Flamenco Beach, in a protected cove on Culebra’s north shore, is consistently ranked in top beach lists. During a recent stay in Puerto Rico, we decided to take a day trip to Culebra to spend some time on Flamenco and check another top 10 beach off of our list.
We were a little worried that because of all the hype, Flamenco would be packed, but the moment we spotted the path to the beach and the ultra blue water of Flamenco – we didn’t care!
As we got to the end of the path, the sheer beauty of Flamenco took our breath away. To the right was a very long, very wide arc of creamy, white sand. To the left the beach was not as wide, but it was fringed with lovely palm trees.
Walking one end of the beach to the other may take a while, but is well worth it. On the right side – the beach is very wide with very little shade.
There were a few umbrellas and beach chairs to rent. Continuing to the right, at the very end of the beach you’ll find some very good snorkeling.
On the left side, the beach narrows and is fringed by some beautiful palm trees. There are some great sandy areas with shade on this side.
Walk all the way to the end of the beach on the left and you’ll come across an old rusted tank – a reminder of a time when Culebra was used for military exercises by the US Navy.
After all that walking, you can quench your thirst with the local Puerto Rican beer, Medalla, and a yummy Pincho at one of the kiosks behind the beach.
With its calm, blue water, long expanse of soft sand and plenty of room to relax – it’s easy to see why Flamenco Beach is one of the top rated beaches in the world.It’s one of the top on my list now too!
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We were almost embarrassed to admit that we had yet to taste any of the Cockspur Rums – a family of premium rums from the beautiful island of Barbados – but that changed the other night. We received a bottle each of their Cockspur 12, Old Gold, Fine Rum, Spiced and 130 and set out to do a bit of sampling.
Now we are certainly not rum experts – but we certainly do enjoy rum, so we’ll just share with you our Cockspur Rum Tasting experience, how we enjoyed sampling each rum, and where the rums are available.
Before tasting the rums, we went to the Cockspur website to get some background information on their rums. The website tells how Cockspur got its start in 1884, when a Danish seaman named Valdemar Hanschell settled on the island of Barbados.
Cockspur is now made at the West Indies Rum Distillery, established by the Stade Brothers. The distillery is located on the beach – Brighton Beach, north of Bridgetown, and uses coral filtered water from a nearby aquifer. The rum is then aged under warm Caribbean sunshine and fresh ocean breezes at our beach-side distillery. Sounds like our kind of rum!
The Cockspur 12 was enjoyed neat. We loved the color – a rich mahogany hue, and the flavor was full and velvety. The aroma was wonderful – a sweet buttery scent that made us want to drink it immediately. This is one we’d love to keep in stock for sipping. Available in the US, Caribbean, Canada, Germany, Italy, France, Denmark, and The Netherlands.
The Cockspur Old Gold was enjoyed over a single cube of ice. Again, the Old Gold was full of flavor and had a lovely aroma. It would probably mix well with cola, but we preferred savoring it on its own. This is another we’d love to keep in stock for sipping, but it’s not available in the US, so we’ll have to pick up more on our next trip to the tropics. Available in the Caribbean and Bermuda.
Cockspur Fine Rum does not have the deep mahogany color of the 12 or Old Gold and we initially thought this would be a great gold rum for mixing – which it is. We used it to concoct a recipe found on the Cockspur Recipe page – a great drink for the holidays called the Cockspur-N-Cream (find the recipe here), but, it not only performed well as a mixer – we enjoyed it on the rocks as well. Yet another Cockspur Rum we’d like to keep in our stock! Available in the Caribbean, US, Canada, UK, Bermuda, Germany, Italy, France, Denmark, and The Netherlands.
Results of our Cockspur Rum Tasting so far – 3 for 3! We loved them all.
Watch for upcoming info on our Cockspur Spiced Rum and the Cockspur Overproof tasting experience.
Find out more about Cockspur Rum and recipe ideas on their website
and follow them on their Facebook page!
Last week, on our way to visit a beach that is consistently listed as one of the best in the world, we wondered how a beach is chosen as a top beach – in the world – and how would we choose our “perfect beach”.
