Rincon.org

Rincon.org is the website of the Tourism Association of Rincon, TAR, and Cyndi and I are proud to say we are behind the new design of the website. TAR brings local businesses in Rincon together for the purpose of tourism, but it is also a great networking opportunity for new businesses. Cyndi joined with Rincon Sports Massage before we got to Rincon and has met a lot of great clients and friends as a result. Our business, 413 Geek was hired to redesign the website when the previous web designer announced a hefty price increase for the maintenance of the site. A redesign was long overdue, the old site had broken links, drop down menus and long, long pages that took forever to load. There was a lot of good information on the site, but it had been added to so often, it had become unorganized and redundant.
The website is the main benefit of becoming a TAR member and the old site wasn't serving its members as well as it could. Rincon.org has always been the most popularly searched site for Rincon, but we want it to be easy to get to and easy to navigate. But mainly we want to make the site to serve potential tourists as well as its members, listings that are organized, up to date and easy to find, important information, but not too much information, and photographs that show the beauty and fun in Rincon.
But I also think the website is just a start, there are things like the Rincon International Film Festival and the Mayaguez 2010 Games that local business owners can be a part of, but there needs to be organization and communication between owners, planners and back to potential visitors, TAR can be a big part of this communication. Cyndi and I are so excited to be able to play a part in the process. We decided a year ago that this is our town and we look forward to participating in the future of Rincon.

Fresh Veggies!

Cyndi and I bought 1/2 share of this season's crops from Finca Cielo Verde, a local community supported agricultural collective. Their website: http://cieloverdepr.blogspot.com/
I've heard of these types of arrangements before, but never had the opportunity to get involved, so when our friend Katka emailed us some information, we were very interested. The produce in Rincon is generally very good. We have a small market less than a mile away, La Placita, that sells locally grown fruit and vegetables, but it's really just a roadside stand so the variety isn't so great. I buy tomatoes there when they have them and avacados as well, but the prices can be high also. The regular market, Econo, in town sells plenty of produce, but much of it is from other countries and for all sorts of reasons we are trying to limit our food purchases to local sources as much as we can.
So the chance to invest in a local farm, they're in the hills above Mayaguez, about an hour away, will keep us eating local and fresh as the deliveries come weekly. The first delivery was 2 weeks ago and in it we had Mesclun greens, Scallponini squash, eggplant, mandarins, cilantro, mustard greens and Pac choi. The 2nd weeks delivery was similiar but included some starfruit and different greens. We've been making vegetarian pastas and stir-frys, but also eating these straight from the farm veggies raw. The flavor and freshness is incredible and doesn't compare to something bought back home from a Ralph's or Vons where some of the vegetables are shipped in from defferent states and can take days to make it to the produce counter.
If you have an opportunity to go, Finca Cielo Verde also sell at the Rincon Farmer's Market. And if you don't live in Rincon, chances are there is a farm near you that has similiar arrangements, seek them out at Farmer's markets and support local growers and the local food movement. The consolidation of the farming industries is something that should trouble us all, small growers are being forced out by large companies whose growing practices and pricing strategies threaten to shut down small farms everywhere, but it doesn't have to be that way.

Where to Eat in Rincon....

We finally started making some money here, Cyndi through massage and the rental of our "La Olita" unit downstairs, and I've been working with a catering chef, Organic Surfer Chef, at a large villa near Corcega Beach. So, we've been trying a few of the restaurants around town.

A few nights ago we went to The Spot at the Black Eagle, a restaurant near the Black Eagle Marina that serves steaks and fish and pasta and is mostly overpriced and definitely geared to the tourist crowd. It's a great location, and at sunset the sailboats and katamarans floating by provide a dramatic setting, but the place itself is mostly a dive. The menu is prety limited with most entrees over $20. We ordered the Flatiron steak for $23, but to share there is an $8.50 charge, so we didn't order an appetizer. The food was too salty for Cyndi, but I thought it was good. The biggest problem I have with the Spot is that their menu is very limited, no burgers or cheaper entrees, even in the bar and their prices suggest some better service and decor.

