Break in the Storm, Rincon Puerto Rico

For the past several days all of the Caribbean and some of Central America has been under the influence of an enormous front which stretched from Honduras, over the islands of the Caribbean and out into the Atlantic Ocean. There have been periods of intense rain, followed by a clearing... but the sky's have remained gray. This is remarkable as the usual pattern at this time of year is for showers in the afternoon and brilliant blue sky's in the morning and later afternoon.

Never mind, the guests at the Lemontree for this Memorial Day weekend enjoyed the break from the sun. Some just watched the sky show from their terraces and took their leisure. Others went on excursions to some of the small towns in the interior bringing back enormous baskets of mangoes and wonderful huge flowers. Like these Lobster Claws.



Today, the front has pushed on and the weather is back to its more predictable "tropical paradise" self.

Dia de Logros

This Saturday was a milestone. At the Francisco Lopez Cruz Foundation where Bella and I study music, it was Dia de Logros or Day of Accomplishments. Bella has reached the halfway point in her study of the Cuatro and I completed a third term of Bongo. On this day, students present a concert and Bella played with her Cuatro class a Puerto Rican favorite, Alma Boricua and the audience was singing and cheering along with the song. She also played with Taller Orchestra and they played these well known Puerto Rican songs Preciosa, Dime and Campinatas de Cristal. Pictured above, obviously in high spirits, Bella is tuning up and ready to go. She is wearing her very red shirt! Each instructor decides on a color of shirt and her cuatro class selected RED! The day lasted from about 2:00 p.m. until well after dark. After a summer of practicing on our own, formal classes begin again in late August.

A Moment In Time, Rincon, Puerto Rico

Last week the New York Times ran a wonderful interactive photographic project called "A Moment in Time." On Sunday at 15:00 GMT or 11A here in PR around the world photographers were invited to submit images of their place and circumstances. The photographs were placed on a fabulous rotating globe and sorted by topic, location and recommendation votes.

Here is the photograph I submitted:



It was taken with a telephoto-lens just down the beach from the Lemontree... as seen from our main courtyard. Sunday is a slow day here and the morning unfolded quietly. Down the beach are beach houses which have been in families for a couple of generations. A morning of family, calm and tranquility.

You can check out the image in the NYTimes here as well as read about the entire project.

At this time this image has been the most recommended in the Puerto Rico pile.

A Sunrise and Sunset in Rincon, Puerto Rico

Yesterday, I was up just after the sun rose, and as I customary do, I stepped out onto the terrace for a look around. This time of year the sunrise has moved from due East, over the mountains towards the Northeast and is partly blocked by the mountains. The scene was not particularly unusual, actually rather ordinary for a tropical sunrise. The day would be calm, at least until 2:00 pm when the rains would come... clearing off an hour or so later. I think it was just the ordinariness that attracted me. I had my 35mm lens mounted and just shot off a couple of frames.

Here is what I saw:



The day moved on and errands were run. We had a wonderful visit from our oldest son, freshly returned from the mainland, and brimming with stories and anecdotes. Just before dinner, I stepped out onto the terrace and saw the beginnings of sunset. The boaters heading for home and the pelicans looking for a last meal before they snugged down in a tree.

Here is the scene:



The sun sets now to the West/Northwest and so the light that you see looking due East is reflected light, with the light brighter higher up in the sky and shadows appearing towards the water.

It struck me that the two images, early morning and late afternoon were parallel scenes... with just the direction of the light separating them. In another blog I wrote that we tend to keep track of the passing of the day by the sun... certainly much more profoundly and meaningfully that we ever did in New York City.

That low door in the wall in Rincon, PR

Today was a paperwork day, some revision of the advertising for the Lemontree and then tax matters. In thinking about copy for the Lemontree I wanted to speak to the essence or soul of the experience that guests have when they stay with us. So much of advertising is written in "real-estate speak"... grandiose with promise of extraordinary amenities and luxury. Well... for us this place is an enveloping experience not just a swank bedroom for a couple of nights... its also a place for love... of all kinds and of privacy away from the rush of media and hard edged demands of a social scene. We welcome people of all persuasions looking for... something not to be had in their cities at home. It was then I recalled a quote from Brideshead Revisited... here it is:

"But I was in search of love in those days, and I went full of curiosity and the faint, unrecognized apprehension that here, at last, I should find that low door in the wall, which others, I knew, had found before me, which opened on an enclosed and enchanted garden, which was somewhere, not overlooked by any window, in the heart of that gray city."

I realized then that for many guests, the Lemontree could be that low door in the wall ...for grownups looking to reawaken their spirits here in our enchanted garden by the sea.

Conjunto del Sol takes Rincon, PR

Suerte!... our band, Conjunto del Sol, has been active this month with three public performances. The most recent was last night at a fund raising and social gathering of the International Friendship Club. The setting was the restaurant Fagon de la Curva on Carr 115 in Rincon. We played on the roof top bar as the sun set. Our play list consists of about 12 numbers. What makes our group distinctive is that we play traditional Puerto Rican songs on traditional instruments. Here on the island the ancient hill's tradition is for small groups of family and friends who gather to play and listen to the old tunes... and so we participate by sharing with others our love of the Isla and of its traditions.

