Puerto Rico, 15.09. - 30.09.2012

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PUERTO RICO




San Juan

My Mum was meeting us in Puerto Rico for 2 weeks, I was so excited, since I haven’t seen her in over a year and missed her like crazy! Matt and I arrived at the Airport just 2 hours before my mum, so we had some time to figure out what there was to do in Puerto Rico and then pick my mum up from the gate. After we finally found each other, we jumped into a taxi and headed to Wind Chimes Resort in Condado, just outside of Old San Juan. It was actually already booked out, so they referred us to their sister hotel Canario Inn, where we got free breakfast for the inconvenience, yey! Lol

Condado is a pretty beach town, quite posh, so there are lots of expensive hotels and restaurants here. There is also 3 nice beaches here, one of them right around the corner from our Hotel. The first night we just checked in, went for some amazing Italian food and then watched some movies until we fell asleep. My mum works very hard at home, so we are going to take the next 2 weeks very easy and chilled.

The next day we slept in super late and went down to the beach Playa Condado , just to chill some more, read some books and play a bit of volleyball. The beach here is really nice, but quite big waves and a few drunk people, oh well, it’s a Sunday after all.. After a long day relaxing on the beach, my mum was absolutely exhausted, so we went back home and had another movie night.

The day after, we did exactly the same again, just at a different beach, Ocean Park today. Chilling, food and then Mum fell asleep and Matt and I got a bottle of wine and got a bit tipsy on the beach lol It was great to just relax for a bit, having long talks with my mum and reading a ton of great books. Letting the soul hang loose..

The next day we decided to go and discover Old San Juan and its forts. We started walking, but it was way too hot, so after about half an hour, we jumped on local a bus instead. There are 2 really big forts in Old San Juan, so we went to see Fuerte San Cristobal. It was very interesting to hear the story of Puerto Rico, and how Spain and England was constantly fighting for it, and the pirates and the Dutch tried to invade it all the time as well. So Puerto Rico needed big forts to protect their little Island, which was also called “the gateway to the Caribbean”. So we walked around in the Fort for a bit, took lots of pictures and then went and bought a soccer ball and a watch for matt. We ended the day with a very nice Mexican meal and a margherita back in Condado. Good night!

There was one more bay to discover, Playa Isla Verde, so we headed over there and had another lazy day on the beach, sun tanning, fighting against the waves and reading.. aaahhh, what a great life!




CULEBRA

We heard about this really nice Island just off the coast of Puerto Rico, called Culebra. So we decided to go and check it out, since it apparently had the 3^rd best beach in the world: Flamingo Beach. We jumped in a taxi to Fajardo and from there took a 1 hour ferry over to Culebra. When we arrived, we already organized accommodation in a hostel, cause everything else was very expensive. The guy from the hostel picked us up at the ferry and walked us there. Wow, what a dump! It was absolutely minging, the room was dark and old and falling apart, the sheets were dirty, we were surrounded by mosquitos and both owners were pissed out of their heads. And they still wanted 75 dollars for the shitty , dirty room. It was already quite late in the evening, so we decided to take the hit for one night and then look for something better the next day. We had some Chinese for dinner and went for a few drinks at the local bar.

The next day I was on a mission to find us a nicer place. Unfortunately, all the other hotels or b&b’s were either very expensive or nearly as bad as the place we were staying at in the first place. Some guy tried helping me and told me about apartments that are for rent and showed me the number to call. The caretaker of the apartments, Maya, came and picked me up and showed me these beautiful, huge and clean apartments, right on the riverfront with a pretty garden in front. They were called Villadoza Apartments. And it was only 5 dollars more than the dumb we were staying at. I knew my mum would love it, so we drove back, packed our bags and left that shithole. Lol

We decided to go and check out the famous Flamingo Beach, so we caught a cab in town and drove the 10 min. to the beach. It was a very beautiful, long beach with white sand and cristal clear water, absolutely perfect. There were still quite big waves, but the water looked so nice, you couldn’t resist going in. So we had a nice day chilling on the beach and sun tanning. In the evening we did a little shop, so we could cook at our apartment and we got some cheap wine. After some great spaghetti bolognaise, we got a bit drunk of the whine and hit the hay.



