Puerto Rico Day 4 -- 4/19/13

You know, this trip didn’t seem so short when I booked it.  But already it’s time to go home.

I’d done most of the packing the night before so there wasn't much to do in the morning. I then went back to the trusty Caribe Café for breakfast (same as yesterday – why mess with a good thing).  Grabbed the gear, checked out, and went out front to wait for my ride …

Which seemed to take forever.  Five minutes after I was to be picked up a guy approached me and asked if I was waiting for Elegant Transportation.  I said yes though I didn’t see a van pull up from the company.  Turns out that the guy had arrived early and was looking for me inside.  He was helping out the company since the drivers were swamped.  His black SUV had been parked out front for at least ten minutes.  Oh.

The sun was shining brightly as we headed to the airport but even though I’d only been there two days I’d already had enough rays.  I noticed after my shower on Wednesday that the skin around my hairline was really tingly and irritated like it would be after I’d gotten a perm.  I kind of shrugged it off as no big deal.  But after Thursday’s shower I could actually feel the skin on my forehead getting all tight and leathery.  That had never happened to me before.  This wasn’t the first time I’d been to the beach and even though I don’t usually bother with sunscreen, I’ve never before had a problem.  Two days in Puerto Rico and I ended up burnt to a crisp. 

Going through the airport was fun.  I got in one line, realized I was in the wrong one, went to customs, got some stickers, then finally got in the first line for real.  Would have been nice if someone had told me about that from the start.  This whole trip just reminded me that I really need to learn Spanish.  I'd taken it in college but I'm nowhere close to proficient.  Fortunately most of the people I met in Puerto Rico spoke English.  Still, it's something I really need to get on since I'm sure this won't be my first trip to a Spanish speaking country. 

Speaking of which, yes, I would return to Puerto Rico.  There is still so much I didn't get a chance to see and the island is truly beautiful.  I just have to find a way to be better prepared for the aftermath.  Industrial strength sunscreen would help but it's more than just that.

Despite being well both before and during my trip, I brought my nice, cleaned-out lungs back to Atlanta and caught a double dose of pollen filled smog.  This led to two weeks (!) of hacking and coughing, scratching at my peeling skin, and suffering a heat rash on my arms to boot.

So the question becomes: Was two days of sun and fun worth all this?

                                                                                                           Yep.

Puerto Rico Day 3 -- 4/18/13

Second and last full day in Puerto Rico and I’m up early for the rainforest tour.  One of the lessons I learned from the Rome trip is to make sure the alarm clock actually works before relying on it to wake me up.  The alarm of the clock in the room didn’t work so I whipped out my travel clock (bought in Rome) and set up the alarm on my phone for backup (ended up not needing it).

The tour company advised me to bring a swimsuit in case I wanted to swim in the waterfall.  Wasn’t sure about all that but brought the suit along anyway along with my beach towel and headed out for breakfast.  The hotel café worked so well the first time, I headed there again choosing eggs, sausage and toast this time along with the angry coffee.  Damn good meal for about $8.  Then I set off to sit in front of the hotel to wait for my ride.

The tour company told me that my guide’s name was Sammie so I was really surprised to find Francisco coming up to me.  He would be leading the tour so he gathered me and two other chicks from the Conrad and we were off.  We picked up a man traveling with his elderly mother and his two teenage daughters from a hotel way on the other side of the island then drove the 30 or so minutes to the rainforest proper.

The trip made me very glad I didn’t rent a car.  We were right in the middle of rush hour, mercifully going in the opposite direction to the Atlanta-like traffic heading for the more industrial areas of the island.  Most of the folks on the tour were from Boston and commented that the traffic wasn’t too great there either.  I can’t imagine what it looks like now after the bombing incident on the 16^th.

The road up to the rainforest winds through a neighborhood (ooh look a horsey!) and up a really narrow road.  There are houses and the occasional restaurant or convenience store along the road making me think that the people who maintain the forest don’t live too far away. 

We stopped first at the visitor’s center for bathrooms and gift shop.  The center had displays spread around with picture of the plant and wildlife in the forest as well as a small movie theater showing a short film.  We spent about a ½ hour there before climbing back in the van to go further up the mountain.

 

From a small parking lot we set off on our hike.  Most of the hike was downhill which is great to start but I already know it will be a beast on the way back.  The weather was perfect though; not too hot and steamy and no rain.  We kept a good pace but made frequent stops both for Francisco to point out a particular sight and to let the man and his elderly mother catch up.  She may have been bringing up the rear while using a cane but to her credit she managed to navigate the sometimes rocky and uneven trail.

