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Published: August 31st 2013
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Group Photo
The whole wedding gang! I'm a little late writing this one, but better late than never!
In July, I went down to Puerto Rico to celebrate the marriage of one of my best friends, Alisa to her new beau Donray. I worked with both Alisa and Donray in Comayagua, Honduras, where we all met while teaching down there. It was a small and intimate wedding (maybe 40 people?), so I felt honoured to be one of very few friends among the group, and the only one who had been there to see this relationship blossom from the beginning!
We all stayed at the Gran Melia Resort (non-inclusive), which was beautiful, but SUPER pricey, and not really worth what you pay. As a whole group, we also had several issues with the resort, but you can read all of the reviews on Trip Advisor for more on that (resort only scores 55% on there). Luckily, I shared a room with 2 of Alisa's other girlfriends, so the cost was reasonable.
I didn't have a ton of time to explore Puerto Rico, but what I did get to see was amazing! I would definitely recommend renting a car and driving around to see things.
Hiking El Yunque
On our way to La Mina Falls El Yunque National Park - This rain forest was beautiful. We drove up through a lot of it, getting out to take pictures at a waterfall and climb the lookout tower. We also did a hike to a bigger waterfall, where several locals were escaping the heat in the water from the falls. It was really beautiful, and although I've seen several rain forests and cloud forests, I never tire of the natural bamboo, exotic plants, and feel of the forest. It was also pretty awesome that we hiked this rain forest the day of the wedding, earlier that morning!
El Verde BBQ - This is a local restaurant, kind of cafeteria style, where you order what you want at the counter and then take it back to tables. After spending too much money on sub-par food at the resort, we were SOOOOOO excited to eat here. The food was AMAZING and so cheap! The place is packed with people (a testament to how good it is!) and we got so much food. For $7, I was able to get ribs, plantain, fried rice, fried yucca, and a coke! The food was delicious!
Richie's Café - Another
El Verde BBQ
Ribs, plantain, fried rice, coke, and fried yucca (not shown) all for $7!!!! restaurant with great food and a GREAT view! The café sits up in the mountains and so the view below is beautiful. I loved the food as well. I ordered "Mofongo" which is a typical Puerto Rican dish which is fried green plantains mashed together to form a sort of bowl, filled with vegetables and chicken. It was SO good, although quite pricey. Alisa said she'd had better mofongo elsewhere, but I thought it was delicious!
Old San Juan - We did a quick walk around here before we dropped off our rental car and went to the airport to fly home. The parking was the craziest part! We drove into an underground lot that had gridlocked all the cars in, with only enough space for one car to drive out. We were told the cars that would be parking in front of us, they would have keys for those cars, to move them later, in case we were blocked in when we wanted to leave. I used my Spanish to confirm with the men that this was in fact the case. I think they though I must be crazy to be even questioning it. Seemed the norm to
Mofongo at Richie's Café!
A traditional Puerto Rican dish! them!
Old San Juan reminded me a lot of St. George's, Bermuda or even Curacao, with all of it's cobblestone roads and brightly painted buildings. There are lots of souvenir shops (got a patch for my camping blanket!), as well as typical touristy shops. We did find the restaurant "
Barrachina", which is where the very first pina colada was made in 1963! We didn't stay there to eat (as we were kind of rushed for time) but we did get a free sample of the pina colada from the bar, and it was worth it! Definitely the best pina colada I had in Puerto Rico! We also walked around near the water and then ended up at one side of the old fort, where families were picnicking on the grass, kids were flying kites, and the atmosphere was just so... tranquilo.
The Wedding ITSELF! We weren't sure where the wedding was taking place. All we knew was that it wasn't at the resort, and that a bus would pick us up to take us to the location. After doing Alisa's hair for her wedding (the people at the resort sucked, so I became the hair dresser!)
and we sent her off, then it was time for us to get ready and meet in the lobby. We hopped on the bus and were off. We all thought it would be a waterfall or some place in the rain forest. We ended up driving up a long laneway where we saw a horse farm (Alisa's mom was ECSTATIC as she LOVES her animals and owns horses of her own). We then walked up a path and into a beautiful yard with a little wooden arch with an old wooden barrel acting as the pulpit. A beautiful tree hanging over as well, and benches set up for the guests. It was GORGEOUS! The wedding was amazing, of course. Alisa looked BEAUTIFUL! She walked down the "aisle" to "Kiss The Girl" from Little Mermaid. PERFECT!
Then when it was time for the reception, we walked up into the main house (the farm belongs to a family who rents it out for events) and I was SHOCKED! I don't think words or pictures will ever explain how it felt when we walked in. We were in paradise! The house is all open concept and like an old hacienda. There was a
Courtyard
Where I am standing to take this photo, is where we danced all night, under the stars! beautiful fireplace and candles everywhere. It was like something out of the "fantasy suites" on an episode of "The Bachelor". The dance floor was in the middle of a courtyard with a fountain in the middle, and a bell tower in the background. We literally danced all night under the stars!!! The tables for dinner were all beautifully decorated with fancy candelabras and rose petals. The cake was gorgeous and there were twinkle lights everywhere. It was honestly the most perfect wedding venue for these two. SO THEM! I have such high expectations for my own wedding now (one day!) HAHAHAHA.
Their first dance was done while all of us surrounded them with sparklers. I sang "If I 'Aint Got You" by Alicia Keys, while Alisa lip-synced and pretended I had taught her to sing. All of Donray's friends and family are ridiculously good dancers, and so our time on the dance floor was one of the best times I have ever had at a wedding! I feel so blessed to have both Alisa and Donray in my life, and so honoured to share in their special day, that will be remembered forever.
Following the reception, the bus took
Is this place for real?
Looks like the set of "The Bachelor" us back to the resort, where several of us continued the party at the resort's pool, where we all got to know each other a little better during a giant game of "truth or dare". I felt like I was in middle/high school all over again. Good times. How often do you get to hike a rain forest, go to a wedding, and have a giant pool party, all in the same day! AMAZING!
Overall, I had a great time in Puerto Rico. I would love to go back some day when I had more time, and explore the luminescent bays, and do some scuba diving!
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Kari12
Caroline Redmond
Yay!
Hey Sarah- So great to hear the details of Alisa and D Rays wedding. It sounds awesome! I love PR and have even thought of living and working there part time. When you go again you MUST check out Vieques! One of the best beaches I've ever seen. The diving didn't compare to Honduras, though I've found nothing does, Colombia either.