La Pared

To come to Lake Patillas take rt 184 from rt 3 and after about 4 miles you'll see this mountain lake. It offers the passerby some tremendous vistas and a tempting place to stop and have lunch, dinner or simply a drink on the lakefront terrace of La Pared restaurant.

La Pared's fare is enjoyable as well: a nice selections of seafood and - since we are entering a lechonera country - a tremendous dish of tasty roasted pork. A single portion could feed two big eaters and satisfy three normal ones. And it costs only $8!

Enjoying your meal take a few good looks over the terrace railing,

across the lake

towards the distant shore.

Searching for another place with a view

I have lived in Puerto Rico for 9 months now and could not imagine I would get into a culture shock looking for a dwelling. After all I have already rented 4 of them here - and in the last two cases - one in Aguada and one in the mountains over Patillas - both me and my landlords were satisfied with our mutual agreements.

Now I am soon to start a new assignment with my new office located in south Mayaguez. A "bit" far for a daily commute from Patillas, so, after getting back from the States last Saturday, I drove to the West Coast on Monday to search for a place in the area of Cabo Rojo (Joyuda, Boqueron). I did a search on classificados, contacted a couple of brokers, made appointments and spent three days looking for places.

There is no shortage of suitable dwellings. Lots of condos on the beach are for sale and rent - the sales and rents are down and new condos are under construction. Typical buyer's market you would think.
I found several condos I liked and made some offers - reasonable, even generous in my opinion, though a bit lower than asking price -but no more than 10-15% lower even though in the USA - as I read - 25% lower bids are now the norm . To my astonishment not a single one was accepted!
If they agreed on price they tried to hike up terms (like the length of time, size of deposit, etc).

I wonder, are owners of condos in Cabo Rojo not aware of the current economic situation?
Are they unaware that their apartments were left empty during the summer season (which in that area of Puerto Rico IS the high season)?
Would they rather have them empty through the remainder of the year than accept a price a bit more realistic that the one they dream of getting?
Is there some aspect of culture that make them unable to count and be realistic?

I wonder... is there a cultural divide between north and south of Mayaguez?
Or, perhaps, in Rincon, Aguada, Aguadilla, Isabella etc. landlords are used to renting to foreigners, while Caborojans rent mostly to vacationing Sanjuanero families, not to "gringos", so my "no-nonsense" and "to the point" negotiating style seems too culturally shocking to them?

Well, I hired a broker to help me with that and do the actual negotiating. Perhaps I need to switch a broker....

Anyway, I decided so far to move back to my old place in Aquada, so I don't have to drive from Patillas to see any condo and don't have to appear to be in a hurry to close any deal.
Wish me luck in finding a reasonable landlord in Cabo Rojo - and a broker skillful in culturally appropriate negotiating .

Let's start a C.S.A farm in Puerto Rico!

OK, I promise, no more passive p...& moaning about lack of fresh produce in PR.
I know that, come September, I'll become seriously overextended workwise, but during the rest of July and August my obligations won't require more of my time that 20, max 30 hrs/week.

Thus I can DO something - even if only on a small scale - to help improve availability of fresh produce on the West coast...... by starting a C.S.A farm.

C.S.A stands for a Community Supported Agriculture and is a concept where consumers buy up front shares in the output of the farm.

That allows a farmer to know his/her income is secure for the season, come drought and/or high water, because consumers share in the risks. It also allows him/her to start farming again ( I know of farms in Las Marias area, which have not been farmed for years, as their owners tried to make a living working elsewhere ), buy seeds, equipment, implements.

That allows a consumer to be assured of a preagreed upon share of all - or part - of the produce grown ( and of meat or dairy if produced on the farm as a part of its concept) delivered to him/her - or picked up at the farm - weekly or twice weekly during the entire producing season, which in PR is all year round.

Now, I'll be honest with you: I'd rather start a C.S.A in an expat rich part of the Dominican Republic, than in relatively expat - and seasonally tourist - rich West Coast of Puerto Rico, because expats in DR are predominantly continental Europeans, while expats in PR are almost exclusively Americans.... and Europeans not only eat far more fresh produce than Americans do, they are also far more accustomed to - and comfortable with - all kinds of cooperative endavors.

But, living in PR, I'll do it here. Anyone game to sign up as for the core group of shareholders?

Come on, join me. (please email me soon).

Produce from the CSA will not only be a lot fresher and a lot more versatile, it should also be cheaper than store bought produce in PR.

Playa tunnel

An area around Isabela has a couple of interesting beaches with high, often dangerous waves in winter. Here are pictures from Playa Tunnel at the end of May, when the waves "deflated" considerably.

It is a nice place for an impromptu picnic, for a short walk along the beach following the tunnel dug out long time ago for a narrow gauge railway that carried goods along north coast

Observing interesting rock formations.

