This may come as a surprise to some (no doubt brainwashed by sun-beaming carnival cruise ads), but it rains quite frequently in the tropics - not in the persistent all-day-drizzle style like the Northeast, but in quick + ferocious bursts of weather. While it can be distressing if caught in the wet onslaught unprepared, for the most part the rain's an accepted aspect of life ( + it'll be over in another eight minutes). Indeed as you've seen in previous videos, I've become pretty fond of the rainy moments here. So here's another storm-view, now from the South. :) (or at least it was ... a few days ago!)Mom & Jane flew down for a few days of celebration (woo!), giving me an excuse to continue all my touring. :D We stayed in Old San Juan for two days and then headed south to get some beach and mountain time! spoon food toursWe started the weekend rolling with a delicious private food tour with Paulina & Gus of Spoon Food Tours. They're a gracious & knowledgeable couple who host walking and driving food tours around the San Juan metro area, as well as organize special large-scale food events and restaurant weeks for the city. They're just smart, chill people who love food - thus EXCELLENT company to keep! Haha - I seemed to have been so into the food and the company that I actually forgot to take many pictures. I know. Me?! Not take pictures?! Crazy! But it's the truth. So I'll tell you what we ate: First stop, a beach-front shack in the east-metro town of Piñones for fresh fish ceviche, tostones y coco bien friiio! They make their ceviche with fish straight from their oceanfront, fresh tomatoes, peppers and tons of lime juice - such refreshing flavors...I just needed something fried to keep me from feeling too vibrant. Luckily they came with tostones - fried green plantains that taste something like thick french fries - good with mayoketchup or as crackers to scoop ceviche onto. Next, we headed back towards town to another locals spot, La Cueva del Mar (Cave of the Sea) on Loiza St. for fish tacos and another local drink - Don Q Rum and grapefruit juice (I love the simple recipes). The fish tacos had a crunchy cabbage slaw on them, again, with lots of lime juice and homemade mango hot-sauce on the side. Side note: most local criollo cuisine uses tons of 'hot-sauces' on their dishes but they don't tend to be the straight pepper sauces that we often see on the mainland. In fact, many Caribbean sauces like this have fruit bases, like mango or guava, and then mix in peppers, onions and garlic to make a savory sauce for all sorts of dishes. Last stop: dessert back in Viejo SJ! We went to the historic El Convento courtyard for tres leches cake, coconut flan and P.R. grown and roasted coffee! It had been three hours of dining and we were stuffed...just in time for happy hour to begin... ;) For more info on Spoon Food Tours - check out their snazzy webpage: spoonfoodtours.com sailing & SNORKELING on the (ahem) spread eagle IIYes, that's actually the catamaran's name. See? I have proof: To be completely honest, I almost didn't want to book with them because of their name - haha, but I'm so glad I did! We took a breezy ride to the public Icacos island for some lunch and hours of snorkeling - I didn't want to sail back home! For more information please visit: snorklepr.com and back to the forest!And of course Mom & Jane's visit would not be complete without a hike through the rainforest! Overall, it was a wonderful birthday weekend & I'm so glad Mom + Jane could visit. To everyone who couldn't come - thanks for sending all your love and 'happy birthdays'! :D See yal soon!
I'm growing suspicious of myself. Since arriving in PR, I've discovered myself attempting to be airborne over and over again! Is this a hidden desire of mine? Does Puerto Rico's mountains just bring it out of people? Or am I under the effects of successful advertising?! Who knows?! Regardless of the cause, I continued my flying journey this week with EcoQuest's 7 zipline, 7 canopy bridge hiking adventure through Carolinas' Carstic Preserve, Campo Rico. This site is a unique, 2,300 acre mosaic of Carstic hills, Mangrove forests, Fields and Wetlands. Campo Rico is owned by one the island's largest landholder/developers - but was set aside for preservation (partially because the wetland & mangrove adjacency prohibited most development-types) but also (!) to create a functional and profitable landscape where locals and tourists alike can connect with the diverse and vibrant ecosystems located just minutes from San Juan. When you enterCampo Rico, you abruptly depart the loud and dense San Juan suburb of Carolinas to view a vast and verdant Hacienda, complete with fields of grazing Paso Fino horses, rows of plantains and sugarcane, a colonial-inspired mansion (for special events), an artificial pond with floating water lettuce & preening fowl, a golf course, and rolling hills of carstic forests. Although there are MANY excursions-types hosted by Campo Rico I participated in the 'Sunset' Zipline adventure. We were a diverse group with different experience levels - from Missouri to New York, one with US Army training, a skydiver, a couple first-timers and me (whatever I am)! :D With this vibrant mixture and some pumping positive energy (is it the adrenaline?) we set off, to climb our first tower and begin the 2 hour high-flying tour. Since this tour is so close to San Juan proper & is welcoming to all fitness levels - I would recommend it to people who are new to ziplining, travelling with kids +/or have a limited amount of time to adventure the island. It's got a good amount of thrills, views & access to nature. However, if you're into a more physically challenging and blood-pumping jaunt in the wilds, I would recommend EcoQuest's San Salvador adventure which tours the same forest as Rocaliza's El Salto tour (see previous post) - and also provides a close connection to the family that owns the property, providing an undoubtedly special experience.
