Now that I’ve given you a taste of the food and colors of Puerto Rico I think it’s time to share the actual trip with you guys – so get your popcorn because this is a long one! To be honest, I didn’t really have any plans going into this trip. We had a place booked in San Juan for the whole week so visiting other parts of the island were limited to day trips. I had done some research, aka looked for every blog post ever written about visiting Puerto Rico and even started a Pin Board for the trip of things I wanted to do, but there were no plans solidified when we arrived on the beautiful island. Especially since we checked out the weather forecast and it called for rain everyday, all day for the whole week we were going to be there.
I had accepted the fact that it was going to rain the entire vacation and that no plans should be made because a) it’s going to rain the whole trip and b) vacations should be relaxing and spontaneous. It was tough as I’m a pretty big fan of plans, but I channelled all of my inner zen-ness and was totally okay with having a rainy, no-plan vacation.
Fast forward to our landing on the plane and.all.I.see.is.sun! Except for that first night there and the last night there and a little sporadic rain here and there, it was an eye-piercingly, gorgeousness of a sunfest. I mean, it didn’t even rain on us when we were in the rainforest! I think that was a little zen karma in action
Our first few days were spent lolligaging around the blue-cobblestone streets of Old San Juan. Old San Juan is an 8 by 10 block district at the western tip of San Juan that is jam packed with colorful spanish colonial architecture from the 16th and 17th centuries. It’s truly a feast for the eyes. It seemed every nook and cranny of OSJ was something new to see, or in my case take a picture of :) But don’t worry, my ears and nose joined in the party too. There’s a restaurant on amost every block and various saliva-inducing smells waft from the patios while the salsa or jazz music creeps from the restaurant speakers out into the streets. Or, if you’re lucky like us, you go when there’s a global artisan market and the salsa music is live and peppered with random rhythmically gifted couples breaking out into dance.
Although I could’ve spent all week in OSJ, we decided to rent a car and take a day trip to the rainforest, which was about a 45 minute drive from where we were staying. And, just for good measure, we rented a car an extra day in case we wanted to do something else…and…that something else happened to be the favorite part of our trip! But, I’m getting ahead of myself. So we took off to the rainforest. Driving in Puerto Rico proved fun. Well, fun for Mike since he was the driver. We had been warned that there are crazy drivers in PR and crazy they are! But we made it in one piece and hiked in the rainforest for about an hour. Well, hiked probably isn’t the best description – more like walked. The rainforest has paved trails, which makes it really easy to get around and it’s probably really nice for when it does rain there. Did I mention it didn’t rain when we were in the rainforest? Inconceivable!
After working up an appetite, we headed about 10 minutes east to Luquillo beach and its infamous food kiosks. We were starving so we hit up the kiosks firsts. I had done research on the kiosks and had an idea of what we were in for but Mike, on the other hand, I’m pretty sure thought I was playing some sort of joke on him. The kiosks are not pretty. In fact, some are downright dingy. But armed with the research I had done and our rumbling stomachs we ventured to El Jefe, Kiosk #12, a burger place. We ordered the sampler of the stuffed burgers (the jalapeno stuffed burger was amazing!) and mojitos to wash them down. After filling up our bellies, we ventured over to Luquillo beach – just a short juant – and basked in the ridiculously strong sun on the white sand beach. After soaking up some rays (I only lasted about an hour – that sun is hot, hot!!), we ventured back to the kiosks. This time it was ceviche from the Ceviche Hut, kiosk #38, and a shrimp taco and a beef pionono from Roca Taina, Kiosk #60 – all so very good!