Return to Puerto Rico

I have bought my return ticket today and in less than a week I'll be back in Puerto Rico.

I am glad I'll see my cats again.

I am glad I'll be able to sit on a bench in the shallow water of the Caribbean sea and watch manatees swimming in the nearby deep water channel.

I am glad I'll have a month to explore more of the east coast and the Spanish Virgin Islands: Culebra and Vieques,before my new assignment on the West Coast starts.

But I am fully aware that this last week in Atlanta is my last chance for:

• enjoying as much organic - especially heirloom - produce as possible, since in Puerto Rico it is - sadly - practically impossible to get: nearly all green produce is close to wilted and devoid of most of its nutritional value due to long transportation -- if I want fresh organic green I need to grow my own (whether i do have time and space for it or not) ... or find an organic farm and beg, as they are usually short on produce...


• enjoying live cultured milk products, like kefir and yogurts. There is plain yogurt (without addition of sugars disguised as fruit) on Puerto Rico's south coast,but it is dead yogurt, devoid of any live cultures, of probiotics. And on the west coast I haven't found even dead plain yogurt: all is sugary, brrr. So I'll have to purchase kefir corns and yogurts starters, take them with me and make my own.

Doesn't eating healthy in Puerto Rico sound like a lot of work for you?

It does to me.

I regret having committed myself to another assignment there, which forces me to return for at least another half a year... I would rather live someplace where I would NOT have to devote that much time to growing and preparing my own food, somewhere where healthy food is abundant. Like in Europe... but with dollar at almost 1.60 to euro that is an expensive option for anybody, whose (fixed) income is mostly in dollars...

Well, I know I will have fun in Puerto Rico again. That's not a problem. There are nice people, nice beaches and plenty of other attractions.

But lack of certain products and services that I consider indispensable - and which should be available there - irritates me right now.

My favorite orange cauliflowers, light green broccoflowers, broccolini, rapini and the other delicious fresh veggies unheard of in Puerto Rico - I'll miss you dearly! :-(((

P.S. For the record: upon my return I found broccoflower in both Selectos and Amigos and LIVE yogurt, even goat yogurt (very pricy, but available) at FreshMart.

Puerto Rico is a happy country!

Surprise? Two years of recession, very high unemployment, high dependency on welfare, partial discontent ( at least among the so called political elites - those who want to be free to dip their hands in the national tilt and the so called intellectuals, who consider Puerto Rico a colony) about Puerto Rico's commonwealth status... and yet the happiness index shows Puerto Rico as one of the happiest countries in the world!

Go figure....

Martinique ..... or Corsica?

Calvi, Corsica

It looks like it might soon become a lot easier to find your optimal expat retirement destination.

Yesterday I was testing an advisory tool - sorry, this one for Swedish nationals only - on the best country - to retire to, slanted heavily - since it is a Swedish tool - towards limiting the total tax burden, but taking into account health care, climate, culture and a few other factors.

I plugged in all requested - albeit general - parameters.... and was pointed to France as an optimal choice - by far.

Hmm, I thought, I really need that abundance of - yummy but so full of saturated fat - cheeses, which, living in France, I would not be able to resist, since stinky cheeses - accompanied by well aged wines - are one of my major culinary weaknesses.

Next I made a comparison with a few other EU countries, which are favorite European expat destinations, like Spain, Italy and Cyprus, but both tax and quality of health care factors weighted so heavily, that France won hands on in any of those comparisons.

Intrigued, I made - now outside the tool, as it does not include USA as a likely retirement destination for Europeans - a comparison between a retirement in Puerto Rico and one of the French islands in the Caribbean for a "typical" EU national who worked in the US long enough to be entitled to Medicare and Social Security, but retained his/her EU nationality.
Gustavia, St Bart

Even in pricey St Bart, which - being once a Swedish colony could be a "natural" choice for Swedes - such a hypothetical retiree would save money and gain access to better French health care.

And if the said retiree chose France proper, he/she would also improve dramatically his/her quality of life, through access to more diverse cultural opportunities, better food , etc.

An additional factor would be legal system based on Napoleonic code, which I consider superior to both British and US legal system... but I am biased, I studied law in continental Europe.

Martinique

So, if one likes islands - Corsica or Martinique?.... that might be !the question! ;-)

On the other hand, current issue of "Islands" magazine, lists three islands in, say extended Caribbean, on its list of 10 best islands in the world to live on: Beguia in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Eleuthera in Bahamas and Ambergis Caye in Belize. All of them English language dominant. None of them French. Perhaps a better choice for Americans?

Palawan, Philippines

P.S. But "Islands" magazines first, most spectacular and by far most budget friendly choice is Palawan in the Philippines, where a "typical 3 bdr, 2 ba house" rents for $400 a month!