Puerto Rico Trip - Day 5: Miscommunication (5/4/11)

Took the 1pm ferry to vieques instead of the 930am like originally planned as I thought they would be on the later one as well. I woke up and had tons of voicemails and texts from the group I was to go with wondering where I was; clearly I should have just stuck with the plan. I hung out a bit with R and then got my ferry and got over to the Tradewinds hostel via a taxi where Shantanu was waiting for me. The others had rented scooters and snorkeling equipment and were exploring different shores of the island. S puts his equipment on and swims to a distant island while I chill on the beach waiting for everyone to meet back up. 

We used this rickety old pier to get as close to that island as we could before Shantanu jumps in and starts his marathon swim. 

Lots of boats in the water on a beautiful day. 

Part of the pier we were walking along. Before this cement block, there were wood beams  we had to tightrope over to get out to this point. 

Shantanu is prepped and ready to start his long ass swim.

He made it over safely. He proceeded to walk around the island and explore it in his spare time (he almost missed the BioBay experience cause it took him a while to get back to the hostel). 

Boat on the water. It was nice walking along the beach on this tiny island enjoying the weather and pretty views.

We meet up (S was almost late as the swim seemed to take longer than he expected – it was a far swim) and the company picks us up and pairs us up before taking some crappy roads into this reserve to get to the bay. After a short lesson, we are told to jump in. Which is awesome as now we get to swim with the plankton and get to have them respond to us instead of just oars. We paddled to the boundary and can see fish swimming in the water because of the plankton lighting up. Really cool. We get back and shower and then try and find food, which is a tough ordeal as all the places are closing up (its 930pm – clearly this island is not known for its nightlife). Eventually find Lazy Jacks and have some delicious pizza and drinks before going to Duffys to get some drinks to go where Paul and I stay up to drink the beers and relax before turning in for the night.

The gang grabbing some food at the only place open at 930pm. Celebrating the great day and the amazing experience of swimming in the BioBay. 

Puerto Rico Trip - Day 4: On to Culebra (5/3/11)

Sign at the entrance of Flamenco beach on Culebra island. 

Woke up early, packed, and headed over to Fajardo to catch the Ferry to Culebra. Get there around 830 and get my tickets there and back. Once at Culebra, I get a taxi to Flamenco beach which is beautiful with white, fine-grain sand and clear water as far as the eye can see. 

A view of the resort where the wedding will be in a few days as seen from the ferry on the way to Culebra. 

After a little bus ride, find myself on a beach with a decent view. Clear water and soft, white sand; I can see why this beach is regarded so highly.

Another view from in the water. Always nice seeing places like this in the world. 

 The beach has camping spots all around and kiosks selling food/drinks. I chill on the beach for a little bit before grabbing lunch and head back to catch the ferry to get back to the mainland. Try to find somewhere to charge my phone (Starbucks) but the only one is in the resort Rishi is staying in and I will be staying in for the wedding in a few days. Charge my phone and hang out there until it is time for my bio bay adventure.

View of part of the resort from Rishi's balcony. not too bad.

I get paired with a girl from Florida who is able to kayak pretty well so we go cruising in the bay and have a great time. This was the first experience of mine with bio-luminescence, and it was pretty cool; I wished I had gone on the later excursion as it would have been darker and more time to fully enjoy the bio-luminescence. As you paddle, the plankton glow, showing where your oars are and what not. We aren't allowed to get into the water as there are too many people coming into the lagoon to visit so they have to preserve it. Once we got back, I got a mango to snack on while I walked back to the resort and got in touch with R and hung out with him, Paru and Viraj for the night.

Puerto Rico Trip - Day 3: A case of the mondays (5/2/11)

BJ decided to join me for today's adventure of driving aroudn the island to see a few things. Day started on the wrong foot as we were walking in the heat to try and find the rent a car place. After we found it, we got the car and headed towards the Arecibo Observatory, which has the world's largest radio telescope and was made famous in one of the James bond movies.

The sign at the entrance to the observatory.