For more information on EcoQuest visit: ecoquestpr.com and for more on Campo Rico visit: haciendacamporico.com As I'm writing this post, it's hour 30 of a waterless San Juan City. It turns out early yesterday morning a main city supply line burst at Plaza las Americas (a massive suburban mall) in Hato Rey. This prompted the city to shut off all water to the populous metro areas of Isla Verde, Condado, and Viejo San Juan. The city asserted: We're working on the issue but San Juan could be 48 hours without water. With that report, I rose to a city of resilient Puerto Ricans, accustomed to these types of occurrences, heading out with the sunrise to prepare for a hot, water-less day. And of course, I did my best to join them in the preparations - because what other option did I have but to adapt!? So, with a new stash of water in my room and an updated mental map of all Old SJ facilities with running water, I felt pretty secure for the day. Interestingly, a blatant gap was revealed between business with continued use and those with no choice but to close. Large American chains like the Sheraton (my casino spot) & Starbucks remained open throughout the day (although the cafe's wc closed eventually) yet small local restaurants and hotels closed or diminished capacity. I'm uncertain if this schism is due to better preventative resources (cisterns galore) or a more powerful relationship with city suppliers. Typically, a disproportionate expenditure of the city's resources can be seen with a quick trip to the suburbs. One day I trekked twenty minutes south to Guaynabo (for an interview) to find a shopping center with faltering power and blacked-out stores. Upbeat background music skipped in + out with the flickering lights. Although this sight was strange to my eyes, locals shopped in the darkened clothing stores, snacked on benches, restocked groceries & vended lotto tickets. It seemed like a typical day in Guaynabo. Despite this apparent normality, I've never seen tourist-filled Old San Juan receive the same treatment. the influxSO, I set out for my day, (Feeling Good!) like the city and I were prepped to survive the suffocating 95+ degree heat. When all of a sudden. I SAW IT. There. On the horizon. Look CLOSER! Oh, HOW COULD I FORGET!?!?! The tourist's are coming! We're here, scraping our cisterns for waterdrops and now a fat-floating-skyscraper of thousands of unknowing, entitled resource usurpers will flood this tiny town! (haha - obviously I'M not the same tourist-type in my mind) ;) I was freaking out. Certain - this will be the end of Old San Juan. Now don't get me wrong. I love tourists. I probably am a tourist half of my life-experience. But there is a strange and potentially dangerous mental-shift that can occur when a person undergoes the 'tourist' identity change - where a vacation is not seen as a reward for (insert amount of time) of labor - it's a personal right. And in today's market, this right to leisure-time often translates into a mass-migration of people who feel entitled to eat everything, enjoy limitless hot-water, wifi, tv, + energy & explore a city without needing to wait in lines or see garbage or poverty or think about world issues like diminishing freshwater availability. Not always, but it's a definite possibility. Believe me, my interviews with tourism-related business owners have repeatedly highlighted the struggle of dealing with the entitled mind. Perfectly amiable people can be transformed by their resolutely unrealistic expectations in tourist-mode. Heck, even tourists complain about tourists! So with this anxious mind I anticipated the ship & thousands of passengers' fast-approach. But the thing is. San Juan was not destroyed by the influx. Taxi's lined up. Tours were guided. Craft-markets and cigar rollers filled the plazas. While my North-East raised mind (accustomed to unceasing resource access) assumed that 'no water' shuts down a city, I instead witnessed accepting people who creatively adapted to the changing possibilities. Some stores were certainly set back by the day's events. But overall, the city just kept on welcoming their expectant visitors. Indeed, throughout my time here, Puerto Rican's have proved to be very giving people. In fact, the tourists surprised me too! For, although they could potentially suppress a town with unabashed self-indulgence, they are also so beautifully enraptured by the vibrancy of a never before-seen place, they remain blissfully ignorant of the infrastructure struggles. Despite restaurants & shop closures ... in fact, even with the largest attraction in town (the Federally-run San Juan Historic Park & El Morro) closed by government shutdown they're as thrilled with the blue-cobblestone alleys, street cats and pop-colored buildings as I am! It's quite beautiful. As the hot sun set last night, the streets were filled with gleeful visitors - enthralled with their six hour day at port in Viejo San Juan. PLUS - I think I just heard someone turn the water on! :D I would love a shower about now....
