Puerto Rico Day 8: San Juan back to Chi-Town

Alas, the last day and entry about Puerto Rico. Camping at the beach means waking up to it and going right into the water for a morning dip. And not just any beach, Playa Flamenco was rated by Travel Channel as one of the Top 10 Best Beaches in the World and the Second Best Beach in the U.S. (after Hawaii). Looking at the ratings, the factor it scored lowest on (3/5) was child-friendliness, saying that children might not appreciate the tranquility of the beach and feel bored. That's just fine by me, the less screaming kids around while I'm getting my R&R the better!

We swam and snorkeled some more then packed our things up to head to the airport. The publico took us to the San Juan International and we had plenty of time before our flight. We enjoyed ourselves by playing Donkey Kong at the arcade machine by our gate, and going to the happy hour at a cafe. Bye bye 80 degree weather, hello 20 degrees.

Arcade machine at SJU

Puerto Rico Day 7: Vieques to Culebra

In Puerto Rico, people work when they want to work. With this in mind, we were very worried that we would miss our flight to Culebra because we couldn't find a ride to the airport. Fortunately, Henry got us there and the whole process was easy breasy. This time, we didn't have to pay extra fees for going over 25 lbs per person.
This time back into Culebra we were much better prepared to face this island. We knew our way around well, and after a tough walk from the airport to the pier, we took a publico (taxi) to Flamenco Beach. By the way, there is also like, only one ATM in the town. Yup, you've guessed it, it's by the pier.

Flamenco Beach - View from the plane

camp flamenco

To camp at Flamenco Beach you need to pay a fee, wear a band on your wrist or ankle, and leave the registration tag on your tent. We set up camp and were off to swim in Flamenco Beach for the first time.The water is so swimming friendly. The temperature of the water is warm (maybe about 75 degrees) and the waves are calm and rare.

Brian strikes a pose in front of playa flamenco - America's top model worthy pose

The water is so clear that you can see your feet at all depths. The sand also stays at waist level or so for a long time; again, swimmer friendly. We see people snorkeling around the reef that's pretty close to shore and learn that there are some rainbow and blue fishes that are worth seeing. We race to our tent, grab our snorkeling gear, and adventure around the reef. It's so easy to float when you're snorkeling, I loved it. I saw the bluefish and the rainbow fish people talked about, as well as a several schools of fishes--the most impressive being one with hundreds of tiny fishes about the size of a safety pin. Swimming through them was kind of creepy but I couldn't help but laugh at their faces. That sounded less mean in my head. Really though, some fishes have really funny faces when you look at them up close. Maybe it's their eyes. After we were done with la playa, we showered at the outdoor shower place available for campers.

Nature Showers at playa flamenco

You basically shower overlooking a bunch of greens and trees and know that the ocean is not far away from you. It's a nice nature experience.
It was Mardis Gras that day and maybe that's why there was only one food vendor open on playa Flamenco. We gave her good business, then went into our tent to relax. We came out again at night to look at the stars. It was the most beautiful night sky I had ever seen. Everything was so clear and bright and shiny and ginormous. Unfortunately, the clouds came a few minutes after we started appreciating the night sky and I also got devoured by no-see-ums. A week after the trip these bites would start popping up and multiplying by the hour; it was miserable. But being able to see that night sky was worth it. A very high cost, but worth it. :)

I don't know what it is about cats in Culebra but there are so many everywhere. Can you find all the cats in this picture? There are four.

Puerto Rico Day 6: El Yunque to Vieques

We rode in the back of a pick up truck on our way back to Bananas (where we got picked up). While waiting to leave, there were 2 Puerto Rican horses randomly hanging out in the parking lot. I say Puerto Rican horses because they're very bizarre pony-looking horses that have very thin legs and gallop like they're ballerinas. One of them came up to the truck and I took a picture with it. It didn't come out good but I was scared to use flash because someone said they bite. Anyway, I asked Brian to take the picture in the end and afterwards that horse nudged (lovingly) against my arm and reached down to tug on my pants with his teeth/lips. Scary/flattering.

A quick backpacker's breakfast at one of the forest's parking lots and we make our way to return our rental car and catch the ferry. We first get a nice, hot breakfast meal at McDonald's. I know, tourism at a U.S. chain franchise. BUT, we had the McCreole breakfast sandwhich that looked pretty Puerto Rican.
It's freaking President's Day and the ferry runs on weekend schedule. We spend an extra 3 hours waiting. The wait and the ferry ride aren't bad at all; that's the beauty of vacation planned with enough space and with a person you enjoy. What is tough, is having to stand in line with your bags way earlier than you're supposed to because everyone wants to line up early to have a good spot. It's no fun acting like cattle. Moo.

