Being able to visit the place where your parents were born is one of the most amazing feelings ever. So when I got the opportunity to work with City Chic on a special trip to Puerto Rico, I couldn't have been more excited and grateful. What was even more exciting was that I was going to be having this experience with 2 of my favorite people, Darlene Lebron of Suits, Heels and Curves and Madeline Jones the Editor in Chief of Plus Model Magazine. All three of us are Puerto Rican with parents that were born and raised on the island, so this trip is special to us in so many ways. This was our opportunity to show you our Isla de Encanto and all its beauty, culture and diversity through the eyes of three women of Puerto Rican decent. Come along on this journey with us!
Day 2 - Loiza
Day two was going to be another busy day for us, so we got up super early and decided to take in some sun and enjoy our beautiful pool at our Airbnb before we headed out to our first experience.
Now that we got some sun, we were ready to head out to our first experience. We booked a tour with igottourspr.com to visit the historical Cave of Maria de la Cruz in Loiza, PR. Loiza is a town just east of San Juan, on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, and it is one of the earliest-settled areas on the island. David is the person who owns and runs the tour company and he came highly recommended by our friend Ada who had the pleasure of taking one of his tours. He is actually from Queens, NY and gave up his life there to return to his Isla and started his own tour company.
We met up with one of the locals there who guided us around this amazing Cave. This cave is more of a large open area than a deep cave which measures 50 meters wide, 25 meters deep, and 30 meters high. It was definitely an amazing sight to see. Then it was time for a little history lesson and demonstration on Bomba y Plena music. Bomba and plena are percussion-driven musical traditions from Puerto Rico that move people to dance. Often mentioned together as though they were a single musical style, both reflect the African heritage of Puerto Rico. We even got a lesson on how to dance to the bomba y plena music which was so much fun. We also got to visit their small museum which housed some of Loiza's most beautiful art work. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any video or pictures while we were in there.
Our next stop on the tour was to visit the studio of the world renown Puerto Rican artist Samuel Lind. Honestly this was one of the highlights of the trip. Being able to meet him and converse about his amazing paintings and sculptures that hold so much meaning and Puerto Rican culture. He made us feel at home, like we were visiting an old friend. You could feel the energy and positive vibes throughout the studio. I highly recommend you visit his studio if you're ever in PR.
Day 3 - Manatee Care Taker for a Day and Night Life
Did you know that you could be a care taker for a day at a Manatee Conservation Center? Well that's how we spent part of our day 3 in PR. The Manatee Conservation Center in Puerto Rico is one of the largest rescue centers in the Caribbean. They rescue birds, turtles and of course Manatee which they try to nurse back to health and release into their natural habitat. Unfortunately they are a few that due to their injuries cannot be put back into the wild so they are kept in the center. We got to learn all about each rescue animal in the center, how to prepare their food and actual feed each animal. It was such a learning experience and tons of fun. This is a great activity to do if you have kids so make sure to visit https://manatipr.org to set up a tour, be a caretaker or if you want to donate. It takes $80,000 a year to feed a manatee so definitely donate if you can.
Did you know that you could be a care taker for a day at a Manatee Conservation Center? Well that's how we spent part of our day 3 in PR. The Manatee Conservation Center in Puerto Rico is one of the largest rescue centers in the Caribbean. They rescue birds, turtles and of course Manatee which they try to nurse back to health and release into their natural habitat. Unfortunately they are a few that due to their injuries cannot be put back into the wild so they are kept in the center. We got to learn all about each rescue animal in the center, how to prepare their food and actual feed each animal. It was such a learning experience and tons of fun. This is a great activity to do if you have kids so make sure to visit https://manatipr.org to set up a tour, be a caretaker or if you want to donate. It takes $80,000 a year to feed a manatee so definitely donate if you can.
What I wore
After the Manatee tour, we head back to the Airbnb to rest a bit, freshen up and get ready for experience #3. An evening tour with a local musician of Puerto Rican night life and traditional Bomba y Plena music. This was such a fun night, we got to let our hair down and live like the locals. We visited 2 different local bars where they play live music and it was such a great vibe at both spots. Seeing my people just take in our music and dance the night away was a feeling I will never forget.
Day 4 - Giving Back
One thing that we wanted to do on this trip was to give back to the island. As you know we are rounding almost 3 years that Hurricane Maria ravaged our beautiful Isla de Encanto. While there has been efforts to help restore the island, there is still much to be done. So we reached out to an organization to see where help was needed. So thanks to City Chic we were able to bring food and supplies to the Loiza Home for the Elderly. The administrator of the facility was beyond grateful for everything we brought. It was such a great feeling to give back to this wonderful community.
Day 5 - The Sustyle Expo
As I mentioned earlier, the Sustyle Expo is the number one event in PR that focuses on health, beauty and fashion. Suzanne Ujaque is the founder and creator of this amazing one day event and promotes body positivity, plus size fashion and diversity. The Blogger House Curvy Closet had the pleasure of having a booth at the event and enjoy the full experience. We got to meet and talk to so many amazing plus size woman while we were there. It such a great feeling to be in a room with so many women that looked like us.
This was the first year that City Chic participated in the fashion show and they killed the show! To see City Chic at the fashion show make sure to check out our video of the entire trip below!
What I Wore
As I mentioned earlier, the Sustyle Expo is the number one event in PR that focuses on health, beauty and fashion. Suzanne Ujaque is the founder and creator of this amazing one day event and promotes body positivity, plus size fashion and diversity. The Blogger House Curvy Closet had the pleasure of having a booth at the event and enjoy the full experience. We got to meet and talk to so many amazing plus size woman while we were there. It such a great feeling to be in a room with so many women that looked like us.
This was the first year that City Chic participated in the fashion show and they killed the show! To see City Chic at the fashion show make sure to check out our video of the entire trip below!
What I wore
Dress (similar)
I can't say enough about this trip, it was such an awesome experience and so grateful I got to do it with 2 of my favorite people! A huge thank you goes out to City Chic for sponsoring this trip and giving us this opportunity to show you our precious island through our eyes! Puerto Rico is thriving and flourishing so make your next trip there and support their tourism!
Lastly, a big hug and thank you to our wonderful and talented Videographer/Photographer Enrique Nieves who worked so hard to make this video perfect for us. Check out his website www.enriquenieves.com and follow him at @el_boin
Lastly, a big hug and thank you to our wonderful and talented Videographer/Photographer Enrique Nieves who worked so hard to make this video perfect for us. Check out his website www.enriquenieves.com and follow him at @el_boin
Make sure to check out www.citychiconline.com and SHOP ALL OUR LOOKS! Also don't forget to visit Darlene and Maddy posts to read about their experience on this life changing trip as well as our video of the entire trip below!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Hi, thanks for commenting on my post. Come back any time!