Surprise: it rains in the rainforest!

And how! (See the big raindrops on the picture above?)

But the vistas are awesome in the pouring rain, too.

I know that during a rainseason it can rain like that for days at a time. But right now the downpours come and go, and soon the mist disappears under the rays of sun.

(A comment for gardeners: yes, on the left hand side of the top picture you do see a grapefruit tree, and on the right hand site, slightly more down the slope, a big mango tree)

Life in the jungle

... might be adventurous, filled with wonders of nature, but modern conveniences take money and effort to arrange. Ursula's casita, where I now live, has water, indoor plumbing and electricity, but cell phones do not work there, there is no internet - untill I arrange a satellite one, and no TV.

Also, it is located up on the hill, high over a small (5 houses) barrio of very friendly people, who let me park in front of theor houses, because there is no road to the casita, only a steep path, so I have to park my car in the barrio and walk - practically climb - almost half a mile up hill - mostly carrying stuff.

So, without the internet in the casita, blogging was not possible last week and it still requires lugging my heavy and too big - due to its 17" screen - for my day backpack laptop to Las Casas de la Selva, where they have satellite internet. But now I can share with you a few pictures of the casita and vistas from it.

The casita is an interesting construction: the front half of it consists of an old (after 1956 hurricane) container, and the back half is a normal cement and plywood, all - Caribbean style - painted electric blue ...

and with a big and comfy front porch, from which there are fantastic jungle views in all directions.



( A comment for gardeners: at the top picture you see a grapefruit tree to the left, a top of a flamboyan tree in the center and in the second picture, and a breadfruit tree - the one with the big leaves - to the right.)

A tribute to Shark... because I miss her so...

I hope you'll forgive me for being so cat focused right now. I promise to blog and post photos from my former trip to the rain forest and my future casita and other things, like the "swell" and surfers braving huge waves, but now I am so worried about Shark's disapperance, I feel a need to talk more about her.

Here is a picture story showing how Shark was adapting to her/my Puertorican digs and to the new kitty in the household, Sweetie.

When my three cats, Missy, Rascal and Shark came to Puerto Rico from Atlanta, they encountered Sweetie. Shark hid in the closet for several days, Missy (the calico) remained indifferent (she prefers people to other cats), but Rascal, who 2.5 years ago played daddy to Shark's kittens, now immediately adopted Sweetie, who often curled up against his tummy.

Here Shark finally got out from the closet. jumped on the bed occupied by the other cats and is assessing the new situation.

'Hmm, who is this newcommer occupying my place?' (Shark and Rascal were lovey-dovey, and Shark used to curl against him)

' Am I going to tolerate this? '

'I do not thinks so' - Shark turns away.

But after getting to the opposit corner of the bed, she sits, there, obviously utterly confused

'Perhaps I should reconsider? '

Shark walks back towards Rascal...

And lies down next to him, but away from Sweetie.

Please, Shark, reconsider again and come home. Here will always be a safe place for you, your favorite pillow and a bowl full of your favorite food.

PLEASE, COME BACK TO US!

My heart is broken :-(((

My beautiful, beautiful Shark is missing since Monday, the packing day. My closet was her favorite hiding space, here she had her pillow and spent most of the day.

She has always been so shy, that whenever I had to hire pet sitters ,they always thought I really had one less cat than I told them I had, because she never let them see her. And on Monday I opened closet door wide, TWICE, and the second time was one too many for Shark, so she ran outdoors... and nobody has seen her since. I still hope she is hiding somewhere, terrified, but will come back before I move away, but right now I am sad and worried and heartbroken that a cat, which trusted me with her newborn offspring two years ago, now decided I could not give her a safe home. :-(((

I broke my New Year's resolution :-((

I resolved to not move for a year and less than 3 month later I am moving again. From the beach to the mountains, to the rainforest. But since I am remaining on the island, I guess I can still play Robinson Crusoe, just a tad more inland :-).

