Puerto Rico Citrus Hill Project - Day 13

Natalie's digits need "un descanso" so here I am taking the wheel.  Sorry in advance for not meeting your expectation in both detail and context.  

Saturday's are big day for us Puerto Ricans.  No 9-5 regular work means we get after it at the crack of dawn to get a jump on heat and variable weather conditions.  We dug up and removed the remaining large weeds in the yard. Got after it with a hidden junk pile that included galvanized and PVC pipes mixed with plywood and a huge bundle of rusty razor wire all wrapped up in jungle overgrowth.  You can only imagine how sloppy this daddy got dislodging that mess.    All this was mixed in with pestering bugs, chasing, catching and naming lizards, a juvenile tarantula (see picture below) and all sorts of distractions to help Dad yell more than he has to date this whole trip. 

It was also time to get the bottom of our water leak situation.  We dug in and around the foundation to discover two holes, one the size of your fist, that where the clear culprits of our despair last week.   They were quickly plugged and waterproofed, now we've got our fingers crossed that we won't see water inside anytime soon.  

After a good nap (also required by Dad), Nat and the girls headed straight inside to finish painting the inside downstairs.  I wasn't fond of the light blue at first but it's growing on me.  I went upstairs for a maiden voyage with our pressure washer and the that little guy didn't disappoint. The boys will soon be master squegeers but for now I'll make use of their novice skills. 

We hit a hard stop at 4 o'clock then hit the showers before going out on the town for date night.  One of the least romantic things I could think of was used car shopping so it seemed like a logical choice.   The pandemic has created a wild shortage of used cars of all shapes and sizes on the island so there wasn't much of a selection, but we did find this little number at a good price with low mileage with none of greasy salespeople, worry or the anxiety you'd expect.  Our salesperson Julissa was top notch!

We then zipped off in separate cars in the middle of a rainstorm for dinner at a new place that may be our new favorite, El Nuevo Acuario.  It wasn't much to look at but the food was absolutely outstanding!  Lobster empanadas, firecracker grouper and red snapper were the order of the day and they did not disappoint! 

The owner (Leonardo) came out to visit with us and we struck up a fast friendship that included his origin story, a quick account of our adventure and him nailing the fact that we're members of the church.  He said "he just knew".  Like any friends would, we exchanged phone numbers, got some locals only tips, made some tentative plans to meeting for kite flying, an invitation to our house (when ready) and a standing offer for us to borrow his truck whenever we need it. 



These people are special and most of them don't even realize it.  They have an energy and spirit that makes you want to be together, to be connected, to serve and to love them the way you wish you could and should love everyone.  We are so blessed and it is people like Leonardo and so many others that continue to validate why we felt so strongly that we need strong roots in PR.   What a wonderful Saturday!