After maybe a 45 min. hike we reached the waterfall.  It was gorgeous of course but after seeing it I wasn’t sorry that I hadn’t bothered to change into my bathing suit at the visitor’s center.  Those rocks were hella slippery even if you didn’t approach the water.  Not really looking forward to twisting my ankle so far away from the van.

 

Francisco then offered to take folks to a series of smaller waterfalls.  To get there though required the group to strip down to their bathing suits, leave everything behind, and go under the bridge over even more slippery rocks.  Please note I said ‘their’.  There was no way I was taking this particular ‘trail’.  Even if it meant that it was only me and the elder waiting on the bridge.  It made for a nice rest period before the hike back up.

                                                  (Yes.  That's the actual 'trail' underneath the bridge.)

The place filled up quickly with folks coming from both sides of the trail.  I parked myself on a nice dry rock until the rest of the group returned maybe 20 minutes later. 

 

Then it was back up the trail.  As I’m huffing and puffing, I was again reminded of my difficulty with altitude.  I can hike all day when the trail is relatively level but as soon as there are stairs and steep climbs – yeeesh.  This is one of the many reasons why climbing Mt. Everest will never be on my life resume.  That and the cold.  Lots and lots of cold.

 

We piled back in the bus on the way to lunch making a brief stop at a lookout tower.  There were yet more stairs to climb if you wanted to get a good view from the top (pass), restrooms, and a small gift shop. Also of note were the warning signs posted around the area telling everyone to beware of rabid mongooses.  Oh.  Fun.  Fortunately, no one saw any.

 

We lunched at a restaurant called Anticito’s (I think) that was not far from the mountain.  Nice small buffet-style spread of real PR food that was very filling after the trip and reasonable to boot.  Just like the café at the hotel, there were some very bold birds who were more than eager to clean up our leftovers before we’d left them over as the seating area was windowless.  There were also these two owl figurines on the tables creeping us out because at various intervals the heads would spin around a full 360 degrees.  Okay.

We headed back to San Juan, dropping off the bulk of the group before returning to the Conrad.  The two chicks and I had the exact same idea of going to our rooms and changing into our suits for some beach time.  I had said during the tour that if I had any energy left that I would tour Old San Juan since everyone was recommending it.  Didn’t happen.  I was perfectly happy to grab my book and plop down into a deck chair which is exactly what I did until it got too windy.

A quick shower and a change, another visit to the souvenir shop, and I called it a night.

Puerto Rico Day 2 -- 4/17/13

Ahhh.  That’s better.  Glad to see that the rain wouldn’t last the entirety of my short vacation.

I bounded out of bed ready to explore.  First stop, the Caribe Café on the second floor.  The waiter was kind enough to talk me down from the pancake meal I wanted but never would have finished (3 pancakes the size of a large dinner plate).  Instead I order the side order of one pancake (still too big), some bacon, and some local coffee.  With milk.  Definitely with milk.  Puerto Rican coffee, I discovered, is just as dark and angry as Italian coffee.  I think I’ll pass on buying any to take home.

With a map I pilfered from the concierge desk, I thought I would set out to explore Old San Juan.  Yes I know Francisco said it’d be best to get a ride but I figured it was only a few miles.  Surely I could walk that?

You know, I probably could have.  If only I had walked in the right direction.

I took a left out of the hotel and started the journey, passing a bunch of hotels, restaurants and shops along the way.  Again there were cops everywhere lending to the very safe air of the area.  Oddly enough there were also a few homeless just hanging out in doorways or by bus stops.  I guess the cops figured that as long as they weren’t harassing anybody they would leave them alone.

I’m walking and I’m walking and I pass a couple of little park areas on my left with views of the ocean.   I didn’t stop at the first one because I was on a mission but the second one caught my eye.  Tired of the sidewalk already, I took a detour for a little beach time.

 

This is why I am will travel so many miles to get to the ocean; the simple pleasure of walking along the sand with my bare feet in the waves.  There is nothing like it on this earth.

 

I seemed to have picked a great time to travel to the island as the beach was not very crowded.  I followed the shore for a while before getting back on the sidewalk.  Another ten minutes of walking through a neighborhood (eek! Lizards!) and back onto a busy street and I realized that i was nowhere near Old San Juan.  There was nothing old about where I found myself, just the same things you'd find in any small city.  Instead of chiding myself for going the wrong direction, I just remembered that I never would have seen this part of the island if not for my mistake.