Visions of other beautiful beaches we’ve had the chance to visit wandered through our brain as we anticipated our afternoon in the sun and sand. What makes a beach one of the top in the world? Accessibility, size, amenities, lack of amenities, is it good for swimming, is the sand super soft, is it fringed with palm trees, good memories of your time there and the people you were with?
As you can see, this top listed beauty did not disappoint! We’ll be posting more info and pictures soon, but in the mean time, what makes a beach perfect to you? Let us know!
San Juan, Puerto Rico is known not only for its rich history and historical buildings and forts, but also for a delectable array of food offerings and restaurants.
During our recent visit to Puerto Rico, we jumped at the chance to take a culinary walking tour of Old San Juan with Flavors of San Juan Food & Culture Tours. This tour was to be a 3 hour walking tour through Old San Juan which included tastings at different interesting restaurants as well as the chance to learn more about the architecture and history of Puerto Rico’s oldest city.
We were asked to meet our guide at the corner of San Justo and Rcinto Sur Streets and were told that we would know the right location when we spotted the sculpture of a cat/giraffe in front of Banco Popular.
We met at the sculpture of a cat/giraffe in front of Banco Popular
It was there we met our tour guide Luli and where our group of ten embarked on a journey full of sensuous treats for our pallets and eyes.
Luli – our tour guide
Luli explained that “Barriguita llena, corazón contento” or “Full belly, happy heart” was a popular Puerto Rican saying and that she hoped we would experience this on our journey today. We began walking towards the first stop of the tour – Aromas Coffeehouse.
Aromas Coffeehouse
At Aromas we were treated to a warm and creamy cup of Puerto Rican coffee and Mallorca with guava jelly – a delicious local sweet bread.
A latte made with Puerto Rican coffeeMallorca with guava jelly
Onward we slowly wound our way through the magnificent buildings and blue cobblestone of Old San Juan with our knowledgeable guide highlighting many points of interest.
Original blue cobblestone streets dating back to the 1700’s
Next stop – Café El Punto, featuring fresh, authentic Puerto Rican cuisine with bright and lively, locally made masks and atrwork adorning the walls.
Here we savored the tastiest ceviche, and an alcapurria – a light and flaky pastry filled with ground beef but can also be filled with vegetables, shrimp or jueyes (a local crab). We washed it down with a frosty piña colada.
Fresh CevicheAlcapurria
Next stop – a beautiful little restaurant close to Cathedral of San Juan Bautista called Rosa de Triana.
Rosa de Triana
Here we got to mash our own plantains and experience Puerto Rico’s signature dish – Mofongo.
Cooked plantains ready for mashing
We then filled our“plantain bowl” with a delicious mixture of chicken and spices anddevoured our scrumptious Mofongo with a glass of sangria.
Mashing the plantains
Full, but totally ready to sample the fare at our last stop, we leisurely made our way through Plaza de Armas,
Child feeding pigeons in Plaza de Armas
and into Casa Cortés for….chocolate….
Casa Cortés
The Casa Cortés slogan is “Where two great passions meet: Art and Chocolate”. The ChocoBar is downstairs, and upstairs in the recently refurbished building, there are two floors of beautiful paintings and artwork from Caribbean and Latin American artists.
Chocolate delights at Casa Cortés
Several chocolate squares with cheese to dip in a warm cup of creamy hot chocolate and a churro later, we definitely had a full belly and a happy heart.
Luli passing around Casa Cortes treats
We said goodbye to some new friends we made on the tour and our lovely tour guide, Luli, and headed back out on the streets of Old San Juan – full of excellent food and history of this vibrant city.
The Old San Juan Food Tour is offered several times a day (except on Monday)and at the time of this writing, the cost for the tour is $69.99 per adult.There is some moderate walking involved. Included in the price: All food/drink tastings plus historical, cultural & architectural information and a savings guide for discounts at local businesses.
All information is correct to our knowledge at the time of writing, but be sure to verify current information before your visit. Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC
