For our first trip to Puerto Rico in five years, and our first since Hurricane Maria, we flew out of Boston early on a Sunday morning and arrived in San Juan just after noon. That first day, we changed into our swimsuits at the airport and went straight from the rental car counter to the beach at Carolina. Then, we followed thousands and thousands of people into the Piñones, where locals celebrate the weekend. We had tasty fried food and cold beer from the kioscos there, then followed route 187 along the coast, through Loiza and Vieques, and finally back to the main road. Then we stopped at the famous beach at Luquillo, but found it closed. We watched the waves and setting sun at a beautiful beach called Playa Fortuna before finding our way to our Air BnB in Fajardo and (after much frustration and several calls to customer service) got checked in.
The next morning I woke up early, and discovered that our rented apartment faced directly onto a beautiful sunrise over the water below. I watched the sun come up and tried to make friends with a passing cat, then Nikki and I stopped at a local bakery for a delicious breakfast and saw some horses grazing at a Walgreens (there were horses in all kinds of unexpected places on that end of the island). After that, we checked into the marina for our day cruise to the small island of Culebra off the eastern tip of Puerto Rico. The crossing was rough, but we found a sheltered reef at Playa Carlos Rosario and enjoyed beautiful snorkeling. Before leaving the island, we were treated to a visit to Flamenco Beach, a stunning crescent of sand adorned with the rusting hulks of WWII era tanks that were abandoned after training exercises there. We had a chance to look at the tanks and do a quick bit of snorkeling, then it was back across the channel. That evening we unwound at the quiet waters of Luquillo, watched the happy-seeming stray dogs play, and got dinner and drinks at the kioscos near the beach.
On Tuesday, I woke up with a nasty cold that would plague me for the rest of the trip, but we both got up early and watched the sun come up over the marina. We fed the black cat some scraps again, though she still didn’t want to be touched. We went back to Luquillo for a quick morning swim, then a brief dip in the cold pool at our apartment, then we slowly made our way back to San Juan. We drove through Loiza and the Piñones again, which was much less crowded on a weekday, took a brief hike, bought fried food, and then returned the car to the airport. We then met our guided tour that we’d be with through Friday. That afternoon, we checked into La Concha resort, and that evening we went on a harbor cruise on the schooner Amazing Grace. After the cruise, we walked out the old city gate, around a promenade to Paseo de la Princesa, then trolled through souvenir shops and drank gasolinas until it was time to go back to the hotel and sleep.
Wednesday was the “Puerto Rican arts and culture” day for our tour. I got up and went for a run around Condado Lagoon, then we piled into the bus and drove through the Piñones to Loiza. There, we visited an artist’s studio and got a lesson in making coconut Vejigantes masks from a neighboring artisan. We visited a park with a huge limestone karst dome and cave, watched traditional dancers, and had lunch. Then, it was back to the hotel to take a quick dip in the pool and get ready to see Hamilton with Lin-Manuel Miranda!
The next morning, I went for a quick run through Condado to the Escambron, then hustled back to get dressed for our rainforest adventure. I did a zipline course that was both thrilling and terrifying. I took a video of the whole thing, but it got messed up, so here’s one picture instead. That evening we had a salsa dancing lesson, pina coladas, and paella at the famous Barrachina restaurant.
Friday was our last day with the tour. We started out by taking the bus to Santurce, which was a slum last time I was in Puerto Rico, but is now rapidly gentrifying, with hip restaurants and art galleries. Our guides took us to some of the street art hotspots. After that, we went on a walking tour of La Perla, which is still a bit of a slum, but is also better off than last time we were there. Before, it was understood that La Perla was off limits to the cops and only drug traffickers and those who had business with them would enter. Now, it is more open to the outside, though still very low income. After La Perla, we split off from the tour, and we spent the rest of the day in Old San Juan and touring the 16th century fortress El Morro. A festival called San Sebastien was underway, so we partook in some of the festivities.
Believe it or not, I didn’t take a single photo on Saturday. We spent the morning waiting in the cancellation and return line to try to get a second set of tickets to Hamilton. After missing the matinee, we decided to cash in our chips and go to the beach for the rest of the day. It was nice.
Sunday was our last full day on the island, and we made the most of it. In the morning, we walked about a mile to a tiny beach on the Condado lagoon. Soon, we realized that there’s a little reef next to the beach with lots of pretty fish, so we paddled around and looked at them. Then we walked back, had lunch, and played in the waves on the main beach for a while. In the evening, we took a ca into Old San Juan and walked around, while the massive San Sebastien festival washed over us. We had a few drinks, walked the three or four miles back to our Air BnB, and tried to get into bed early.
On Monday, we got into an Uber at 3:45am, got on a plane at 6:15, and made it to Philadelphia before 11am. But then we didn’t make it back to Boston until Tuesday. Stupid weather.
Never a good sign