE…»

Feb. 7 – Beach Day

By on February 8, 2023 in The Pearl
“It is perhaps a more fortunate destiny to have a taste for collecting shells than to be born a millionaire.” –Robert Louis Stevenson

The beach that our house is on in Aguadilla is an incredible glass beach. The tide goes out twice a day and leaves an unbelievable amount of beautiful sea polished treasures behind. People come from all over the world to collect these bits of old glass. You would think it would all disappear but the ocean keeps bringing more in…day after day, year after year. Beautiful polished pieces of the past. 
These ladies are serious about finding sea glass…they were out there all day.
Some of our treasures so far this week.
We spent most of our day relaxing at our house on the shore. Enjoying the sounds of the sea and collecting treasures. After lunch we decided to explore a few other beaches in the area. Our first stop was at Peña Blanca Beach. 

This little beach is tucked away in a residential area of Aguadilla and has crystal clear waters. During the summer the water is calm and it’s a great place to snorkel and swim, but in the winter when the wind is out of the northeast it’s a great place to surf. The wind today was too strong for us to enjoy spending time on this beach so we moved on.  
Our second stop was at Punta Borinquen Beach. This remote beach is the definition of a perfect Caribbean locale. This beach is ideal for relaxing under a palm tree or catching some waves, but today’s winds made it unbearable. The large cliffs on the north end makes it a beautiful place to spend the day. 
Our third stop took us to Crash Boat Beach. It’s one of the most popular beaches in Puerto Rico’s west coast and we could understand why this afternoon. It’s protected from the easterly wind making it a great place to swim, snorkel and hangout in its beautiful turquoise water.  Crash Boat’s vibrant scene has dubbed it the island’s party beach, where you can hear music and get a bite to eat.  

The piers at Crash Boat Beach are remnants from the former Ramey Air Force Base that was located nearby.

Looking south from Crash Boat beach towards our house.

Another beautiful evening in paradise.

Feb. 6 – Beach Day

By on February 8, 2023 in The Pearl
“It is perhaps a more fortunate destiny to have a taste for collecting shells than to be born a millionaire.” –Robert Louis Stevenson

The beach that our house is on in Aquadilla is an incredible glass beach. The tide goes out twice a day and leaves an unbelievable amount of beautiful sea polished treasures behind. People come from all over the world to collect these bits of old glass. You would think it would all disappear but the ocean keeps being more in…day after day, year after year. Beautiful polished pieces of the past. 

CONTINUE READING HERE…»