Hello everyone.
It’s taken some time but we finally hired some employees to help us clean
Banana Dang at night. It gives us 2 more hours of sleep and that is definitely worth it. They are not full-time but maybe soon they can be baristas/order takers so we can take some time off to surf!
IAN, our first hire, is 6’4” and would be a great model for Diesel Jeans or some quirky brand like Camper. He likes his coffee extra caffeinated and inspired us to name a drink after him called the “Vietnamese Ian”—which is Vietnamese Iced Coffee shakened with a double shot of espresso. His love for coffee is nearly equaled to his love for blogging. When not at our work, Ian is most likely at his other job making Tapas.
3 things he can’t live without: Food, water, music
Historical person he’d most like to dine with: Rasputin
How his closest friend describes him: “Boing! Boing! Boing!”
ENID is our Puerto Rican home-girl. She is not a coffee drinker but has tasted every smoothie on the menu—she is a big fan of the Mango Lassi, Purple Dang and Thai Iced Tea. Enid is fluent in English and has a passion for languages. She is unrecognizable outside of Banana Dang because she really knows how to doll up for a night out. Her hair changes on a daily basis but her smile (and laughter) is constant.
3 things she can’t live without: Perfume, music, pedicures
Famous person she’d most like to dine with: Diane Arbus
How her closest friend describes her: Silly!
On another note, we got our house painted upstairs—well, only half the house—but now cozier and more comfortable. Our favorite new thing to do is project movies on the living room wall. It feels like we’re in a private movie theater—widescreen, surround sound, popcorn and all!
We also cut down our Sunday hours to 9-3 pm which gives us even more time to do an evening surf session. It really does wonders when you’re able to re-coop—and we don’t want to burn out too early. Every day feels more like home as we scope out the area and get more familiar with the roads—and restaurants! We met more people in Rincon in the last few months then we did in 5 years in L.A. In fact…
We always get asked:
“Do you miss L.A?” Obviously, our family and friends mean everything to us but aside from that...
We do NOT miss:- 2 hours commute in what should take less than 30 minutes
- Metered parking (no meters anywhere here!)
- Billboards with crappy ads with fake people selling crappy stuff we do not need
- Long lines to get into clubs and restaurants (no velvet rope here)
- Attitude! (Those who live here are “perma-vacationers,” so most are relaxed)
What we do miss about L.A…- Whole Foods, Trader Joes, health food stores
- “Real” car washes (ones with soap in the dispenser and scrub brushes...really, is that too much to ask?!?)
- Good hair salons
- Cops who give tickets when someone speeds through red lights going 80mph
- No mosquitoes, ants who attack, lizards in the house (although lizards are cute)
In February, we made it out to the
Maricao Coffee Festival in the Highlands of Puerto Rico. Over three days the town's main plaza was chock-full of food + drinks, arts + crafts, parades + musicians.
Of course, the main attraction was the bean. We found two vendors we were very happy with—Café Bello and El Mananero.
Café Bello beans have a delicate aroma with hints of honey and cedar. They scored a 90 out of 100 in the cupping category, which is a very good rating!
Also—we debut the “
Purple Dang” (
acai berries, banana and strawberries); The name was thought up by
Purple Telescope and has become the #1 smoothie seller at Banana Dang—even beating out Lattes as the top popular item on some days. Thank you,
Sambazon!
The next few months will also bring more familiar faces from home as friends and family make their way to our island. We promise we will feature some guest bloggers (Tanya? Rosarito?). Surfwise, Rincon’s had a major flat spell in the last 2 weeks. We’re talking FLAT as a pancake. It was nice to go snorkeling again and we even found a new spot—
Antonio’s—where we can see plenty of caves underwater, reminiscent of the movie “
Finding Nemo.” For the uninitiated, seeing caves underwater can be kinda spooky, but very fun!
Enough rambling. Time for an afternoon cappuccino...
Con Amore,
T2 and Mario
It was BIG WEDNESDAY in Rincon—and even BIGGER on THURSDAY!
Here are some words from Mario below...
The only way I was able to get a sense of scale was by watching the jet skiers tow in surfers onto monsters waves. This was something I have only seen in surfing videos; to witness it in person is pretty mindblowing.
These last few months have been amazing. T2 and I are having a blast at Banana Dang. We learn something new everyday. The support from the local community and travelers has been great and make the long days of work come easier.