My dogs were starting to bark so I headed back in to the hotel.  I was out of water so i stopped at a vending machine not realizing it was out too.  But somehow someone had purchased a Gatorade and conveniently left it in the slot.  Not usually to my taste but I scooped it up along with my returned change.  I was refreshed by the drink and delighted to find a Texas quarter among the coins.  I've been collecting the special quarters with the state logos on the back for years and the only one I was missing was Texas.  Geeky, I know, but it made my day.

I stopped at a souvenir shop on the way back to the hotel then it was bathing suit and beach time for me.  The water was not as warm as I would have liked but it wasn't freezing either and I got used to it quickly.  The water off the little beach was shielded from the big waves by a line of rocks maybe fifty feet from the shore so it was nice to just get in a soak without fear of being knocked over.  The floorbed was really rocky but the water was clear enough to almost distinguish a rock from a shadow.  Almost.  Good thing I went back for the swim shoes otherwise my poor toes would have been in bad shape.

I lunched at the poolside diner on a nice PR inspired sandwich, fries, and a very strong fruity adult beverage that the waitress suggested.  I'm not much of a drinker but I do love to experiment with the tropical cocktails.  The birds, like in Maui, got a little bold while I lingered over my meal so i grabbed my gear and adjoined to one of the seaside chaises located a little distance away from the pools.  I was quite content to lay there reading my book; no schedules, no traffic, no rush to be anywhere other than where I was.  Nice.  It was only my rapidly drying-out skin that made me go up for a shower. 

The cafe where I had breakfast also sold Edy's ice cream.  I got a cup and my book and went right back to the chaise to soak up as much sun as I could.  It started to get really windy before it even got dark so I reluctantly left again and turned in for the evening.  

Puerto Rico Day 1 -- 4/16/13

Before this trip, I knew absolutely nothing about Puerto Rico except that it was down near the Bahamas somewhere.  I didn't know the language and I’d never had any urge to go there.

These are all good things.

I’ve often lamented the fact that I’m not more spontaneous when it comes to travel.  In each of the last few years I’ve been fortunate enough to take one big trip that gets planned out months in advance.  But what about all those weekends I spent at home staring at the cat?  What about the Christmas breaks and long summers that I always wanted to do something but just … didn’t?  Not this year.  With my car note finally paid off (yay!) I actually had a little more scratch to play with this year and I was bound and determined not to spent another week of vacation wishing I could do something.  I decided it was beach time.

Thanks to the suggestion of a co-worker (good looking out Chere!) I picked Puerto Rico for my next quick trip.  I found a cheap fair through one of the emails that Travelzoo sends me and before you know it I had a whole package deal with airfare, 3 nights in a hotel, transportation to and from the airport, and a rainforest tour all booked for around $900.

Saturday before the trip was my 42^nd birthday.  Didn’t do much on the day what with the trip planned.  I bought myself a couple of DVDs and a new travel tote, got some Chinese food (a rare treat), scored an oversized cupcake from Kroger, and basically chilled. 

Since I’m still saving as much money as I can for the big trip I have planned for Ireland in September, I decided to skip the house sitter for Beata.  I’d be out on Tuesday and back on Friday so for those few days she’d be fine.  Plenty of food and water and some clean litter and she’d barely miss me.

The one thing I do love about being in the new perimeter location for the job is that I can leave my car in the parking garage when I go on vacation.  So convenient.  I can walk to MARTA to catch the train all the way to the airport and I don’t have to pay for parking.  Sweet.  Now the commute is still ... What's a word that rhymes with "bell"?

So on the morning of Tuesday morning April 16 I set off for work like I do on any other weekday morning -- after some initial difficulty.  I had packed the weekend before but kept remembering things just as I was trying to get out of the house.  Had to turn around once before getting out of the neighborhood and then make a second trip upstairs once I got home.  I thought I was never getting out of there.  The trend only continued when I parked my car at the job.  I had locked up and was walking away when I remembered that the swim shoes I had run back to the house to get were still in the backseat.  Grrrrr …  This one short little trip was never gonna happen if I didn’t make it on the plane. 

Finally managed to catch the train for the roughly 45 minute trip to the airport.  As usual, I'd given myself a good 2 hours to get through security as I'd already printed my boarding pass at home.  This is Atlanta, the busiest airport in the world.  You never knew what it would look like from day to to day.  So I was totally shocked when I got through security in less than twenty minutes.  Apparently, they've laxed on some of the 9/11 restrictions making the whole thing go by much faster.  Cool.  I put my shoes back on and went to get something to eat.

