Day 2 ~ Puerto Rico Roadtrip

We awoke at the Courtyard in Aquadilla, Puerto Rico and found the hotel was rather....full. Strange, considering Aquadilla is a tiny airport and there werent any major events going on this weekend. Little did we know that the Special Olympics for weightlifters were being held closeby and we found ourselves surrounded by some of the biggest (I'm talking muscle) people I have even seen in real life (yes, weightlifters look a thousand times bigger in the flesh than on TV). To my left I'm hearing Germans, to my right - some form of -stan (Paki, Khazik etc) while I'm looking at an even bigger bunch of boys that were from Luxemburg...honestly didnt think there was room in that tiny country to keep such huge people!

Not something you expect to see when you wake up on a Sunday morning in a sleepy Puerto Rican town, but hey - like I've said before, Puerto Rico is changing rapidly in leaps and bounds and nothing should really surprise us anymore.

After a quick dip in the hotel pool (they had waterslides!!!), we got some pressed sandwiches and coffee for breakfast at a little Panaderia and set off to get ourselves lost in the forest. There are so many small, narrow winding roads and although Geoff had a route marked out, we still chose to venture here and there with whatever looked interesting along the way. 

Another camp ground!! Where were you 3 years ago??

Lago dos Bocas (Lake of two mouths) in Utuado.  The lake was created in 1942 when a dam was constructed by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority for a hydroelectric power plant. It also serves as one of the island's potable water reservoirs. Ferries operated by the Department of Transportation of Puerto Rico provide transportation for residents on Lago Dos Bocas as well as for tourists. Several restaurants are located on the shore of the lake, but we didnt have the time to stop into them. Plus, sampling from all the little, family-owned restaurants was much more fun and curiosity-satisfying!

We seem to find our four-legged friends wherever we go :)

All in all a beautiful day exploring some new areas of the interior of Puerto Rico that we havent seen before. What we werent aware of, was that the local elections were just a couple of days off and that 99.9% of the Puerto Rican population was dressed up, parading, driving in cars and waving flags, playing music, blocking the roads or a combination of all of the above. This really affected our timing when we came closer to San Juan, where the highways were moving at a snails pace with the amount of people just hanging out there - or hanging out of moving cars. Unfortunately no Costco trip for us this weekend, but I think what we saw and did this weekend very much outweighed any experience Costco could've given us!

P.S As an afternote, Puerto Rican voters this week backed a ballot measure thatYet, Tuesday's vote may be an illustration of a people who remain divided over the island's status rather than united around one option. Based on the first question of a two-part ballot, just more than half (54 percent) voted to change the island's status. In the second question, 61 percent said they favored statehood, while 33 percent voted for sovereign free association (more autonomy from the U.S.) and 5 percent backed independence. may be an illustration of a people whoYet, Tuesday's vote may be an illustration of a people who remain divided over the island's status rather than united around one option. Based on the first question of a two-part ballot, just more than half (54 percent) voted to change the island's status. In the second question, 61 percent said they favored statehood, while 33 percent voted for sovereign free association (more autonomy from the U.S.) and 5 percent backed independence.rather than united around one option. Based on the first question of a two-part ballot, just more than half (54 percent) voted to change the island's status. In the second question, 61 percent said they favored statehood, while 33 percent voted for sovereign free association (more autonomy from the U.S.) and 5 percent backed independence.

Papas Curly, Iceskating and one hell of a Sunset (Day 1 of PR roadtrip)

An immigration appointment brought us to Puerto Rico on Friday, and the zest for exploring kept us there.

Friday night, after our plane was delayed over an hour and I had well and truly missed my appointment with Immigration (while no-one in the office was answering the phone!), we arrived at San Juan International Airport aroud 8pm. I raced over to the office (located in the airport) and luckily was still allowed to be seen for a quick interview and fingerprints.

Being that it was so late, we made a beeline for a restaurant in Old San Juan we still had vouchers too and after dealing with parking, tourists etc. we finished off our dinner around 11pm. 

Marriott hotels had a deal that Geoff picked up on which we took advantage of this weekend - stay at a Marriott hotel for one night, get one night free (at a different Marriott hotel) Sweet! Even more of an excuse to explore the untapped areas of our former home a little more. 

After a rather comfortable sleep at the Courtyard in Miramar, we jumped into our little rental car and headed West, towards Aguadilla, Rincon and Mayaguez. (Our second night was booked at the Courtyard in Aguadilla). Not before breakfast at our favorite breakfast spot though - Kasalta...home of the gigantic pressed sandwiches and super strong espresso. This time instead of my usual hamon, huevo y queso (ham, cheese and egg), I went for traditional Puerto-Rican Style "Avena" (oatmeal). This type of oatmeal made with condensed milk, cream and cinnamon is the ultimate comfort food and blows typical American-style oatmeal out of the water!