I'm very excited about Vieques at this point. The hotel La Posada Miramar is a lot nicer than we expected. The town of Vieques also has a cooler vibe than Culebra. We prepare ourselves for the night and watch the sunset on the Caribbean Sea walking along the shore and sitting on these steps. It's nice to not be in a rush. We tried eating at Bananas and Duffy's, but the workers there weren't very helpful about our credit card situation. Lazy Jack's was our friend! We have our drinks (I got a Lime Colada-tres bien!) and dinner there, and hung out until our 9pm Bioluminescent Tour with Abe's Tour. We were the only group out at the Bio Bay/Mosquito Bay at that hour. Pretty sweet, huh?

The Bio Bay at Vieques is the brightest in the world per Guinness World Record 2008. The luminescence is caused by micro-organisms (dinoflagellates) which glow whenever the water is disturbed, leaving a trail of neon color (varies according to organism). A combination of factors create the necessary conditions for bioluminescence: red mangrove trees surround the water (the organisms feed off the dead leaves); a complete lack of modern development around the bay; the water is cool enough and deep enough; and a small channel to the ocean keeps the dinoflagellates in the bay. In Vieques, the mangrove and the bay is protected by the government from any building or human disturbance. This small channel is the result of Spanish ships' attempts to choke off the bay from the ocean's waters. The Spanish believed that the bioluminescence they first encountered was the work of the devil and tried to block the ocean's waters from entering the bay by dropping huge boulders in the channel. The Spanish only succeeded in preserving and increasing the luminescence. All these factors together helped bring about this very bright bio bay. Stat: There are 3,000 dinoflagellates per gallon, each glowing only 7x a night. We were there a day after the new moon, at 9pm, so we had a pretty close to perfect/ideal viewing condition.

In other tours around the world, the guide will only allow you to see the bioluminescents by moving them in a bucket, by having you watch a "professional" swim in bioluminescents, or some other conservative method. In Vieques, however, because they are so plentiful, we got to kayak through the bay and swim in it! Your body glows when you're moving. If you are somewhat still, you see the flagels on you like bright little star dots. You feel electric! You can also scoop some water on your hands, and watch as the little bright organisms slide off your hand in turns. Even after 5 seconds, if you're still watching, you'll see a random shine coming off your palm. We kayaked through the bay, so as to see the mangroves and the fishes that would skip through the water and activate the bioluminescent every so often. I did get stung by a jellyfish, a handful of people at the tour did. It was a small sting, but it burns (or stings!) and hurts a lot. I probably splashed around too much and swam too deeply in the water ;)  By the way, that bay had water much saltier than that of the ocean (fact given by tour guide and checked out by Ivana).

Puerto Rico Day 5: El Yunque Rainforest

It was pretty alternative of us to be camping at the National Forest, where there were no camp sites and camping was to be done for "experienced campers" only. Brian is a boyscout so I wasn't worried, and now we can brag about spending two nights at El Yunque--the only tropical rain forest in the United States National Forest System. We spent the night semi appreciating the overwhelming sounds coming from birds, (coqui) frogs, monkeys, snakes, etc. The forest sounds grow very loud at night and you hear certain animals or sounds that you don't hear during the day. We also spent the night semi afraid of the crackling and crunching noises coming from branches falling, wind blowing, and leaves rustling. Plus, we were worried that it would start raining really hard at night, which would require us to stop camping and try our best to climb up a muddy, slippery hill in complete darkness. Lying in pitch black, sounds was your biggest sensory clue. When this happens, your imagination can run wild. Has someone spotted our tent and is coming to cause trouble and harm? Is there a wild animal out there trying to cozy up to our tent? Is that rain or a very strong wind?