We finally get to it and find out it is closed on mondays and tuesdays (there will be a trend here, see if you can find it) for 1-2 months out of the year; I have some good luck. We then head to the next stop, the Camuy Caves, which I heard were awesome. We stop on the way at a random roadside BBQ place which actually had some tasty food; we were both having reservations stopping at this place but I figure we were on an adventure so lets tempt fate. I am not sure what all I ordered, but the show stealer was this proper fried plantain that had been sliced open and then filled with meat and cheese. It was awesome!

Our lunch. I am waiting for B to take a bite first. Looks tasty doesnt it. I should have taken a picture of the place; to put it in perspective, there were more people playing pool at the pool table in the back than were eating lunch.

We continue on our way to the caves and when we get to the gates, they are closed on mondays as well. We decide to head south to cut through the island interior to ponce to get the highway that circles the island; bad idea! It took such a long time navigating the tiny roads (I was driving the equivalent of a golf cart sized car and it was almost too big for some of these 2 way roads) trying not to die and running into road closures not on the map. The scenery was gorgeous but the change in altitude and the lack of a straight road made this a challenging drive (unfortunately I didnt take any pictures as I was driving but wish I did so show examples of what I am talking about). Find the highway and start heading back to SJ thank goodness! On the way, we stop at Charco Azul, a watering hole that you are able to swim in – I do love swimming in cool bodies of water when I come across them :). We get there and we are the only car in the parking lot, so we hike to the lagoon and we have our own private lagoon to enjoy. I swam around and then went and hung with BJ in the lagoon when I realized nibbling on my feet; there are little fish in the lagoon that eat the dead skin off your feet if you stand still and let them. 

We have made it to the pool parking lot. Now lets hope we can find the pool. 

Saw this bad boy on our walk to the the pool. My foot is there for size comparison. That is a huge, fantastic leaf. Put 3 of those together and you have yourself a pretty decent bludgeoning tool.  

We have found the lagoon. Looks peaceful. After the stories I heard about this place from a friend, I am quite surprised no one was here. I aint going to complain though. 

And in I go. Swimming around in the lagoon. Just enjoying the water. Dont stare directly at that pasty body - you might hurt your eyes from the bright light. 

We dry off and head back to the hostel to shower before heading out with some guys from the hostel (Dan, Chance, and Shaggy) to Brickhaus in OSJ to watch the bball game (Bulls v Hawks). Eat and drink before heading back near the hostel to hit up La respuesta, but it wasn't happening so we head to another of Dan's haunts for some beers before heading back to the hostel to get ready for the next day.

Puerto Rico Trip - Day 2: Chilling and recovering from day of no sleep (5/1/11)

Woke up around 11am which felt nice to finally get some sleep. Had made plans to go check out the other fort with N and A the day before, however it was rainy, so we met up to figure out the new plan. I decide to go and A and Berej join me. First stop is the brewery for a beer before we head to the San Cristobal fort together.

Going into the next fort. This one was on the coast but not at the tip of the island like el morro.

Who wants to walk down the creepy dark hallway? 

View from the top of the tower of the fort. It would be cool seeing this view before the modernization of the city. 

Not sure if Ash just saw a ship get eaten by a whale or if she is yawning, either way, not too bad of a view from the pill box. 

Sleeping quarters for the troops back in the day. They have the guard there on duty to make sure people dont take the items. 

This is an interesting view. Giant freaking cruise liners with some 19th century soldiers loading a cannon. Wonder if they could take down one of those ships with that thing. I think that is what they are discussing :)

After walking around the fort and exploring it, we head to Genesis for dinner and drinks where I finally got to try the local specialty, Mofongo, which is meat atop mashed plantains. It is ok but I am used to fried plantains being one way and these were actually fried plantain chips type things. Still good just not what I was imagining. While we were eating, a restaurant next to us (Mojitos) had a piece of their roof fall off and crashed right next to some people eating there; their response was to just move over a table – I would have been inside in no time as that could have easily caused great personal danger. Then some guy with a hammer/pickaxe tool started going at the roof where the piece fell from and caused more to fall to the street which almost hit even more people. We are watching this in disbelief as it almost seems like they are trying to hurt someone.