Reminder to self:  always, if possible, choose the upgrade to the exit row.  Yes, it costs more money but the extra leg room is invaluable.  There was even an empty seat between my window and the aisle.  Double sweet.  Being that I was so comfortable, I actually slept for most of the short 3 hour flight.

First impression of Puerto Rico:  it’s much bigger than I thought and covered in high rises. I couldn’t wait to get out and explore but the sky was looking awfully gray as we started to land.  I'd made arrangements with a company called Elegant Transportation to pick me up and before I even had a change to flounder around the small airport I spotted a sign with my name on it.  The driver was a nice man named Franscico.  He led me through the airport to a van with another couple in it and we were off.

On the trip over, he gave us suggestions on tours and restaurants.  He's a bit of a foodie so he was telling us about the restaurants around our hotel, the Conrad San Juan Condado.  Old San Juan was located near the hotel but he advised transport there.  He recommended some authentic PR food in the area but was sure to downvote the Starbucks located right next to the hotel and the Denny's located in the adjoining building (more on that later).

The Conrad is a gorgeous hotel if a little worn down.  There’s a big fish tank in the lobby along with these funky chairs that look like they were crocheted.  There's a full wall of mosiac tiling behind the front desk that reminds me that I really need to get back into tiling, I've always enjoyed.  With card keys in hand, I headed to my room on the 7th floor.

The room was very nice.  I loved the color scheme and the bathroom … well the bathroom needs to be in my house quite frankly.  With a big glass shower in the middle of the room, a vanity on one side and a closet, safe, and fridge on the other, it was way more than I expected.

 

I got unpacked, changed into some shorts and set out to explore … only to find that it had started to rain and not a light tropical storm.  It was pouring.  Dang it.  I want to go outside!  Stubborn me decided to take my trusty umbrella for a short tour around the grounds.

Man, do I love palm trees.  They were all over the property, leaves swaying the breeze.  Some even had coconuts in them!  Nice to look at but I'd hate to be swinging in one of the hammocks strung between some of them if one of those bad boys decided to drop.  The grounds have two pools, a large kidney shaped on with a net, a slide, and a swim up bar, as well as a deeper sea water pool (6 ft deep).  There were cafe tables set up near the larger bar and a massage tent set up between the pools and a small beach and man is it raining.  I trudged my wet shoes back under the shelter of the hotel awning.

 

I ended up on the patio located on the side of the hotel facing the water.  I plopped myself down on a deck chair.  Despite the rain I was happy to be on the island, watching the palm trees and the waves.  After a while a guy from a nearby group of people wandered over and introduced himself as Brian.  He was waiting to leave and decided to talk to a friendly face since he joked of being tired of his companions.  He was a social worker from New York on the island for business.  We ended up talking for a while about ATL vs. NY airports (ATL scared him for being so huge), sports (he was a Mets fan and hoped I wasn’t a rabid Braves fan), and other stuff.  I asked him about any sights I should see while on the island and he said that he’d been there multiple times (monthly meetings over the last few years) and couldn’t really see anything but the job anymore.  Apparently, the PR government was setting up too much red tape in trying to help the homeless so the island visits just meant frustration for him.

After our conversation ended, it started to get a little too windy for me so I headed inside to explore the hotel. There’s a small club of sorts as well as a freestanding bar and a gift shop on the first level.  The Mezzanine level has a couple of restaurants, meeting rooms, and a small casino.  I walked right on by -- never been a gambler.  On the far side of casino was the skywalk leading to the hotel's other building.  More conference rooms and a Denny's on this side.

I wasn't actually hungry (I rarely am on vacation) but I figured I'd eat.  I chose Denny’s (I know – real authentic PR food) as it happened to be right there.  I should have known that was a mistake based on how empty it was.  The waiter didn’t write down my order, had to ask me again, then came back to say that they didn’t have any pickles, and then brings me a burger with tomatoes that I didn’t ask for.  I shouldn’t have tipped him but habit made me leave him something.  Turns out Fransico knew what he was talking about.  Lesson learned but at least the burger was tasty. 

As the rain had slacked up during my meal, I took a brief walk outside.  A bunch of hotels, restaurants and shops line the street along with a bunch of cops.  They were everywhere, in cars, on bikes and on foot.  Good to know I'd be safe while there.

It started to drizzle again so I headed back to the room to rest up. I could only hope that the island would get all that rain out of its system overnight.