Talking with Brian was a highlight of this camping experience. You know for sure that (1) no one else is listening in your conversation, (2) you have someone's full attention and vice-versa, and (3) you're in a relaxing environment. Another highlight is being at the forest first thing in the morning. We beat the tourists groups to the La Mina falls, which is found at the end of a 30 minute hike. We had a waterfall all to ourselves. Once we were in the water, a local (Puerto Rico) couple joined the waterfall scene and the male told us there is a rock you can swim to under the waterfall for a boost. We also learned that they are frequent visitors to the waterfall, because even though the water is "freakin' cold," it completely refreshes and invigorates you. After days of slumming and camping, it was exactly what we needed to renew our spirits. I'm not going to lie, if Brian wasn't so good at convincing me to swim up and under the fall, I wouldn't have done it. Even then, I was like, hyperventilating the first time I went up to it. "You have to stay calm and that'll make it a lot easier," advised Brian. I went under it a few more times, but my heart still raced every time. Seriously. I'm really happy I did it. It's such a remarkable experience.
After we ate our backpacker's lunch, we decided we had just enough time before sunset to take on the 4 hr (RT) hike to the El Yunque peak , the highest point in Puerto Rico at 3,496 ft. Our route involved picking up three trails: Mt. Britton Trail, Mt. Britton Spur, El Yunque Trail.
There was a viewing point close to the top where you could climb onto some rocks and have a completely unobstructed 270 degree plus downwards peripheral view of the rainforest and then some. It was scary to be there for long but it was a pretty neat view. The top of the mountain was another 10 minute hike up, and you stood among the clouds. I like green.
It was a great day in El Yunque. We celebrated our day by splurging on a hot meal composed of very fatty pork that came with "hot sauce" and "less hot sauce." It was a bit rough camping there again, especially since we were so sore from the day's activities. But, we had each other (awww!).
Not too shabby for a Valentine's Day, right? Best ever.

Exposed Tree Roots

Puerto Rico Day 4: Culebra to El Yunque

We spend the morning running some errands, and wait for our ferry out of the island around noon. I don't think the personality of Culebra matched well with our tastes. We end up having a much better time when we return to the island later in our trip and camp, without having to interact much with others. The kabob by the ferry is DELICIOUS! I highly recommend that vendor.
Ferry. Nausea. Sleep. Ferry port in Farjado, PR. Enterprise car rental.
We have a chance to look around the El Conquistador hotel & resort, the most high-end place to stay in PR. The place can be reached after a 10 minute drive through a golf course, and has over 70 shops. There are 3 enormous outdoor pools that overlook the Ocean (I think). Enterprise checks clients in at this location on the weekends, so it was a fortunate sight-seeing experience. As nice as this place was, I was happy with the itinerary Brian had planned for us. I think backpacking through Puerto Rico and its Spanish Virgin Islands is much more memorable and worthwhile than reminiscing about drinking pina colada by the pool at El Conquistador.

Luquillo Beach

After a long wait, we take off in our red Hyundai for El Yunque, making a pit stop at Luquillo beach and a Taco Maker. Taco Maker is the Taco Bell/Del Taco of Puerto Rico. Yeah. Once we get to the rainforest, we grow weary that we've arrived too close to sunset and won't find camping ground in time. It would be my first time camping... maybe I wouldn't like it? Maybe it would be ok if we didn't end up camping there after all? Alas, we did find a good spot.

Puerto Rico Day 3: Culebra Island

Photograph by Ivana Lin

"It's nice being in the same place for two nights in a row," said Brian. We woke early to make a stop at the fresh fruit stand that only comes around on Fridays. Supposedly, if you aren't one of the first people there, you won't find any blueberries. While waiting in line, I did hear a woman sadly ask if there were anymore blueberries left. It was like 9am, what was she thinking? And what is this hype about blueberries in Puerto Rico? They were $7 for an 6oz box in Old San Juan!
Enough about blueberries. Brian rented a scooter for us to explore the island on. We made an appearance at Flamenco Beach. It was the first time I had seen, in person, a beach with clear aqua water and white sand. It was the most beautiful beach I'd ever seen. And I said that when it was overcast! We sat and admired for a while and walked along the shore to see the abandoned tanks, a "famous" landmark of Flamenco Beach. Then, we zoomed out in our scooter to Zoni beach, 7 miles off at the opposite end of the island. Riding the scooter was fun, and exploring the small island in it was a memorable experience. It was nice to be able to do it in speed while keeping the same physical freedom as on foot, without the fatigue of walking. Zoni beach makes you realize that you're really in an island. It's got that scent of exotic written all over it.
Even though there are two gas stations marked in the Culebra map, there is only ONE. Getting gas in Culebra can be compared to taking a cross-country road trip through the U.S. and stopping to get food at a small town that's very different than what you're used to. Getting gas didn't work out. We share mahi mahi over a couple of Medallas at Mamacitas and call it a night. Early start is the way to go.

