Bello Horizonte

We just returned from a week in Rincon, Puerto Rico.  My son-in-law rented a house with a magnificent view, westward, over the ocean.  This photo was taken from the pool deck and shows the daytime view, which only gets more spectacular at sunset.  The island visible in the distance is Desecheo Island, located about 12 miles from the coast.

 The island is not inhabited and federal law prohibits people setting foot on the island because of the possibility of unexploded military artillery!  It is inhabited by wild goats and is essentially a nature preserve.  They say, though, that it is a great place for scuba diving and snorkeling along the island's perimeter which has lots of protected coves.

The house is called Bello Horizonte, which I assume means "beautiful horizon," due to it's ideal view of the sunset and some very easily identifiable Rincon shore landmarks, including not only the island, but also a large white dome that supposedly was built to be a nuclear reactor.  A clump of trees obscures the Rincon lighthouse.

Anytime I am in a tropical place, I am amazed by the vibrant flowers, and Puerto Rico has that type of climate that encourages lush growth.  The home owners have had Bello Horizonte for over 30 years and they obviously have taken an interest in doing some gardening to encourage lots of beautiful ornamental flowering plants to thrive.  One morning I took some photos of some of the flowers for you to enjoy!  Here they are in no particular order...

Some are easy to identify, like the bougainvillea above and the hibiscus.  Others are not so familiar.  I realize I didn't take any photos of the abundant bananas in the banana trees, but here is a shot of a couple of mangoes that will likely be eaten by a beautiful yellow bird when they are ripe because they are too far up in the tree to harvest.

I came home with a little more sun color from lazy days at the beach and in the pool, some bug bites (I think from tiny mosquitoes that appeared at dusk), some wonderful memories of time spent with my two wonderful grand babies, their parents and Russ, and a desire to return and do it all again!