There's a tiny public park down my street called Playito del Condado (or the little Condado beach). It's a blue-water lagoon between the Condado & Viejo San Juan Islands, barred by volcanic stone-formations on the Atlantic side and the arched-Condado bridge by the bay. It's still, clear and centrally located - perfect for locals and tourists alike! However, the interesting concept at play here is the recent installation of an underwater coral trail completed by the San Juan Bay Estuary Program. The installation aims to raise awareness of the diverse plant & wildlife communities inhabiting the (now-connected) grassland and bottom communities in the SJ lagoon. This trail was formed by the linear placement of modular concrete reef forms, within which vegetation grows + fish thrive! The forms are still young (and thus so are growths) but the trail beautifully highlights the importance of underwater understanding for all people & the possibility of implementation in public parks. for more info please visit: estuario.org and water.epa.gov
my next change of residence included a quick island hop: from viejo san juan to condado - less than a mile and a half away! condado is a vibrant, up-and-coming district, where san juan's more glamorous resorts, young professionals and wealthy partiers co-mingle. it's a narrow strip of land facing north to the atlantic and south to the bay - in parts, cut by a single boulevard, avenida ashford (my home street). although some resorts, like the famous La Concha, have existed in Condado for several decades, the area has just recently experienced a rapid evolution spurred by fresh tourist interest and financial investment. it is a place in transition, with vacant buildings and empty lots punctuating the shining new developments. you may wonder, how could any wandering grad student afford to move to a destination such as this?! well the truth is that i can't, of course! i seriously lucked out when i bumped into a fellow traveler named Rubi while touring the Bacardi Factory one day. Rubi circulates the globe for the Cheesecake factory (spending three months in San Juan then to San Diego then to Lima, Peru) helping to train employees and assemble new stores. the factory helps it's temporary employees find housing and subsidizes the costs a bit. then I benefit because Rubi is just a lovely, sharing person who further 'subsidized' a short stay for me for two weeks! :D i adore the salty breezes & softly rushing waves that have formed my perpetual backdrop while living here. in fact, as my windows face north-east, i've made a pleasant habit of waking for the sunrise every morning....and of course i filmed some of it ;) this monday, i joined the Rocaliza tour group's thrilling rainforest expedition. we set forth from san juan in the am with the agitated anticipations of an intimate, adrenaline-filled adventure. for almost an hour, our van climbed the winding pot-holed roads to the carite-forested mountains near caguas. there we donned the required safety helmets and harnesses, stashed our breakables and set forth up our flowing river trail. although an exhilarating, physicality dominated our tour-experience, the challenges were always tied to a message of intimacy with place. as we traversed one extended family's property, we heard of their history, learnt of their forest + dined at their tables on home-cooked food. Rocaliza makes a strong statement on the importance of connecting travelers & locals, sharing business and spreading awareness to all who are lucky enough to visit this special place. for more information please visit: rocaliza.com or click any of the links below.
After my artsy-Inn getaway, I found a simple & tidy hostel/guesthouse exceptionally located on Plaza Colón in Viejo San Juan. In addition to an array of dorm and family-style bunk rooms, the Posada offers private rooms for budget travelers like me. Although kitchen and bathrooms are shared by visitors, three layers of key-locked gateways separate my space and the vibrant Plaza outside, lending a reassurance of security. In fact the most intimidating part of this communal residence was its prehistoric elevator (one of the first ever built in San Juan) - see below. Eep! For more information please visit posada-colonial-puertorico.com
Finally! Food discussions! While working in the rainforest I was living with healthy-dining, mainland-natives so the dining was pretty typical for me (lots of salads!) - felt so familiar I hardly thought to document the experiences. But now that I'm in the city there's too much to discuss! Scroll through the slide shows for some food explorations. :) growing locallydining-outself-servedAlso, it would've been quite sensible to save the market discussion for this post - but I didn't. so please see previous post (Sept. 24th) for that commentary. piragua pic from: panoramio.com/photo/5914081
i decided to treat to myself for surviving the snakes + mud of the rainforest and stay at a spectacular and unique b&b in old san juan, named the gallery inn. this magical place is both a temporary home to lucky travellers (like me!) and the permanent home & studio of sculpture + paint artist, jan d'esopo. jan's magnificent home is a labyrinth of sitting rooms and courtyards adorned with paintings, sculptures, fountains, ruins and tropical birds, merging into a warm & storied place that invites tranquil wandering. oh boy! the gallery inn also empowered me with controllable air temperatures (for 1st time since arriving in pr) - here i realized how acclimatized i've become, because if i turned my air down to a comfortable 80 degrees ... i still needed two blankets to sleep! wow! :D for more information on the gallery inn please visit: thegalleryinn.com or click an icon below.
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AuthorAn Upstate New York-grown, art history + Italian major turned organic farm volunteer turned Home Health Aide turned Landscape Architecture Grad student currently adventuring about the globe and taking far too many photos for one travel blog to handle. Archives
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