Upon arrival back home we thought we’d take full advantage of having a car for another day and booked a catamaran trip for the next day – yay for spontaneity! Looking back, this day doesn’t seem real. It was just way too much fun. After driving to Fajardo, about an hours drive from San Juan, or about 20 minutes further east from where we were the day before, we boarded a catamaran with about 30 other people. We sailed for about 40 minutes – jamming out to music and meeting the other people on the boat – until we got to the island of Icacos. This place. This is what I had seen in the magazines. This was the “carribbean”. Holy moly that water was turquoise (I swear I did not alter the colors in the pictures below!). Now, up until this point I had made up my mind that I would never snorkel. It’s just not something I do. Like evading taxes or breathing fire. I just don’t do those things and never will. Obviously, if I were to go snorkeling I would get eaten by a shark, right? Long story short. I went snorkeling, thanks to Mike for getting me to take the snorkel gear and giving me that subtle guiltless nudge. And it was so unbelievable amazing. It helped that we could practice on Icacos beach as opposed to being dropped in the middle of the ocean. So once I got my bearings at Icacos, and had one, or maybe two rum and cokes, I was gung-ho about the next stop – where the water was 25 feet deep and there was no beach to lay your weary feet. But I lived through it. Oh, man did I live.
After two great day trips we opted to hang around OSJ and tour the giant fort, El Morro that sits at the tip of the island. A World Heritage Site, El Morro took over 200 years to build and defended the island from the time of the Spanish Conquistadors up until World War II, when the Americans used it to look for German submarines.
The rest of the trip was spent strolling the streets of OSJ. The second to last night we found The Parrot Club; a dimly lit, swanky establishment with live jazz. I can’t even remember the last time I saw someone play a live trumpet. Carlos, the trumpet player noticed we were staring at him, in awe (or maybe just me) and came over to talk to us. Originally from Puerto Rico, he spent a lot of time in New York playing jazz until his father fell ill and he moved back. I’d have to say this was my favorite night in PR. The mojitos were perfect, the tres leches cake was delectible, and the jazz was on fire.
Our last night brought us to a restaurant right on the beach. Remember how I talked about rain earlier? Yeah, on our 30 minute walk to this restaurant it down-poured. But with our raincoats on and our umbrella ejected we forged on. We made it to Pamela’s, the restaurant tucked away in the Ocean Park neighborhood, right as the rain started letting up. Although the food was nothing to write home about, the view. Oh, the view. There’s just something about eating seafood, while looking out into the ocean as the sun is setting, and looking down and seeing sand. It was a great end to our trip.
I can’t wait to go back!
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What Puerto Rican food lacks in the color department, the buildings of Puerto Rico make up for. It’s like a carnival on every building. Here’ s just a small sampling of the amazing colors I saw on my PR trip.
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I just might have to for these, though!You know that Dr. Seuss quote that says “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” Yeah, I’ve had that one on repeat in my head for the past few days. It’s what’s saving me from falling into a deep dark hole of despair because our ridiculously awesome trip to Puerto Rico is over.
But it happened, and because of that I smile. And shed a little tear because gone are the days of sitting on a patio at 1 pm, drinking a mojito, listening to live salsa music, and inhaling the humid Caribbean breeze.
I knew this would happen. I knew I would fall in love with this place and secretly hope the flight home would be cancelled along with all of the other flights out of PR. Forever.
Why did I love PR so much, you ask? Well, besides the very compelling reason listed above, there are so many more I would like to share with you, and I will over the next few blog posts. The main reason I loved it so much was because it was a perfect balance of an energetic, cosmopolitan city and a laid-back relaxing tropical beach. It was old and new. Fun and educational. Exhausting and relaxing. Hot and hot
Don’t get me wrong. The enchanted island struggles with poverty and has its fair share of graffiti, trash, and dilapidated buildings. Restaurant service is pitifully slow, and traffic is crazy.
It’s not perfect (I’m not even sure what that means), but there is so much beauty, history, and wonderful people that the bad stuff is small pittance for all of the good it offers a curious traveler.
Or should I say curious, hungry traveler? I’ll start my four part series of Puerto Rico off with food, because let’s be real, food is kind of important, yes?
Looking back, I didn’t take as many pictures as I wanted to on this trip (I took over 500). It wasn’t until the end of the trip where I really started to document our culinary indulgences so please know that I ate much more than what is picturedAlso, the lack of veggies and fruit in these pictures is not a fluke. Be prepared to get your meat and starch on when you visit PR because they are the culinary stars on this island. I’d say most of my ruffage came in the form of the mint leaves in my mojitos, which was just fine by me.
Our culinary adventure in PR took us to street vendors, classic neighborhood cafes, shacks along a beach, salt of the earth establishments, and chic and modern gems.
