first impressions of puerto rico

davidtx wrote:

Mosquitos: The mosquitos seem less numerous here than in Texas.  For the first two weeks we slept with the windows wide open because we didn’t have screens or air conditioners yet.  Granted we are on the third floor and I did get plenty of mosquito bites, but I can’t even imagine doing that in Texas.  The mosquitos would swarm around our legs in our backyard.  They would probably carry us away if we left the windows open!
David

Not sure why but the number of mosquitos in PR have gone down 10 or more folds since the 1970's. I guess the island may be doing some spraying and getting people to eliminate places where they breed. I think I got 1 bite in 8 days I was in the island.

GreggK wrote:

I agree with ReyP. I lived in PR for a year and had absolutely no trouble with mosquitoes. Coincidentally, I heard very few Coquis at night where I lived in Moca which surprised me. There just may be a spraying campaign going on that we weren't aware of. However, I would still be very careful to avoid getting bitten. Their are a couple of nasty diseases going around that are mosquito related such as chickungunya an lately malaria. I'd err on the side of caution and stay well protected at all times.

Now that you mention it, in 2006 I was staying in Palmas del Mar Hotel and there was quite a serenade of Coqui and Crickets making a lot of noise. This last time July 2015 at the B&B in Fajardo there were maybe 5 or 6 Coqui singing and I heard no Cricket. SO something is going on, I think.

Wife always gets some mosquito bites, they find her sweet but she is not Puerto Rican, I don;t use any protection for mosquitos or the sun and rarely get a bite or sunburn. I guess I am not as sweet.

Karenqc wrote:

I think it has a lo to do with the drought as well, his last year has been dismal as most probably know. We had a couple of days of rain a few weeks ago and things almost went back to normal mosquito wise but what fell quickly evaporated again. I would think this would effect the coquis too, well, all wildlife really.  Oh, btw mosquitos tend to prefer ppl with O+ blood types, are pregnant and/or heavy breathers. So if you're working out/gardening outside please take precautions, dengue, etc is no joke! And window screens are a must, be careful out there guys.

Yes Coqui is a tree frog and needs the Dew and humidity to survive and reproduce, so I think you hit it right on the head.

ReyP wrote:

It helps closing your eyes when driving those narrow curvy roads.
Use the Force, Luke

The sensible way will be to have a refreshing drink (ak beer) to help you calm down. Thats the island way!! 

vegchef wrote:

Hi David!
My daughter and I recently made the huge jump also. We had 2 small farm to table restaurants in rural N.Y.State, sold everything and moved to Puerto Rico. We tried living in Cabo Rojo, but really missed some of the state-side sensibilities offered here in Rincon. I looked at a rental in Aguada, but it was so far up a very narrow, winding road, I didn't want to "white-knuckle" my way down every day.I sympathize with your search for your personal "staples". As a Scot, I'm dying for Twinnings Breakfast Teas! I chuckled at your driving analogies, and I must say, being here since April, it does get easier! Looking forward to more updates!
Vegchef (Pam)
'

Amazon has your tea, see link http://www.amazon.com/Twinings-English- … B000F4F952

frogrock wrote:

Also, I have 'trained' visitors to bring certain specialty items (like PEEPS) to feed my addictions.

It's already August, so, as it goes, Halloween candy should be out in the stores.  I'll see if i can find you some pumpkin Peeps before I leave on Saturday.

BRussell wrote:

Great overview! Thanks for this. The one thing I am very baffled by recently is this drought in PR. I know it is one of the larger islands in the Caribbean but my experience having lived right  next door in St. Thomas was that it rained quite a bit. Sufficiently enough that the word "drought" was never on anyone's lips. Whats the situation?

Hi BRussell:

I've been contributing to the 'Drought in PR' thread and just posted an update.  It has been quite challenging for a lot of residents.

BRussell wrote:

Great overview! Thanks for this. The one thing I am very baffled by recently is this drought in PR. I know it is one of the larger islands in the Caribbean but my experience having lived right  next door in St. Thomas was that it rained quite a bit. Sufficiently enough that the word "drought" was never on anyone's lips. Whats the situation?

BRussell, I have been to St. Thomas every August since 1996, and the impact of the drought there is quite visible, and nothing I've ever seen before.  Flamboyant trees that are normally lush and filled with color are skeletons.  the big tree outside Udder Delight is bare.  Brown is the general landscape.  No sea grapes to provide shade on the beach.  St. John looked even worse.  We left there this morning, in a rainstorm (you could hear all the foliage singing}.  We landed in Puerto Rico at 10 am, picked up a rental car and drove through some squalls driving along Rte. 3 to Palmas del Mar.  Thankfully we were able to unpack the car before the skies opened up.   There's still some rain over the water hiding Vieques from our view.

My first impression?  Aaaaaaahhhhhhh....... It's beautiful once you get away from all the shopping.  We stopped at La Parilla in Luquillo, and our first meal was amazing.  We're here for a month.  WooHoo!!!!!

Schuttzie wrote:

Hi, David!  Yes, you really have to bring your patience when you go shopping as everything is on island time, lol.  We tend to just stand and look around at people (I love to people watch) and smile when I catch someone's eye.  It is great you were able to find the items you needed, take care!

I tried to post this on your blog but I got error 404?  Weird.

Error 404 means the page you requested was not found, you probably had a typo in the page name or location or there was an issue with the link.