Hamms in Viejo San Juan, PR. From Left to Right, Mark, Bob, Lisa, Philip, and John.
1994 was to be my sister Lisa's first year without family at Thanksgiving, and since she was living in beautiful, warm Puerto Rico, we (my brothers John and Phil, my husband and myself) decided that this was a great opportunity to get a luxurious tropical vacation on the cheap! (Don't tell Lisa.) We were destined to learn a lot about Puerto Rico and develop a decided fondness for the Pina Colada.
Mark and I arrived in Puerto Rico on Friday, in order to save a few bucks on plane fare (we were to leave the following Monday for the same purpose.) We left cuddled in warm winter coats and arrived in warm, 80 degree tropical weather.
Lisa picked us up at the airport, finding us quickly and easily. We headed to her apartment, which we found pretty exotic by itself. This apartment was not the kind of home that we were used to. NO in Puerto Rico this spacious rooftop apartment seemed almost open to the world. The roof top and associated bathroom looked out over the ocean and over the San Juan metropolitan area. The tops of low building were punctuated with palms and brilliantly flowering trees. Off the living room was another room open to the air, and there were no storm windows to keep the air out during the day or night.
We dined that fist night al fresco in Old San Juan, then headed off for an early night.
Mark and I arrived a day before anyone else, so we decided to drive down through the island to Ponce, a town on the south (Caribbean) shore of the island. The town is very historic, and not nearly as touristy as San Juan. We did an architectural tour, seeing the Red and Black firehouse, and eating a wonderful lunch at the Cafe Tomas. Then we headed to the Museo de Arte de Ponce, which is a really good museum, probably the best on the island. The building was designed by the same person who designed the Kennedy Center here in DC, and the connection was apparent.
To get to Ponce, we used the highway and had no problem. We'd come thorough Ponce again this week, after a much longer, more circuitous route!
Hamms in Viejo San Juan, PR. From Left to Right, Mark, Bob, Lisa, Philip, and John.
In the next couple of days my brothers arrived, and we explored Old San Juan. We were particularly interested in some unique statuary and in some souvenir shopping. We also checked out lots of old guard towers, trying to figure out which one was on the license plate.
After the weekend was over, we were ready to move on to the interior.
Hamms at the Hacienda Hotel Gripinas in Jayuya, PR. From Left to Right, Julie (me) Philip, Lisa and John.
Jayuya is a town in the mountains of Puerto Rico, at the highest point on the island. We were headed there because there is a Parador there called the Hacienda Hotel Gripinas. The Paradores Puertorriquenos are a series of small hotels, largely in historic buildings or areas, which provide a more Puerto Rican experience. And they do it at budget prices.
The Hacienda Gripinas, built in 1858, used to be a coffee plantation, and had, most notably, a beautiful big porch around most of it. Most of us stayed up quite late playing games and drinking beer and wine on the porch chairs. It was like being at the farm, only in a tropical climate. The Hacienda also had extensive, beautiful gardens. The Hacienda is 100 years older than Lisa! We also spent some time hiking in the neighborhood of the Parador, through what is a very nice town for this territory. Indeed a great deal of poverty exists in these hills, albeit a poverty that seems more "healthy" than that of the urban climates.
The road to Gripinas and forward was very windy two lane mountain road. Unfortunately, the natives tend to drive their barely navigable vehicles at amazing speeds on these roads, which makes traversing the island through the middle a real challenge. The views, however, are striking.
Ballcourt at the Taino Ruins in Utuado.
We headed next to Caguana, where Indian petroglyphs of the Taino tribe native to Puerto Rico could be found. Unfortunately the site was officially closed for the day, so although we could walk around, we could not get a tour, and we could not see the museum. We did view the petroglyphs and the ball courts, which were fascinating.
Town statue and assorted idiots in La Parquera.
We passed close to Ponce on the south side of the island before ending up at the fishing village of La Parguera. Again we were staying at a Parador, but one significantly less impressive than Gripinas. Indeed there are 2 paradores in La Parguera, and we would recommend the other one. We stayed at the Posada Porlamar, which was dirt cheap, but had noisy air conditioners and tiny rooms for us. We ate at the other parador in the town and were much more impressed.
La Parguera is a tiny fishing village with only three things of note within it. The first is a sizable out door bar, where you can drink and dance to Latin music late into the night in the outdoor warmth. Indeed in Puerto Rico the interface between indoors and outdoors is much less obvious than it is in our culture. Much happens outside that we would do inside most of the time.
The second thing of note is an impressive statue of a fisherman that is found in the town square. This is an amazing statue, which looks very much like the kind of art work that Tom was doing in grade school. It is by far the funniest sight we saw on the island
The third, and most famous thing of note is the Phosphorescent Bay, and that was the reason we were there. We got on a boat for a half hour out to where tiny organisms in the water make it glow when it is bothered. We could see the glow from the wake of the boat, and play with the water hauled into the boat in buckets. It was quite dramatic, as the night was almost moonless. I understand that the phenomenon is significantly less dramatic under a full moon.
The next morning we headed to famous Boqueron beach, one of the most beautiful beaches in Puerto Rico. after a morning of sunning ourselves, we headed back to San Juan via the highway.
The next morning we went out to Lisa's beach, and then spent the day just chilling, cooking and eating a good old Northeast US style Thanksgiving dinner, watching football games and reading. It was the perfect day for a break.
Luquillo Beach, Puerto Rico
On the way back from the rainforest, we stopped at Luquillo. We were too late for a swim; since it was November they were closing the beach at 6:00, but we sneaked in to get some pictures. Then we headed back to San Juan for an evening of checking out the casinos.
The next day it was back to Old San Juan with the specific aim of visiting the Castillo San Felipe del Morro. We all got pictures of Phil in front of the sign and joked about San Felipe del Moron.
The Castillo is over 300 years old, and was built by the Spanish to defend San Juan. It's built on a rocky outcropping of land on the edge of old San Juan. The tour, which is self guided, is great. The views are beautiful; the old stone against the sea and sky, and the sea and sky were cooperating completely as can be told from the lovely photograph I got, below.
It looks like a painting, but it is a photograph. Looking out across the Atlantic Ocean from San Felipe del Morro, in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.
We ate a nice dinner at El patio de Sam in Old San Juan and got ready for John to return to the frigid north. As the sun set we walked out to where the cruise ships sat in the water, and watched the sun set behind the riggings of a beautiful wooden sailboat.
Before John was to leave we had one other planned trip, to the nature preserve at Las Cabezas de San Juan. (El Faro) This Nature preserve, largely a mangrove forest with much wildlife, ended up being somewhat less interesting than we expected, largely because the English Speaking guide did not speak very good English. It did not help that Lisa was beginning to feel a bit under the weather.
The next day, we visited the Bacardi factory and saw how rum was made. The factory gives out many free samples, which made us glad we were not driving, and we bought a lot of rum at the factory store.
Back at Lisa's, we headed to the airport just as Lisa was on here way to the doctor. Good thing, too, because it turned out she had Dengue fever and was very sick for a while. We were glad that we did not get it, and worried about her.
Btu we headed home with a real feel for the island, a real appreciation for another culture right here in our own country.