One of the first stops on our adventure took us to the heart of Old San Juan where an artisan market filled up the center square. The sun was hot and the pina coladas were the perfect accompinament to our stroll around the market, looking at the beautiful work of artisans from all over the world while the smell of fried plantains filled our noses.
Kasalta’s was another stop on our adventure; a classic Puerto Rican cafe and bakery in the Ocean Park neighborhood complete with a huge glass display case filled with pastries. We opted for the Medianoche – which was much like a cuban sandwich (dare I say better?) with a sweet twist due to the bread. Also, the tres leches cake (not pictured) was pretty earth-shattering.
Another stop was Luiquillo beach and the infamous food kiosks they have there. I’ll write more about it later but I’ll just say the traditional street food I had here did not disappoint – along with the ginger mojitoAt the Roca Taina kiosk we ordered a piononos – which was plaintains wrapped around a savory beef filling and deep fried. I’m pretty sure we ate it in two seconds flat.
We managed to hit up another kiosk at Luquillo Beach: The Ceviche Hut. This was the best ceviche I’ve ever had.
Of all of the places we tried, St. Germain’s, located in Old San Juan, had the most vegetables and fruit on their menu. It’s a cute little bistro with a European feel and the sandwiches we had there were pretty darn tasty. I went with a prosciutto, mozzarella and pesto sandwich and Mike went with a mediterranean chicken sandwich. I washed it all down with some watermelon water.
Next stop: my favorite meal of the trip. It was at a restaurant called La Fonda El Jibarito, located in Old San Juan. Our Lonely Planet book suggested we get the mofongo here, which is exactly what we did. Mofongo is not the prettiest of dishes – if it was in a food beauty contest it would rank near the bottom, but when something tastes that good, I could care less what it looks like. Mofongo is essentially fried mashed plaintains that are stuffed with meat. I ordered the skirt steak that came with Yuca instead of the plaintains, while Mike ordered the chicken. I also tried a shrimp mofongo elsewhere that was delish. But if you’re going to PR and you’re going to try mofongo, GO HERE.
We also hit up a Peruvian restaurant in Miramar, the neighborhood we were staying in. The shrimp was fresh and the tomato based sauce was a nice addition of color to our mostly bland albeit delicious PR diet.
The trip wouldn’t be complete without a mallorca – a sweet, eggy bread that is dusted with powdered sugar. This bread pretty much ranks up there with croissants on my bread-o-meter, (croissants rank the highest). You can get it plain, or as a sandwich which is what we did!
Oh, and the Puerto Rican coffee is not to be missed – plus it goes with the whole beige-ish brownish palette that is Puerto Rican food
Our last meal was literally on the beach. Eating seafood. Need I say more?
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Some people have a moment of clarity of when they know they want to marry their significant other.
Not me.
I would say it was more of a culmination of moments that led me to it.
Like the way he wanted to hold my hand, often and anywhere; especially driving in the car. And the way he spontaneously visited over Christmas break, after only dating for about a month. And it was the way he cooked me the most scrumptious steak on our first Valentine’s Day. It was the way he helped me battle my insecurities in college, spending time to coach me on the most consistent way to cross the soccer ball. It was the way he became friends with my friends and treated them like they were his sisters. It was the way I became friends with his friends and felt so lucky to be a part of such a great group of people. And the way he broke down every guard I put up.
And it’s the random displays of character that remind me how lucky I am.
Like the way he always knows the right words to say – never sugar coating anything, but somehow comforting me at the same time.
And the way he pushes me to be better and challenges my comfort zone.
It is the way he makes everyday living fun as if laughter is just as important as air, food and shelter.
It is the patience he unendingly practices with this Aries (that’s me, and if you know an Aries you know what I mean)
And it is the way he treats everyone he comes in contact with as if they’re his friend.
As our one year anniversary approaches on Sunday, I just want to look back on that really special (and super fun) day when the culmination of moments led to one of the best decisions I’ve ever made: marrying my best friend. Thank you Carter Photography and Design for taking such beautiful images to remember our wedding day by.
We’ll be in sunny Puerto Rico for our one-year anniversary so it will be quiet around these parts over the next couple of weeks. I’ll see you when I get back with lots of pictures from our trip
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