I am planning to move myself - and the cats - during the weekend. But I found out yesterday afternoon that two new friends of mine from Eye on the Rainforest, Javier and Steve, managed to rent a truck and will come today to move all my stuff, that won't fit into my car with me and the cats, to Ursula's casita, located in the middle of route 184 between Patillas and Guavate, that I'll be renting from her, while she is back to London after her winter visit to PR. So I am in a hurry packing today, could use some help... and see how helpful these two are?

Metal

On Randi's blog I found PhotoHunt today's theme, Metal. Suits me perfectly, since I wondered what to do with this photo of a rusty metal piece in Arroyo's harbor, that I took on a Saturday, two weeks ago, when I was visiting the south of Puerto Rico :-)

My picture is a lot less exciting than Randi's metal picture is, so go check out hers and the rest of metal pictures. They are fun.

Busily lazy Easter Saturday

Easter in Puerto Rico is celebrated all week long. Just witness the unusual crowds and long line to check out counters at the grocery stores and beaches - judging by coloring - filled mostly by the natives

Playa in El Combate

instead of predominatly blond surfers that descent on them at this time of year otherwise. No, the surfers did not go home, they follow the "swell" and congregate always where the highest waves are right now, while the natives, in whole - usually large - families favor the gentler waved ones.

Playa in El Combate

So during Easter week I try not to compete for space on the beaches either with the natives , the surfers or with weekend tourists: most of them shall leave on Monday, latest Tuesday, and I'll have plenty of beach space to myself then, as usual.

El Combate beach

During Easter week I do chores: yesterday I cleaned the house,



which is the chore I intensely dislike and - to be truthful - tend to behave like a slob,

when I do not have a competent housekeeper, or at least a cleaning lady, and right now I dont have.


You can imagine that- when the cleaning was done - I could hardly refrain from checking in the mirror whether an aura od sainthood appeared over my head - so noble I felt. ;-)

Today I was less ambitious. I started with my kitchen gardening: hanging out the bags of sprouts outside in the shade so that they would green somewhat, harvesting half of a tray of buckwheat greens, removing old compost mat with the remaining tchach of roots, filling in a new compost, covering it - densely - with soaked unhulled sunflower seeds and watering.

I finished the kitchen gardening chores with thinning my basil container - carefully: replanting most of them into the flowerbed for my landlords or a tenant that might come after me (I am moving again, next weekend, to the rainforest).

Then it was time for breakfast



somewhat Easterlike (ham, eggs):




After breakfast I took on another delightful - like gardening - chore of doing laundry al fresco. My laundry room is basically outdoors: a closet type space with a washer and dryer and doors opening to the side yard.


There I hang a picturesque (I think) clothes line between the wall next to my laundry room and the neighbor's chain link fence


and enjoy doing laundry, hanging wet clothes, watching them sway in the breeze and then picking them up all smelling sun and fresh air.


I have to admit, though, that Puerto Rico is not Italy, and mine is not a usual behavior in my neighbourhood of $500 000 + beachfront villas and $ 250000+ beachfront condos.

I know that hanging laundry outside instead of using a dryer shocks some people and I do try to be understanding to the insecurities of the nouveau riches, or nouveau-would-like-to-be-riches, who, unlike old money in America , or old titles (nobility) in Europe, fear being extravagant in anything but a show of their - true or pretended - purchasing power.


But I would not succumb to their fear that anybody, perhaps, might think of them - or of me - as a creature unworthy of living in a posh neighborhood.

As a compromise between sensitivity to their insecurities and my firm belief that doing laundry al fresco is not only great fun but also both economically and environmentally sound, I hang my line and my laundry out for only a few hours a week, even if it happens on an Easter Saturday, if I feel like it.


OK, enough of that childish "I dare you" statement of unashamedly simple domesticity.
It's time for lunch:




- on the patio, of course - the weather's great, 82 and sunny, time for enjoying the sea and garden views and for watching cats roaming in the garden.


I wonder if they think they are on an egg hunt?

No, their usual lizard hunt is more likely.