Different day, different beach, so we took a taxi that dropped us of near the Turtle Beach. Of course we didn’t have any snorkeling gear, but when we got there, there was a kayak tour that were just going on a trip, nicely leaving loads of masks behind, that we “borrowed” to go snorkeling. It was really pretty, loads of fish and colorful coral, and we even saw a stingray and a turtle. We put the gear back just in time, before the kayaks got back. It was a very relaxing day again.

In the evening, Willy, our taxi driver turned into a captain and picked us up with his boat to go see the sunset from the see. It was a great evening, cruising around the Island and the joining all the other boats and catamarans to see the sun go down. We brought a bottle of wine, and so did willy, so without any food in our bellies, we had a few drinks on the boat and got pretty drunk. Willy was hilarious, blaring out his local music and singing along, trying to teach us Spanish at the same time and telling us all his stories about being a taxi driver and a boat owner on Culebra. Willy is a very kind, inviting and funny guy and we absolutely loved his company. After dropping us off at the house, we just sat down at a table outside and talked lots of shit until my mum nearly fell asleep on the table. Bedtime!

Another day, another beach. This time we had to walk a bit further, about half an hour. But it was definitely worth it, since it was Sunday and flamingo beach was really busy. So we went to Playa Tamarindo , which was a bit further away and not as wide and big as flamingo, but it was quiet and relaxing. Of course matt got hungry after about 2 hours lol so we hiked back, had some food and chilled on flamingo beach for the rest of the afternoon. We were invited to come over to Willys Ice cream shop in the evening, for some desert and wine. So we had some nice Mexican food in a little restaurant first, and then made our way to Willys. The Ice Cream was delicious and Willy funny as always. He opened up a Chilean wine for us and also brought out some local liquor, that usually they drink on Christmas. We chatted and drank and chatted some more, until we could barely get up anymore and willy drove us home in his taxi. Such a lovely guy..



The day after, we hired a golf buggy to have a little drive around the Island. Of course it started raining as soon as we got the buggy, so it was more of a mud drive than a nice scenic one. After an hour of wetness and sliding around, we abandoned our mission for a bit and went back home to have some food and watch a movie. The weather got better afterwards, so we cruised around the island, discovering loads of hidden beaches, going down very steep trails and lots of muddy roads (that we weren’t supposed too). Everywhere we went was pretty deserted, it was really nice.

In the evening we drove toPlaya Melones, apparently the best spot to watch the sunset. We had a bottle of Strawberry Vodka and Cranberry juice and sat down on a table right on the beach, enjoying the view. On a table next to us, a couple was celebrating their anniversary, so romantic. It was really nice watching the sun going down over the sea and having a few drinks with my loved ones.

New day, and we are getting picked up by Willy in the morning, to do a boat tour to Cayo Luis Pena,an even smaller Island, just 20 minutes off Culebra. The beaches around Cayo Luis Pena are very pretty, and again, we are the only people on the island. We went to 3 different beaches in total and the snorkeling around the island was fantastic. After about 4 hours on the Island, Willy took us back to Culebra, but to a different spot, where we could watch Pelicans getting their fish. Its just amazing how they dive into the water from the air, like a living bullet, so quick and precise. And always come back up with a fish in their mouth. We watched them for a while, had another swim and then Willy took us back to the house. We were taking the ferry back to the mainland this evening, spending our last 2 days in Luquillo.



LUQUILLO

In Luquillo, we stayed in the Sunrise Beach Hotel, directly on the beach. It was a very nice place, and there was a great little beach bar which did amazing burgers and wraps. The next day, we did a loooong walk along the beach, to get to the main bit of the beach, were there are the famous “kiosks”, lots of little stalls selling food, drinks and souvenirs. The beach in Luquillo is really nice and goes on and on and on.. we must have been walking for nearly 2 hours, just following the beach. Another nice day swimming and relaxing, trying some more local food and finishing the day with burgers and tequila sunrise at the beach bar.

Unfortunately, the day after our holiday already came to an end, so we chilled out on the balcony of the hotel until it was time to go to the airport. It was sad saying good bye to my mum, but we would see each other soon, only 2 months until Christmas, when Matt and I are gona be back in England and Switzerland.

What a wonderful, relaxing holiday this was.. aaaahh…

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