Calypso Cafe is just above Maria's Beach and is what you would expect, good burgers and burritos at reasonable prices. The view from the bar is great, surfers and Desecheo island in the distance and Happy hour drinks that are actually pretty good.

We also tried the Shipwreck Bar and Grill, also located near the marina, and while not great, it was better than the Spot, we had Mikeys Famous Fish Kebabs which were very good and there was plenty to share, we also had calamari, which was a huge portion, but a little greasy. There is no view, but the decor was a little nicer than the Spot and the service a little better too.

In the plaza, there is a Mexican restaurant that recently changed ownership so we thought we'd give it a try. We went on Tequila Tuesday so shots of Jose Cuervo gold were just one dollar and Corona's were two dollars. Once again Cyndi and I shared a dish, the fish wrapped in banana leaves. It was about $16. The fish was good, but the plate came with about 3 tortilla chips and nothing else, I guess we were expecting rice and beans. The decor is nice and much like any Mexican restaurant in the states and the service was ok. I think the food was overpriced for what we got, but the drink specials, made up for it.

The best food I've eaten since I've been here has definitely been with Pedro, The Organic Surfer Chef, who I've been working with. He made a rabbit stew one night and whole red snapper another night and recently he served an Asian influenced duck breast with noodles. The food he makes is fesh and from local ingredients and just tastes better, not overly seasoned or just thawed out like so many dishes we find here.

I would also recommend the pizza truck on the 413, near the Lazy Parrot, the crust is very good. And Tapatio a small Mexican restaurant on the 115 toward Aguada.

Dispatches From Rincon....

The picture here is from Domes, a beach just below an old nuclear power plant. The surf's been pretty small this week, but the weather is amazing. The past 2 weeks Cyndi and I have started to focus our energies into what we may end up doing for money here in Rincon. Cyndi will always have massage, but she tries to limit her massages to 2 per day, so that she can provide a better service and not wear herself out, that leaves her (and me) plenty of time to work on something else. In Cyndi's past life she worked in IT and has alot of experience helping people market their businesses on the web and I do a little graphic design here and there so there may be opportunities for us to get more Rincon businesses to have a web presence.
We've started working with the owners of Beachside Villas, http://rinconbeachside.com/ to market their property and we hope to get a few more and the coming weeks. Cyndi's massage business has been doing great and we've met so many great people here in Rincon that we feel confident we'll be able to make enough money to stay here. There are lots of websites that market Rincon to would-be tourists, most of them are really helpful, but I started a website that will refuse advertising from Rincon businesses and list the businesses that I personally recommend, http://rincon411.jimdo.com/ . It just strated, but soon I will have more photographs and info about the businesse listed.
We've just booked our first stay at "La Olita", http://www.rinconsportsmassage.com/Rincon411.html , our studio apartment downstairs and have had quite a few inquiries as the $50/night, $300/week price is very reasonable.

Friday night we went to the Lazy Parrot for a Surfrider fundraiser, they had a band called Supertones who played some cool surf-tunes and probably at least 100 people showed up. I've heard the Surfrider criticism from a reader of this blog, but to me, the work that Surfrider does is invaluable. Wess Merten and the other people who volunteer their time are not "hipcrites" (sic), but people who work hard to keep our ocean, the cradle of so much of our environment, as clean as possible. Denyers of climate change and proponents of unrestricted devolpment can stay in the stone age of their own development, but creating jobs doesn't need to come at the cost of the environmental damage inflicted in the past.

Re-zoning in Anasco & Rincon

There's been alot of talk lately about a re-zoning plan for certain beach areas in Rincon and Anasco. At a meeting at City Hall in Rincon the public was offered a platform to see the plans and comment, Cyndi went to the meeting. We haven't lived in Rincon long enough to be sure about too much, but the mood around town seems to be that San Juan is looking for ways to make some tourist dollars and Rincon and Anasco are the targets. Even the mayor of Rincon spoke against the proposal.

I read a New York Times article posted on the Surfrider blog :http://s.nyt.com/u/CpO that tells of a town in the Dominican Republic that is working toward attracting the eco-tourists that seem to in vogue currently, and that may be a model for Rincon to follow. Of course any development of these areas and especially anything near the Tres Palmas Marine Reserve http://www.surfrider.org/rincon/rmtp.php should be discouraged, but sometimes the lesser of two evils is the only choice.