Dinner and drinks with the gang. If I remember right, Mojitos was behind B. Was so crazy hahah

After finishing our meals, we head to Senor frogs where I ordered a large margarita which was not too good (16$ down the drain) before we walked around OSJ where we found a group of people putting on dancing performances on a nearby stage. Watched a couple dances before going on a bar crawl where we ended up at a little dive bar, which was kinda nice. We then headed back to the hostel to crash.

Shots at Senor Frogs. They are enjoying those wayyyy tooo much!

Action shot of the dancers on the outdoor patio performing to some awesome music.

Different dance. A little less movement so not as much blurry dresses.

The gang at a hole in the wall pub (look at the walls behind us - graffiti everywhere!)

Puerto Rico Trip Day 1: One of the longest days ever (4/29-30/11)

My flight leaves on 4/29 at 1159pm. Before heading to the airport, I celebrate a friend's surprise bday, and then get to my flight, which is packed. Sleep as much as I can before the plane lands around 515am in San Juan. Find the taxis and I tell the lady where I am going so she says 13 dollars. She then takes me to some random hotel and I try to explain to her that I am going to a hostel, not a hotel, and not this one. I get my phone out and show here where I am going on a map and she tells me that will be 20 as its farther than expected (surprise surprise). I have her take me to an ATM on the way to the hostel. Once there, I am trying to help another traveler make their way to El Yunque and meet Ashley who lends a hand helping this traveler out. We then go get some breakfast from a cheap nearby place and get some egg revolitos and bread with some OJ. After that, we make plans to go explore old SJ and meet up one of her friends, Naomi, later before heading out. Jump on the M3 bus (0.5$ pp) into OSJ and walk around. We eventually try and get a beer but get turned away as it is still too early (stupid early flights). So we walk to El Morro (fort on the coast) and explore that region. On the walk up to the fort, there is a giant open field where there are swarms of people flying kites (plenty of wind coming off the water and no trees to break it). We then notice there are a group of reenactors getting ready for a “battle” later in the day. After exploring the fort, we head back to the Old Harbor brewery for lunch where I had a sampler and a pint of their stout as I liked it the best.

Pigeons in a cubby hole. Those are old holes in the wall (I assume from wooden beams) where pigeons take up residence and look down on their compatriots on the ground.

Map of old town SJ. Where shall we go?

Start of the path that goes around the base of el morro. Nice little strolls can be had here.

Giant green space with nothing to block wind? People were everywhere flying kites as would be expected. Oh yeah, theres a giant fort in the distance!

Kite Graveyard. Not sure how with all that green space you get your kite stuck in a tree, but these people are to be commended for their ability to defy the odds.

Oh crap we stumbled upon a war! Small army to besiege a fort but maybe with current technology it doesnt take much.  

Ash and I found some actors to take a pic with us in their historical outfits. Good looking group there. Though not sure why the guy brought a sword to a gun fight. 

Finally getting into the fort. Lets go explore. 

One of the look out points of the fort. 

Some sampler action at the Old Harbor brewery with tiny mugs.

We then head to the Bacardi factory; take the ferry across the bay (0.5$pp) and then grab a bus (3$) to Bacardi. Get to do a tour and then get 2 free drinks after sign up. Tour wasn't anything special, but has some good info on it and it is something different to do. After finishing our drinks, we get the ferry back and stop at a bar in OSJ to grab some beers (tried Medalla – just like any other light lager surprise surprise) on our way back to the hostel. Take bus back to hostel and get cleaned up before heading back to OSJ with Ash, N, Jim (German fellow), and 2 other girls who didnt hang around long. We do a pub crawl and wind up in La Concha (a hotel) which is a bad idea as drinks are expensive. After A beer, we head back towards hostel and stop at Dennys before heading to bed (~130am or so).

Ahhh the Bacardi Factory. First we went into an outdoor bar where we could have a few drinks, then we took a tour of the grounds.

Nice entryway to the tour building. They have bats on everything!

Screw a keg stand! Ill do a barrel pull. (not really)

Before entering Senor Frogs. Mr. Frog and I give this place 2 thumbs up.