Welcome to Fundo Don Tuto. Two farm suites in a 15-acre land with walking trails and access to a natural river. This is the ideal place to take a breather from life's stressors, to enjoy a private space where you can recharge and let nature inspire your visit's purpose. Farm suite San Pedrito is located in a beautiful area with ample views of the amazing landscape including all modern amenities. Also visit Bienteveo’s listing (https://www.airbnb.com/h/bienteveo-fundodontuto-naranjito). The space Welcome to Fundo Don Tuto. If you are curious about our name, fundo means finca in Spanish or “farm” in English. Ours is not an animal farm (other than our own dogs), only agriculture and lots of green, walking trails, and a river to enjoy. Don Tuto was the previous owner, which happens to be the father of one of the current owners (Farah’s dad). Here is a little history of how Don Tuto acquired this land. Don Tuto’s legal name is Augusto S. Ramírez-Quiñones. He was born in March 12, 1929, in a small town in Puerto Rico named Lares. He grew up in a farm a few miles away from downtown Lares where he had to work to help his family of 13 brothers and sisters, his mom Faro and his dad Juan. He pursued a career in agriculture but turned out finishing medical school and became a pediatrician. He married Doña Dharma Marrero-de Jesús who was from another town named Coamo, and who he met during his years of studying at the University of Puerto Rico. He was getting ready for medical school and Dharma was studying to become a schoolteacher. Although they both raised their five daughters in San Juan, Don Tuto always looked for the perfect farm that would emotionally take him back to his growing up years. After all his daughters graduated from college, he finally found and bought this farm in 1989. With the help of some of his sons in law, he built a small shack that was supposed to serve for storage but became their living quarters. First without power or water, Tuto and Dharma spent weekends and weeks bringing ice in a cooler to keep food in good condition. Then, he was able to have water and electricity service installed which made their lives in the farm a bit easier. He worked the farm, planted fruit trees, wood trees, plantain, cocoa trees, coffee trees, tubers; he even prepared most of the walking trails we enjoy now primarily with his machete that he handled with incredible gifted skill. Although it was Don Tuto’s dream to build a safer house and perhaps live in the farm, it never materialized. He was getting old and tired, and sold the property in 2008 to me, his daughter Farah and my wife Aurora. And so, we became the new caregivers of this beautiful land. First, we built the uphill road in reinforced concrete and also built in cement the old shack, now with a real bathroom, bedroom, and kitchen. Even though it is small (12’x24’), it has everything we need. We also added a deck and substituted the old metal tool shack for a gazebo. This is our living quarters. When hurricane María hit our island in September 2017, we lost about 60% of our trees, lost our deck, many of our trails, our BBQ and our 17’ wood walking bridge both of which we built ourselves. We were without power for 6 months but survived with all the help we received from our friends in Minnesota, including a generator that allowed us to use our refrigerator for a few hours every day. We had to work twice as hard to recover, also with helping hands from friends. Our deck was re-built, also our BBQ, and a walking bridge. Soon after that, we decided it was time to make our dream come true and prepared to build an office and two cabins to share our passion with nature loving people like ourselves. The original idea was for the two cabins to be similar to the main house, our little house. But our architect, Hansel Bajuelo, our contractor, Pedro Hernández, and their company “El Arte de Construir” (the art of construction) had another vision and once they showed us how these cabins would look, we immediately agreed. Then, the idea of the office with ample view of our surrounding nature, overlooking the two cabins, where we could work and also receive our guests. Construction started in November 2019 and finished in February 2020. As far as the two cabin’s indoor work, barn doors were built by Proyecto Madera Puerto Rico (wood project), a local business that immediately understood the concept and delivered perfectly. The rest was our work. Aurora designed and I (Farah) helped build the bed and back shelves, sitting area window table, counter, and closet. We have to acknowledge that a few friends helped during the construction process. We even heard the argument of a loving friend who suggested that we do not have cabins, we have farm suites. We also want to acknowledge the amazing loving job that Luis Fuentes, our groundskeeper for over 10 years, has done. Luis has become part of our family and please feel free to say Hi! when you see him around the property. We wanted to have a perfect name for our two farm suites in Fundo Don Tuto, so we heard the sounds and observed the beauty of nature. Bienteveo and San Pedrito are two of our favorite birds here in Fundo Don Tuto. Bienteveo sings just like he is saying his name. San Pedrito is a tiny colorful bird that fill our hearts with tenderness every time we have the privilege of being close to him or her. They are also the favorite birds of Don Tuto. We continue working to make our place one that our guests feel at home, at peace, and connected with nature’s blessings, feel completely welcomed. We added recycled glass water bottles that our guests could fill every day in our Berkey water filter located in our office and take back to their cabins. We also added stainless steel spoons, knives, and forks for our guests to use in each suite; among other amenities intended to make your stay an unforgettable one. We are grateful for your support. Please enjoy and become part of our dream! Guest access The main little house, surrounding deck, and gazebo areas are our (the hosts) private living quarters; therefore, not included as part of your stay. Parking for one car inside the premises is available. You can enjoy free access to all walking trails, and deck area in the reception office. Homemade breakfast is included and served from 8:30-9:00 am by the reception office deck area. Please indicate during booking and confirm during your stay that this service is of interest to you. For an extra fee, arrangements can be made for lunch and dinner only by request when booking your reservation. Also, in the reception office, a Berkey water filter will be available for you to fill your recyclable water bottle or fill the glass water bottles already in the small fridge at the little house. At the end of your stay, keys should be returned to the receiving office. Other things to note There are two farm suites at Fundo Don Tuto: San Pedrito and Bienteveo. They are relatively close but with enough distance between them to provide privacy to our guests. San Pedrito and Bienteveo are practically identical but with their unique surrounding and charm due to their location. It takes approximately 40-45 minutes to arrive to Fundo Don Tuto from the San Juan metropolitan area. For a standard fee, arrangements can be made for transportation to our property. There is a light colored gate right at the entrance of our property. When you arrive, either on your own car or with arranged transportation, you will be welcomed at the entrance gate and then at the reception office where you will receive a key to farm suite San Pedrito. Be aware that you will have to walk a steep down hill to reach the little house; therefore, it is more convenient to dress with comfortable walking shoes (more like tennis shoes) and carry your belongings in a backpack. Although you could bring a roller suitcase or any type of suitcase, it will be challenging to carry it downhill or uphill. We have a small 4-wheel cart that you can use if needed. We have a strict cleaning and sanitizing protocol that we complete after check-out and before check-in. The check list is available to you upon request. Please note that we have dogs that live freely in our property. If you decide to drive, please announce every time you exit or enter the property so that dogs can be secured. Main gate will close at 9:00 pm and silence is required after 10:00 pm. In case there is interruption in the water or electricity service, we have a 600 gallon water tank and a power generator for backup.