CasaAnolis

We’re heading back down in April. This time we’re bringing my Mother and her husband Mike. Mom’s never been off the continent, let alone any place tropical. Can’t wait to show her what the island has to offer and see her face when she gets in warm ocean water for the first time. The hard part is coming up with an itinerary that sees enough of the island without exhausting everyone. I know, such first world problems, sigh. Continue reading “Mom’s first trip to PR”

This visit to Casa Anolis didn’t exactly turn out as planned. We both unexpectedly came down with the same cold which we probably caught at the airport and that threw a wet blanket over everything for about six days in the middle of the trip, so the list of projects ground to a halt and we went into recovery/vacation mode. The house projects will just have to wait. I had things to do to Babe including getting new tires, grille replacement, interior parts and swapping out a new steering wheel. I tackled them right away before the cold donkey kicked me hard and I was glad that I did. Continue reading “Two Weeks in November, 2015”

In three weeks once again we will be on the Island of Enchantment! We are just counting the days and packing. Since the only clothes we bring is what we wear – everything from shoes/shorts/toiletries is already down there – our bags are for things that we want to bring down for the condo. We decided that we needed a decent coffee maker like the one that we have at home, our Saeco Odea that we are so addicted to, that I located one online. We love this coffeemaker for its ability to grind and brew a perfect cup each and every time so much that getting one for the condo was a no-brainer. I went for the compact one only because of space consideration, but in reality it’s not much different from the larger one that we have. Puerto Rico is going through a renaissance in its coffee industry with independent growers popping up and we are very interested in exploring the coffees of the island. Puerto Rico used to be a major coffee producer, but the island exodus had left the growers with a short labor pool. Now the interest in boutique growers is starting to revive the industry. Continue reading “Getting ready to return.”

Please read this and buy a responsible sunscreen

http://gizmodo.com/your-sunscreen-is-killing-earths-coral-reefs-1737717948

I first met Bill on the website www.expat-blog.com in the Puerto Rico forum. He was looking for information on shipping cars down since he and George were in the process of getting ready to move there.  We were soon doing a lot of back and forth communicating and a friendship struck up. In April they finally took the plunge and flew to Puerto Rico. They had planned to stay at their friend Alan’s place on the west side of the island but complications with an ex wife suddenly put them in a bind. Could they stay at our place? Sure, we said. Why not. And with that we started Skyping on a regular basis from CasaAnolis to Villa Mantua. With that, our friendship solidified and we have become very comfortable with each other. We quickly felt as if we have known them for years. Our interests run in similar veins and our experiences with Puerto Rico have been a great thing to share with them, helping them avoid a few pitfalls. Continue reading “Bill and George and Thuncles”