Quiet

Submitted by eagle on Tue, 07/02/2019 - 18:44

Again, spent another day at the beach. I like these three-day weekends!

I have an addictive personality. I have no more food, water, or sunblock. I feel like if I had sunblock, I would probably stay even longer!

One thing I especially like about Puerto Rico is the attitude. After spending a while in paternalistic societies, such as the USA and Cuba, where people constantly watch you and interfere with any deviation from the norms, here people generally let you go, and if anything contribute to your preferences.

In those previous places, I often had to explain to police, nosy neighbors, and others, what I was doing, often followed by a visit to the police station. Here in Puerto Rico, I haven't even had interactions with the police, aside from standing near off-duty cops.

Found a place off the map. Or, rather, got lost in a place off the map.

Rode/walked uphill from the beach. Had a hard time making it back to civilization.

Followed a couple of horses. Finally made it to a gate. Thankfully it was openable!

After that, in the burning hot sun, the hard-to-breathe humidity, without sunblock, kept going. Stopped for a giant plate of rice, beans, cod, plantain, and a coke. Kept going, made it to a panaderia. Picked up some bread, more coke, some cheese, and a pastry. Kept going, stopped at a fruit stand for mavi, a brownish fruit beverage. Kept going, now at wifi.

 

Annoyances and Victories!

Submitted by eagle on Fri, 06/28/2019 - 21:59

Having a hard time with maintenance, as usual during travel (and even while not traveling). The bike front brakes now seem to work much better, but the basket blocks the brakes. Minor computer issues, too.

Morning of minor frustrations. My rear tire (the usual culprit) seems to have a small hole, after patching it twice from running over some thorny plant area. Maybe one of the patches didn't affix firmly, and is leaking.

Each mango is a journey, an adventure. How you enjoy a mango depends on how you acquire it, peel it, eat it, and discard it. I just ate a few mangos that I collected fresh from a tree, peeled by hand, ate messily, then recycled the peel. Yum!

I moved the front basket on top of the handlebar. This way it at least seems to stay out of the way of the brakes and brake levers. However, it still tips over, so I'm going to continue adjusting it. I'm not a very mechanically skillful person. I can get by, but I struggle.

With today's technology for transportation and communication, it's quite possible to travel internationally. One doesn't have to have large amounts of money, special connections, or anything. Not that a bicycle is sophisticated technology, but that requires more time and effort.

Have a fun weekend!

Routes

Submitted by eagle on Thu, 06/27/2019 - 17:58

As of now, I'm thinking of wrapping up the coast, plus venturing inland (and uphill) to see the telescope at Arecibo. I'm still considering visiting Caguas, the small city in the central valley. However, it still seems like quite a trek for a destination that does not appeal that much to me, so I'm leaning more towards not going. There are also numerous small towns in the hills throughout the interior of Puerto Rico. Again, they seem quite difficult to get to, and not that appealing to me. I think I would rather just move on to the coasts of other Caribbean countries.

After Puerto Rico, I plan to go to Hispaniola, first seeing Republica Dominicana, then Haiti. After that, I have more plans, but the exact route depends to some extent on transportation.

Heading East!

Submitted by eagle on Thu, 06/27/2019 - 17:32

Today, rode by the nuclear power plant! It's in a quiet corner of the country, surrounded by surf shacks, mountain bike trails, and the beach.

Then, rode through the hilly terrain overlooking the sea. Made it to Aguada, when the thunderstorm came. I spent it in a bike shop, fixing up my front brakes (the dysfunction of which nearly killed me on the way down to town). Also picked up a lock and a spare tube. There are still numerous parts on my bike wish list.

Now pausing, deciding what to do next!

Rock & Roll!!!!!! :)

Rounding the Bend in Puerto Rico!

Submitted by eagle on Wed, 06/26/2019 - 20:20

Windows showed Big Sur as a background image. They used a photo very comparable to the one on eagelgamma.com!

 

Took yesterday off. Napped much of the day.

 

Rode!

 

I think the most Puerto Rican word I've learned so far is "pesca'ito"!

 

I'm now heading north along the western coast of Puerto Rico. Going way faster on a bicycle!

 

Another barely avoided technoscare. External hard drive had got somewhat wet in the rain. Plugging it in, the laptop didn't recognize it. After I scraped off some of the rust from a cable, the laptop recognizes the hard drive!

 

So far, some of my favorite parts of Puerto Rico include:

  1. The kind people.
  2. The beaches.
  3. El Yonque
  4. The food

 

One of my favorite parts of traveling is planning. I love looking at maps, figuring out routes, destinations, etc.!

 

 

New bike in south Puerto Rico!!!!!!!!!!!

Submitted by eagle on Thu, 06/20/2019 - 21:39

Fruits… delicious, nutritious. If they marketed mangos like candy, I think mangos would sell better. Juicy, explode in your mouth, full of flavor, have nutrients, each one tastes different, even grow on trees. You couldn't manufacture a candy like that!

 

I see Puerto Ricans treating mangos like trash, they collect them to throw away, then buying corn syrup in the form of sodas.

 

Mangos! I want to be the mango king.

 

Bought a new bike!

 

Feels old and new, exciting!

 

Some mangos are light and citric, others are dark and mysterious.

 

Efficiency!

 

I'm predicting way more fun, way faster, etc. Also, numerous different problems.

 

Waaay more fun than walking!

 

A bike is a super practical invention. Carry more weight, go faster, get aerobic exercise, etc. It's much better, in my opinion, than walking.

 

I bought the bike for $10. It needs some work, to put it mildly. The brakes and gears are broken, the seat doesn't stay tight, it's rusty, and so forth. I look forward to getting it into better shape!

 

I'm naming her (new bike) La Poderosa

 

My palm hurts, from bike riding. Also, leg cramps.

 

More riding to do tomorrow!!!

 

 

 

Farms, Fruits, etc.!

Submitted by eagle on Wed, 06/19/2019 - 16:59

Walked this morning. Extremely hot sun. Wanted to be in the shade, but mostly open areas with little shade. Only small hamlets. Kept walking.

 

Was going to walk towards a commercial center for wifi and shade. The map directions went into a private property, so I kept walking. Found some delicious mangos, some hot and some cool.

 

Kept walking. Decided on an alternative route towards the commercial center. This route went on small farm roads. Along the way, I tried a fresh banana, and a fruit that was either a variety or a relative of papaya with which I was unfamiliar. Both super delicious, the latter tasted like rich chocolate.

 

Kept walking. Tons of large wind power generators. Finally made it to the commercial area!

 

 

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