Are We Actual Travel Bloggers?

 Another Hike and Beach Adventure - This Time With Friends!

Since January 1st fell on a Sunday this year, most people had Monday off. We normally take Mondays off anyway, so we decided to join the crowds and enjoy a typical pastime: hiking and beaching. 

But this time with friends! Meet Lisa and Bob from Messy Suitcase Travel Blog ("Because Life is Short and the World is Big!"). When we decided to move to PR, we scoured the internet for travel tips, places to visit, other's island experiences, etc. And we came across the Messy Suitcase.

Bob, Julie, Lisa, Lyndon at Guajataca State Forest.

Bob and Lisa's adventures really resonated with us, so we introduced ourselves via Zoom at first, then met up with them last summer when they moved to their new home on the west coast. And once again, the day after New Year's, for a hike at the Bosque Estatal de Guajataca (Guajataca State Forest) near Isabela on the northwest coast of PR. (About a 90 minute drive for both of us from different directions.)

Lots to do in the Isabela area of the island.

One of the first things Lisa said as we met for our hike was something like, "There are the travel bloggers!" And I thought, "What? Oh, that's us! She called us travel bloggers!" I don't know why, but this surprised me. Here we thought they were the travel bloggers. I guess it makes sense - we travel and blog about some of our trips. It's fun, we meet new people. We just don't get paid to do it! (Yet! Ha!)

Puerto Rico has 19 state forests and 36 nature preserves.

So for this day's hike, we four intrepid adventurers - with our phones ready to take some video - headed down the path to Cueva del Viento (Cave of the Wind) at Guajataca. Only, we missed the footpath turnoff and instead followed the circuit back to where we started. No big deal, it was a pleasant hike, and Lisa said when they explored the cave a few months before they almost got lost inside. 

The path that leads to the Cave of the Winds. 

After hiking for about an hour and testing out my video capabilities (spoiler: they're non-existent), we headed to the beach. A pretty popular swimming and surfing area called Playa Jobos (Jobos Beach). It's just west of Isabela and along the scenic, but busy, coastal Route 466. 

Popular Jobos Beach west of Isabela, PR.

We grabbed a bite to eat and relaxed for a few hours in the shade. A volleyball game was going on, music was playing, people were swimming, the surf was up, everyone seemed to be having a great day. I did take a short video of some folks in the water, but since I don't know how to edit, I just put it up as a "Reel" on Facebook where it has over 1,500 views!

Since we don't have any YouTube content yet, I uploaded the same vid to my TikTok account, where you don't need an account to view the video on your computer. One day, I'm going to figure out how to make money doing all this! Haha.

But for now, we'll be satisfied meeting up with fellow travel bloggers like Lisa and Bob, who happen to have a really good YouTube Channel here. Check out some of their stories. And send us your stories! What adventures have you been on lately? Until next time!