Inspiring Travel and Wellness. Join me for adventures above and below the ocean, exploring nature, luxury travel experiences, spa and wellness activities.
After extensive Preparation (read about it here), we are loving living in Puerto Rico! After six months we are still considered “new”residents and everyday we learn new things about this beautiful island.
Here are 12 surprising facts about Puerto Rico:
(I only knew the first five before we moved to the Island!)
Continue reading “12 Surprising Facts that I Learned After Living in Puerto Rico for Six Months”Girls’ weekend seems incomplete without a little spa time. Our adventures included exploring Old San Juan, dining, shopping, scuba/snorkel trip, and plenty of beach time. We headed off to the Waldorf Astoria Spa, located in the lovely El Conquistador Resort in Fajardo, Puerto Rico.
My first visit to the El Conquistador resort was last year, but this was my first time for spa treatments. Each previous resort visit included a scuba dive, how had I not thought to follow up with a massage? Hmm.
Continue reading “Spa Time at the El Conquistador Resort, Puerto Rico”We recently moved to the beautiful island of Puerto Rico. I was a little nervous about the culture shock of leaving our hot, dry desert city and adjusting to small town, island life. It sounds weird, but it turns out growing up in Phoenix has actually prepared me for living in Puerto Rico. 
Here are 10 ways growing up in Phoenix, Arizona prepared me for living in Puerto Rico:
Close connection to foreign countries.
It is faster to drive to Mexico from Phoenix than any state in the US, Mexico is Arizona’s neighbor to the South. Likewise, Puerto Rico’s closest neighbors are definitely not the US mainland (Hello Dominican Republic and British Virgin Islands)
Everyone is (a little) Bilingual
Anyone who grew up in Arizona speaks at least a little Spanish. I even attended a bilingual elementary school for English as Second Language (ESL program). Everyone speaks a little English in Puerto Rico. Many people are fully bilingual in both Arizona and Puerto Rico. Admittedly, Arizona Spanglish is a different dialect that the Puerto Rican Spanish, but it is a good foundation to build upon. Plus I was always really good at charades, so I can act out many difficult phrases.
There are more Snowbirds than Local Residents half the year
Winters in Phoenix are overrun by people from the Mid-west desperately trying to escape the cold and warm up. Since arriving in January, we have seen the population dwindle as the snowbirds leave the island for summer. I just cannot escape snowbirds!
Continue reading “How Growing up in Phoenix Prepared Me for Living in Puerto Rico”
Travel tips for visiting El Yunque rainforest, perfect guide for your first visit! Updated to include new reservation system implemented in July 2020.
After Living in Puerto Rico for 3 months, we finally went to El Yunque rain forest on the Northeast corner of the island. The lush tropical rainforest is consistently one of the top recommended destinations in Puerto Rico, for good reasons. The unique landscape and sweeping views will take your breath away!
After extensive preparation to move to Puerto Rico (read about it here), we are LOVING the island life!
Working with the realtor before arrival really paid off! The first house we looked at was everything we wanted, in our price range, and it was almost perfect! We viewed several other properties and decided to make an offer on the first house. We provided current credit scores and reports with our application. Security deposit, plus first month and last month rent were paid with a local check (opening PR checking accounts were part of our six month preparation steps). Our house was partially furnished, so we could move in right away, but there would be extra expenses to purchase more furniture. Continue reading “Living in Puerto Rico 3 month check”
