Leaving San Juan

Finally some good news regarding our moving plans.. as most of you know we were having trouble co-ordinating a moving company to pack/load/ship our things on the day we wanted (and were originally booked for!). Yes, Monday was a public holiday in Puerto Rico even though they do not celebrate 4th of July here. None the less, our moving company failed to tell us that the port wont be operating on Monday after having that date set for THREE WEEKS!! (note: Do not use Capitol Transport)

We've finally found a smaller, local trucking company (GTS) that is organizing our move - and is even doing more for us - for less money than the original one. They will be coming this Thursday (8th) to pack up our things and we will be flying out of San Juan on Monday morning. We will be without possessions and car for about a week, since the container needs to be inspected by USDA and the truck needs to be checked by the police (no fines, not a stolen vehicle etc).

We're excited that its all coming together now!

Cattlemen's Caribbean BBQ Competition

July 4th weekend - what is more typical than a good ol' BBQ?!

The Cattlemen's Caribbean BBQ Competition & Outdoor Festival..just steps from home (we can even smell the goods cooking when we open our porch doors!).

Geoff and I made our way down there on Saturday - and found a free wrist band lying in the grass on the way down - score! As we were lining up to buy another one, along came a huge gust of wind and swept the wristbands off the table where they were selling them...well we got away lightly! There were many booths there, from Certified Angus Beef Brand to local restaurants showing off what they've got. Today they specialized in lechon - a slow roasting pig, typical of Puerto Rico. Lysol was there, giving out hand wipes, and we won some cleaning products on a "wheel of fortune". I left full, happy and BBQ'd out... until today.

Today was "Ribs" day, and although it was busier, there were a lot more stalls and the ribs they produced were unbelievable! The only down side to tasting all the delicious meats was that they were required to use one of 4 Cattlemen brand sauces.. which meant that after a while, one chicken drumstick tasted like the next. Oh well, good atmosphere, good music and once again - left happy and stuffed with meat and BBQ sauce.

After googling Cattlemens, it seems there are a lot more BBQ competitions and festivals, year round. Cant wait to begin our road trip and visit some more!

http://www.cattlemensbbqsauce.com/CompetitionsAndEvents.aspx

The most beautiful beach in Puerto Rico!

Geoff spotted some dirt tracks on Google Maps not long ago and has been wanting to check them out for ages..what better day to do it than today! It was sunny, dry and Geoff's knee has been getting better rapidly, so we thought we'd make the most it.

The area belongs to the Department of Natural Resources and is just off the highway...I'm not giving away too much more as the area is unspoilt except some red off-road tracks that you cannot go on without a 4WD.

The beaches here in Puerto Rico are either beautiful, but full of people - or empty, with lots of rubbish and stray dogs. This beach we found (which doesnt even have a name according to Google Maps) was MAGNIFICENT. It was huge - golden sand, lined with palm trees and other bushy greens and the water was a crystal clear blue/green with just the perfect temperature for swimming.

We had packed ourselves a little picnic and enjoyed being back on the road, back at the beach (after being vehicle-less for a month) and enjoyed the deserted surroundings - truly feeling like the only people on the whole island!

We'll be back soon!!

Wine Pavillion

Saturday night Geoff and I went to the 3rd Annual Wine Pavillion at the Sheraton - just walking distance from home and even Geoff could walk it with his sore knee.

We had been trying for ever to gain information on this event - but like most events here in Puerto Rico, not much is written up on the internet and most people dont choose to answer their phones either when it comes to enquiries!

There were over 280 wines from all over the world - Argentina, Israel, France, Spain, California and yes Australia! I got pretty excited when I heard the aussie accent again! Not only were the wines great.. they had a really yummy buffet with mango roast turkey, mashed potatoes and big antipasto platters and and and...

Apart from the wining and dining, I managed to make some contacts! There were a few exhibitors that had connections in St. Croix apart from weasling free tickets to the next Wine Exhibition in St. Thomas, they've also said that they'll put me in touch with some employers in STX!

Islanders vs. Whitecaps

Vancouver Whitecaps were in town! On Wednesday night, Geoff and I took the skytrain to Bayamon, where the stadium was directly next to the train station. As we were waiting in the tickets line, a guy came up to us and gave us spare ones - score!

The stadium is a pretty decent size, which the 1/4 full seats made it look very empty...despite that - WOW was it LOUD! Puerto Ricans definitely dont hold back when it comes to noise and are up there with a full MCG stadium at the best of times. We were situated right between a guy with a drum, another with a bongo and an assortment of other musical instruments. Upon entering, we were given blow up bambams, grabbed a pina coloada and game on! The atmosphere was much more interesting than the game itself though!

Zorra and Alpie

The last 7 days we've been "dog sitting".. a little playmate from the dogpark called Zorra came to stay with us whilst her owners went on their honeymoon.

I just had to post these pics since they are so cute! The first is of my two sleepy-heads and Zorra having an afternoon nap..

All rugged up

With all the rain we've been having Alpie was feeling a little cold.. our solution?