Things have been a bit quiet on the website. My hands have been a bit full with my new baby… my book! Dining Traveler Guide to Puerto Rico is finally here! In the spirit of celebration, I want to share a short timeline about the book…
During the summer of 2015, an idea came to mind. As I was scrolling through my Instagram feed, it amazed me how a single photo can inspire a person to travel to a particular destination. I thought about how I’d translate what I do on the blog and on social media into a visual guide. I thought about how I felt that there were not enough travel stories about Puerto Rico being told by actual Puerto Ricans in traditional travel media. That’s how Dining Traveler Guide to Puerto Rico was conceived.
Producing a coffee table book/travel guide is not cheap so I decided to put together a Kickstarter campaign. It’s fair to say that I underestimated how challenging it was going to be to raise $20k! I was posting on social every day, trying to get press, calling every single person I knew. We reached our goal with 8 hours left on the clock. For those who are not familiar with Kickstarter: if you don’t make your goal, you do not receive the funding. Stakes were high! We received contributions ranging from $1 to $2k. I am extremely grateful for every single person who contributed, regardless of the amount.
A few months later, Italo (my photographer) and I embarked on a five-week-long journey to Puerto Rico. In true Marine style, I arrived with an organized itinerary down to the hour. A few days into the trip, that plan was quickly thwarted. Part of the magic was meeting amazing people along the way who were leading us to different places to shoot. Some of the best memories of the trip were the ones that were totally spontaneous.
We left Puerto Rico with over 6,000 images, countless memories, and many new friends. Meeting new people and getting to learn about their restaurant, hotel, or town was the true highlight of this experience. Although the title says “Dining” this is beyond food, this is my attempt to highlight Puerto Rico’s biggest asset: its people.
As I started working on the book, I learned I was pregnant. My first trimester was not very kind to me, leaving me with chronic fatigue. Midway through my pregnancy, I had to fulfill my Marine Reserve duties and headed to Okinawa, Japan to work with my reserve unit. Between work and sleep, I developed much of the written content of the book and started my initial photo selection. Trying to pick my favorite photos out of 6,000 became incredibly overwhelming.
Life kept throwing curveballs throughout the production of the book. I took a short term assignment at the Pentagon, my belly kept growing, and had to keep working. Being self-published, one does not get an advance so I had to work all my jobs and develop the book at nights or the weekends. Fast forward to 2017. I had a baby, my husband started his own company, I took on a new assignment with the Marines, and in all this, I managed to finish my book in late August of 2017. As I am getting ready to send my work to my editor, Hurricane Maria savagely took its wrath across Puerto Rico.
In the chaos of ensuring that my family and friends were ok, I didn’t think it was appropriate to even start the conversation about a tourism book to Puerto Rico. Nina asked me to go back to the drawing board and incorporate my thoughts on what happened after the Hurricane. It was impossible to tell the story without having gone to Puerto Rico first. In early 2018 I visited twice, checking in on several of the people that we met.
Although the energy was low on my first visit, the optimism was high. What I have witnessed in the last four trips I’ve made to Puerto Rico is a renaissance. A renaissance of Puerto Ricans coming back to their roots. Although thousands left the island, many stayed and even some returned to help in the recovery process. New restaurants are sprouting everywhere, local agriculture is increasing, and chefs are tapping into traditional ingredients and methods. In many ways, I believe this is the best time to go and visit the island.
I believe the universe works in mysterious ways. Although the book did not arrive in the timeline I wanted it to arrive in, it arrived at the time it needed to. A time where we need to tell the story of Puerto Rico. As I embark on my book tour, I want to continue the conversation about Puerto Rico. That is why I am hosting a series of book events that focus on the future of travel to the island with panel discussions and presentations.
About the book: The book is available for purchase via Amazon. Follow my Facebook and Instagram for more information on our book events.