Last night friends from the North were down visiting... we had not seen them for many many years and so it was a double pleasure... to play and to visit. Denny took some video of the group... Bella playing the Tiple, Charlie on the Bordonua, Chela on the Guiro and Chucho on the Bongo. In the first clip, we are playing Fiesta en Naranjito, a lively song with an engaging lilt. In the second clip, we are playing an island favorite, Verde Luz. Many people started to sing as we played this song. The words are below.
Here are two clips (only a small segment of each song)... enjoy.






These are the words to Verde Luz...first in Spanish and then in English.

Verde luz de monte y mar, Green light of mountain and sea,
isla virgen del coral, virgin island coral
si me ausento de tus playas primorosas, if I miss your exquisite beaches,
si me alejo de tus palmas silenciosas, if I move away from your palms silent
quiero volver, quiero volver. I want to return, I want to return.

A sentir la tibia arena To feel the warm sand
a dormir en tus riberas, to sleep on your shores,
isla mía, flor cautiva, Island mine, flower captive
para ti quiero tener. I have for you.

Libre tu cielo, Free your sky,
sola tu estrella only your star
isla doncella, quiero tener, island girl, I have,
verde luz de monte y mar. letra traduzca light green mountains and sea.

Valentines Day, Rincon, PR

Here in Puerto Rico, we are very sentimental. Valentines Day always brings a flurry of activity as folks scramble for their special valentine's flowers and candy. One doesn't have to look far though, as the roadsides are crowded with stands selling flowers, candy and large baskets for your sweetheart. Some of the vendors take to the street, as the fellow in the photograph above, so there is absolutely no excuse for forgetting your valentine's gift!

Sounds of the lapping waves in Rincon, PR

Last night I was out on the terrace listening to the waves and I was reminded of how often guests have told me how much they enjoy going to sleep listening to the waves. I took the video below of those lapping waves. It was darker than usual and so without the shine of the moon, the video is dark/black. You can hear the waves though and almost imagine yourself with your eyes closed, drifting off to sleep. Push the button and listen...



This morning I went out onto the terrace, was greeted by the waves again and saw this incredible sunrise...isn't the sun brilliant on the water?


Below is a little video of the lapping waves from this morning.
Nighttime and morning, the waves are with us, gently ebbing back and forth, beseeching us to relax and dream.

A Parallel Universe... in Rincon PR

The light that comes to the earth from the sun consists of short wave length ultraviolet light, visible light and longer wavelength infrared light. The largest fraction of light is actually infrared. Our eyes can see only in the visible light range. Existing side by side with what we take for ordinary visual reality is a parallel reality created by the reflection of infrared light, to which our eyes are insensitive. One can use a filter on a camera to block out all but infrared light and then record images that are created by the reflection of infrared light off surfaces.

One of the technical problems with making photographs using infrared light is that it takes a longer time to make such an exposure. Thus, if you use an infrared filter you usually should use a tripod to steady the camera and avoid motion blur from any small movements of the camera.

I have worked previously with infrared exposures of landscapes and I'm sure that you have seen images such as the one below of the Lemontree... taken yesterday using an infrared filter. Usually these images are converted into black and white photographs as you see.



In these images the green foliage is rendered as white because chlorophyll fluoresces the infrared light. Like the tropics with snow?!

Without the benefit of a tripod I also made a couple of other infrared photographs. One a portrait and the other of shaded leaves in a tree.



What is really cool about this use is that infrared seems to hide imperfections and shows the skin with a smooth porcelain like glow. She was looking almost directly into the sun, as you can see from her eyes, and yet the photograph is not blownout and looks rather intriguing.

Finally this last image was taken under the canopy of a large tree on the beach... again hand-held.



While there is some motion blur, what I really like is how the leaves are rendered in white and the veins and termite trails are shown as black. It produces a great design and an almost abstract take on the tree branch.

It is possible to have a digital camera permanently converted infrared. This then makes it possible to capture this non-visible part of the spectrum just like shooting in the visible range. Here is a site that offers tutorials and a camera conversion service. Should you decide to do a conversion and try infrared, let us know how you like it!

Sylvia, the rehersal for ARF Benefit, Rincon, PR

So much activity and so few blog entries... oh my. These include a great New Year, an opening of Todd's new photography exhibition at Rincon of the Seas, work on a new musical play-list in preparation for our performance in early February, the return of high season here at the Lemontree and... ta ta, moving the rehearsal with Rincon Players into high gear.

Yesterday, the players in our play reading group, Rincon Players, went to the venue for our staged reading of Sylvia on behalf of ARF, the Rincon Animal Rescue Foundation. We began to work out the blocking for the production and to consider some of the challenges of the space for performing the actual production. The performance is scheduled for the 17th of February and so, we have our work cut out for us!