And then it was real....

It's been months and months and throw what feels like a few more months in there but we finally made it. The relief I felt the moment we picked up our beloved pup, Zorra from the cargo area of United was long awaited, and appropriately sweet.

And, um, we LIVE here now!

Our dear friends, Rick and Lauryn picked us up and drove us to their place in Hatillo, where we will be renting a room while we apartment shop. Hatillo is the dairy capital of the island and is about an hour east of San Juan. I had a hot chocolate after dinner that evening and could tell the milk was local and fresh. So creamy!

This last week has been spent snorkeling and fishing at the gorgeous local beaches and allowing ourselves a little downtime to acclimate. Going from epic snow storms to tropical humidity deserves a little physical gentleness. With at least 5-7 pounds of creamed chip beef on my body that I could get rid of, I've also started a 21-day sugar detox program courtesy of one of my Paleo heroes, Dianne SanFillippo of Balanced Bites. Will be doing a seperate post on this later but if you care to check it out, here is the link: www.balancedbites.com
Being able to take rest when I feel like it and having plenty of time for food prep has made it pretty easy so far.

Today we are visiting Rick in old San Juan so we can use his car to make a Costco run. We bought our CA memory foam mattress at a Costco and are praying they carry it here too. Our Queen size mattress was $600 and frigging awesome. Novaform is the brand name and I recommend it highly.

I was pleasantly surprised to find Hatillo to have plenty of conveniences. We basically sold all of our belongings before moving so it's nice to have access to Walmart and have been finding strange gems at the local TJ Max even though I know that our patronage will likely send us to a burning karmic hell. Ulp!

So far, I couldn't ask for better and feel a deep love for this culture and terrain that I have only felt before for CA. I know frustrations will come inevitably but for now, I'll enjoy the honeymoon period and work on my tan.
Hasta luego, Amigos! Con amor, Juni