It was definitely an adventurous trip - some good, some not so good, but overall a much needed break for Jaime and I to reconnect and enjoy exotic food.
Highlights
- Mofongo, mofongo, mofongo (with skirt steak, shrimp, lobster, etc)
- Guavate rainforest (African tulips, trees that turn white when its about to rain)
- El Rancho Lucheonera (roast pig - it was pretty awesome)
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La Concha: our five star hotel with ocean view room on the 8th floor #808. I used my points so it was free. It's usually $300+ a night. The facilities were pretty posh and trendy.
- Charlie (our private driver who spoke perfect English and Spanish - lives in PR since he was 6 years old and love to talk about all the history and nature in PR - highly recommend him - also really reasonable. We paid $120 including tip for 6 hours of private tour. His number is 787 691-0725 in case you ever visit)
- Pinones (first time we went was raining and the wrong part, but we had awesome conch salad and lobster mofongo. Second time we had Coco Frio - fresh green coconut water and beautiful beach - see the photos)
- El Morro (fort at old san juan - so majestic and beautiful - built to protect north america's treasures)
- Latin Roots (great salsa dancing with Omar, also this thin old guy, this fat guy that really could lead. Omar was the best though)
- Parrot Club and Aqua Viva (both good - awesome ribs, ceviche, steak and the fruity drinks. both are owned by the same person)
- Orale Quey and the great bartender Carlos - this dinky little mexican bar with the best puerto rican rum (Ron Del Barrilito) They don't export, but we bought 3 bottles at the airport - so YUMMY and smooth!
- Surf Shack - open late with great chicken sandwiches and fries
- Nice tan (although we didn't see the sun until the last day, we got to play at the pool for two hours and Caribbean sun is quite strong. We both were burned, but now we both have nice tans!)
- Pool and hot tub open 24 hours (we went to the hot tubs at 3am in the morning - there is a 4 hour time difference, so it's only 11am our time) Very peaceful and warm
- El San Juan hotel (cougarville is what it's called in the lobby - very much like Vegas small hotels. Club Brava was ok not as fun as I thought)
- Lunch with Gonzo's sister Clarissa, George and their two boys at Bebo's cafe
- Met Jason George (the cute black actor from Eli Stone and Grey's Anatomy) - see the pictures. He is there to film another TV show "Off the map"
- Met two boys from LA - Darron and Jarrad. Jarrad was an MBA player for Nuggets for 2 years. They live in LA, are cousins and take each other to exotic vacation every year for their bdays. We got their numbers and hopefully will keep in touch.
Low lights:
- colder weather, rain, and only sun in the last day (but we made the most of it)
- coughing (well I had an itchy throat everyday, and the cold weather didn't help)
- 24 hour flight back (American Airline sucks!!! We landed at Miami 30 min before our connection. We were stuck in the terminal due to lack of docking stations. I called AA to tell them to hold the flight for just 5 or 10 minutes. Well, we ran halfway across the airport and just missed the flight and the AA agents were rude. We ended up on another flight the next morning. Lost time, lost wages, but worst of all, they didn't care at all. They paid for hotel and dinky $30 for both of us for dinner and breakfast, but if they just waited 5 minutes, I would be home the night before. ugh!!)
Some interesting facts:
- did you know San Juan is supposed to be the name of the Island and Puerto Rico was supposed to be the city name, meaning Rich port. The person that created the map for the Spanish monarch made a mistake and wrote it the other way around?
- did you know that Bamboo are planted to harden the soil. PR had a lot of mud and the Spanish imported in a lot of Bamboo to make the soil harden so roads can be build
- Did you know Mofongo is fry in pork fat and made with pork fat? no wonder it taste so good?
Overall though, it was an awesome trip! Here are our pictures.
- Lei