Eco-tourism may be a fad and and may draw more people here than we want, but it's not going to be large condominiums and all-inclusive resorts that are the other end of the spectrum. The people in Rincon care about its resources and the future of their town. If we can counter the proposed re-zoning plans with an organic plan of our own, perhaps San Juan would be more interested in listening.

Thankful!

The picture here is a poster I made for a Surfrider, Rincon volunteer tree planting that took place while I was in Los Angeles: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuvn30n62EhZNxnzhQoHdrZT9vGgU6xn-FJ8S-MIH7WXSoL0ihWKq0zo4G4OctuivMfQZcDZHWDzmLtrscMYEWBUJR609z3ksv4eWGZ7oXMsrPATcWsaRaD9uJWyykuoA2ONOxdQhpUJg8/s1600-h/surfrider+tree+poster+Nov7.jpg Definitely a labor of love as I think it is important that people see how much Surfrider does for the town of Rincon. I am thankful for them. This past year has made me so much more aware of the things I am thankful for and none is higher on the list than Cyndi. It has been her courage and dream that has led us to where we are and for this I will always be thankful.

It's been difficult leaving behind family and friends in California, but their support and enthusiasm for our adventure has carried us through some difficult days and for this we are thankful. We are also thankful to our new friends and neighbors who have and continue to help us along the way, we constantly wonder if we were lucky to have such great neighbors or does the island just bring this out?

Of course I am thankful to have found such a beautiful place to live, a place that offers us so much of what we want and very few of the things we don't, but also so thankful for the basic necessities of life such as running water (most of the time). It's sad, but until I experienced not having water for a full 24 hours did I realize what a shameful fact it is that at least 13% of the world's population doesn't have access to running water.

Finally, I am thankful to have my health. Neither Cyndi nor I have a healthcare plan, unless you call eating right and exercising a viable plan. I don't expect the goverment to foot my healthcare bill if I don't take care of myself, however I don't think your income bracket should determine how good your healthcare is. Somewhere there is a way to improve the system, but it seems any attempt at "socialized" medicine gets demonized. We need to open our minds to all options, it's not that slippery a slope. Anytime there is such a blanket backlash against something the way healthcare reform has fared, chances are the truth is being hidden by a different agenda. If you have affordable healthcare, be thankful and consider those that don't.

Back In Rincon (For Good)!

It took me exactly 1 week in Los Angeles to realize that I was just spinning my wheels and that I needed to get back to Rincon. The plan was to stay a few months in LA and make some money, but I'll be honest, I missed Cyndi and I missed Rincon and LA just wasn't where I wanted to be. I kept getting these emails with pictures of the dogs on the beach and Cyndi describing the surf, it made me wonder why I was sitting in an empty, cold house juggling car and homowners insurance bills. So I packed my things and said goodbye to the job and 3 weeks after I left I was back in Rincon.

Had I changed, had LA changed?I think living in LA is more of a romantic idea nowadays than a real viable way of living, unless of course your income exceeds 95% of the rest of us and you can hover above the congestion and crime. Maybe in the 60's and 70's when housing and the costs of living were reasonable it was the place to be, but overcrowding and a lack of urban planning have left LA to be like a knotted up clump of wires behind your computer where nothing leads to what it should and everything just needs to be unplugged and begun anew.

I guess I look at all my friends struggling to make the rent, car payment, living in neighborhoods where parking is nonexistent and working to cover the increasing costs of living and while I understand chasing a dream, for me that was never my reason to be there. LA was my home because I liked the weather and the beach, I guess I never realized it could be summer year-round somewhere else.

I needed to go back because when we moved to Rincon it was on Cyndi's terms and I guess I would always be wondering if it was the right thing unless I had gone home after being in Rincon and decided for myself where I wanted to be. So the 3 weeks in Los Angeles weren't a total loss.

So now sitting down, writing this and looking down at the houses that dot the hills into Aguada, I can feel confident that I am home and that whatever happens, going back to LA is not an option. And it is this revelation that will make me work even harder to make it work here, I'll keep you posted ;-)