Our bellies full and we hit the road. At the turnoff to Dorado (just 15 miles/24 km west of San Juan), we came across a very local's looking beach among all the highrises and golf courses. Wanting to stretch our legs a little before starting the longer drive out west, we came across an abandoned, yet beautiful campground with an even more beautiful cliffs lining it. Why didnt we know about this when we lived here? 

Look, even the tiling is Spanish style!

Can you spot the iguana?

With lots of little stops here and there along the way, we finally reached Aquadilla around sunset. Geoff and his Dad went to play golf at a course directly next to this beach (pictures below), which provided one of the most spectacular sunsets ever.

Old ruins made for some beautiful photos at this deserted beach

After a full day of driving, sightseeing and snacking, nothing seemed more appealing than......iceskating! Yes, the Caribbeans' only ice rink was located here in Aguadilla. Luckily we both had long pants and long sleeves with us (thanks to the locals knowledge we have of St. Croix loving to freeze out their patrons at the airport), all that was needed was a quick stop at K-mart for some socks and then it was off for an hour on the rink! Geoff tried to teach me to skate backwards but I ended up with my butt on the ice more times than I actually made an inch on the ice, so I decided the pro skating can be left to him...which is absolutely awesome at.

A hearty, steaming bowl of Caldo Gallego (Spanish soup made with Chorizo, white beans and wilted greens) warmed us up after being on the ice for an hour!

Part 2 (Sunday) to come soon...

Cafe, arquitectura & muy bueno Comida!

.....which about sums up our last weekend in San Juan, celebrating Geoff's birthday :) We had lots of good, strong Spanish coffee, sightsaw some new-old gorgeous buildings and churches and of course - got our fill of Puerto Rican/Spanish cuisine!

But to start with..a nice birthday surprise upon checking in at our hotel!

After a horrible 2-hour sleep (well, for me...Geoff of course slept soundly as a rock), we started off our Saturday with our favorite spot for breakfast - Kasalta (http://www.kasalta.com/) We frequented this cafe/bistro/bakery only a couple of times whilst living here in San Juan, but its become our go-to spot for breakfast whenever we come and visit. You cant beat the enormous breakfast sandwiches made with fresh crusty bread, Serano ham and Manchego cheese. And freshly made Cafe con Leche (espresso with milk) for just $1.25? I'll take two please. They make everything from little marzipan pigs to Quesito's (pastry filled with sweet cream cheese) for deserts.. we usually get a couple for the road

 :-)

Our tummies full and happy, we set off to explore Old San Juan in all its new reconstruction glory. It is always a surprise and wonderful thing to see San Juan progressing so quickly with such a huge emphasis on remodeling it with tourism at the forefront and driving force behind its design. I usually wouldnt say this about places, as typically it would be sacrificing charm, culture and local life, but with San Juan, they are just nailing it on the head - in fact, a lot of the old buildings which have been run down and forgotten about and now being brought to life and amplified in ways that never wouldve been if it wasnt for wanting to increase tourism (and the help of federal funding of course). 

Look familiar? (exact replica of the Liberty Bell)

Here is a great example of how an old building is slowly being restored..

Inside the San Juan Cathedral and resting place of Juan Ponce de Leon (first Governor of Puerto Rico)

View from our hotel room:

The former prison cells are now surrounded by the Puerto Rican Tourism Co. 's offices...although kept intact, we didnt actually get to see them.

San Juan's version of "Pigeon Park" (except this was abandoned and no homeless people around). However, someone had built these little roosting holes for all the pigeons around.

What better way to start the day than with some blow-torch waffles and Siphon coffee? We read about this place called Waffle-era on someone's blog and it just so happened to fit in with the morning's sightseeing plans so after we walked our feet off up and down the steep streets of Old San Juan, a plate of waffles sounded like just the thing we needed to refuel.

And this is not just any waffle house... this tiny, cozy little cafe has no more than 8 little tables with street front view of the old city and a waffle menu to die for. After much umming and aahhing, I settled on deep dish waffle with smoked salmon, goat cheese and grilled tomatoes with a side of herb Greek yoghurt...yum, yum and yum :) The birthday boy couldnt decide between a sweet or savory, so he got both.. a Serano ham and Manchego cheese (pics below the cheese being melted by a blowtorch) and a custom strawberry, banana with habanero honey. Yup, we were waddling after that breakfast!

All in all a great weekend and it was nice to take it at a slower pace for a change... our holidays are usually filled with trying to jam-pack in as many things as possible.

After a Costco shop and filling our cooler with lots of delicious cheese, fruit and other tidbits we cant get here in St. Croix, American Airlines lost our luggage...how I do not know, considering it is just one flight with no stopovers, but they could not even track it.

On the bright side, we entered a competition through Liat (a Caribbean airline) while in San Juan to win a round-trip ticket anywhere in the Caribbean where they fly and received a call the following day only to be told that we won!

Follow up: We received our bags the next evening, the only thing that spoiled was some ultra-thick yogurt...luckily the cheese and fruit made it here just in time :)