Puerto Rico Day 2: Old San Juan to Culebra Island

The next day, we continued onto El Morro, where the castle/fort lies. The Fort San Felipe del Morro is a large citadel built to protect enemies coming from the sea. The walls are surprisingly tall, and there are various different construction strategies that allow it to stay protected from an attack. Such construction also gives those in El Morro a big advantage when defending themselves from attackers. For example, there were many different viewing “holes” where soldiers could shoot out at enemies from, while remaining protected. I also liked that its front side had a very large “front yard” of vast space that made any approaching enemy visible, and made it incredibly intimidating to make a charge towards the castle. They have strategic passageways and stairs, such as the triangle exit. The triangle stairs is a triangular down-spiraling staircase that was made to provide soldiers a quick way to get from the top floors to the ground level (reminds me of a fireman’s poll).

We had walked to El Morro from Hotel Casablanca to avoid the tight traffic of Old San Juan. On the way back, however, we decided to go with the tram because just walking through that “front yard” takes you at least 5 minutes and we had a plane to catch! Had lunch at a Greek/Turkish fusion restaurant that served pretty good Gyros. Took the tourist taxi to the Air Flamenco in Isla Grande and after some waiting and delays, took off in a 6-passenger plane to Culebra. Plane landings always have a lovely way of activating my motion sickness, but that was probably the toughest issue I delt with in terms of transportation.
We got picked up at the smallest airport Brian has ever seen by Palmetto Guesthouse. It’s a pretty place ran by an active couple who used to be in the Peace Corp. After we got settled in, we hunted for groceries and cooked a little something in the kitchen. Budget traveling, baby.
Fine, it wasn’t enough food and I wanted to go dancing. Brian and I venture out to find Mamacitas. In the dark, it is a scary 15 minute walk because it looks like you’re in the booneys. “There is absolutely no one on the road. We should have brought the pepper spray,” I commented. “Yeah, damn” he replies. We make our way safely to Mamacitas by 9:45pm. Unfortunately, kitchen closes at around 8pm in this island. Granted, I was warned about this but I guess my mind brushed it off as a ridiculous. As if the concept of a town closing up by 9pm was unfathomable, crazy. But then again, Irvine, CA is kind of like that, isn’t it?
I order a pina colada (of course) and Brian has his first Medalla light (the official Bud Light/Miller Light/Beer Light of Puerto Rico) at Mamacita’s. Here are some interesting facts I probed out of the servers… the “Do Not Feed the Iguanas” signs are not a joke. During the early afternoon, you can see the chef feeding cooking remains to the iguanas. The term “getting Bushwhacked” comes from the island drink “Bushwhacker”. It’s basically a mudslide cocktail with some more coffee/cream liquor ingredients. No, I did not feel tempted to try. To me, Pina Colada is the official island/beach vacation drink. And yes, we were able to find a rugged bar that served chicken nuggets on our way home.

Puerto Rico Day 1 : Chi-Town to Old San Juan

Chicago, Illinois, February 10, 2010: Snow storms and 20 degree weather had been terrorizing the area I live in. On top of that, I had caught the terrible virus going around and was feeling sick–bed-ridden, miserable sneezing sick. We woke up at 6am to catch our flight, and the snow was knee-deep on the way to the car. Brrrr.

It was the worst and the best time to get out. Would our flight depart? Would I be sick during the entire trip? Yes, our flight left on time and got in early. We went from 20 to 80 degrees in 4.5 hours. And yes, in 2 days all my cold symptoms were 90% gone, thanks to the warmth and humidity.

We landed in San Juan, Puerto Rico mid-afternoon and made our way to our hotel in Old San Juan. The Casablanca hotel has incredible interior decór. You can really see the attention to detail that went into picking each item that went into that hotel. It adds to the experience of being in an old, Spanish residence. They also had these large bathtubs up on the roof that guests could use. I thought that night time would be more enjoyable for that amenity, but not being able to see what you were bathing in actually made us feel gross and the hot water ran out by the time we got there. Boo. We did get upgraded to a bigger room though! They didn’t have a lot of guests that Wednesday night, so they were able to accommodate us into a nicer room.
With enough daylight to burn, we walked around Old San Juan, which is only about a 20 minute walk from one corner to the other corner of town. The landscape and buildings of Old San Juan are very distinct, and the neighborhood is safe to walk around in, even at night. The night stroll felt like a walk around a college campus–good vibe–and ended with snacking on dried apricots while looking at the harbor where we drolled over this enormous cruise ship that had elevators and everything. There is very little visual pollution in OSJ, as all the store signs are displayed very discreetly. The streets are labeled on building walls. It’s a quaint town with a lot of spanish flavor, history, and age you can literally see. We thoroughly explored OSJ, buying necessities at its mercados and having a meal at Mama’s (?). If you’re in the mood for Mexican food, Mama’s has pretty good gourmet-like burritos. Oh yes, beware that restaurants are closed during times when no one is supposed to be eating, I.E. 5pm.