Blog – Puerto Rico 2022
Finally--traveling again! Mary and I planned to return to Nicaragua last November, but covid and political unrest switched our destination--to Puerto Rico, for the first time. Covid led to postponement to January, when covid spike resulted in again postponing.
Mary’s friend, Nancy, and her husband, Carl, are joining us. Until a couple years ago, Mary and Nancy were neighboring vendors at Salem’s Organic Saturday Market, Nancy selling produce from their Willamette Valley farm, Mary selling freshly roasted organic coffee.
Great connections, hour layover in Houston. Arrival at 1:13 am in San Juan is something of a redeye. I informed Hotel Casablanca in Old San Juan to not give away our suite. We won't get rental car until Monday, following our 3 days in San Juan.
Flights uneventful, both about 4 hours long. Arrived in San Juan at 1:30 am, 10;30 Pacific time. We settled in to our first floor suite at Casablanca Hotel, in Old San Juan.
Friday, our first day in Old San Juan, Carl’s niece, Carissa, is a nutritionist, living here, picked us up, took us to a nearby beach. In the afternoon we joined a walking tour of Old San Juan. ‘Not too taken with the young tour guide, Mary & I excused ourselves, Nancy, Carl & Carissa continued on. Mary and I found a small liquor store/humidor & enjoyed a cigar with rums.
Dinner at 9 at Sofia’s #1 ranked restaurant per TripAdvisor. Our lasagna & spaghetti dinners were good.
Saturday morning, we just missed out on being seated for breakfast at Mallorca Restaurant. Found an alternative around the corner. I got an Uber account, we caught a ride to Castillo de Morro. ‘Big fort with a long history. While weather forecast was for 100% chance of rain, we managed to avoid all but a few drops. Walking back from the fort, we stopped at swanky cigar lounge and had cigars & drinks. Then on to La Pirata Pizza, a block before our hotel.
Hot tub on the hotel roof was welcoming, after a day of walking. Carissa jointed us, followed by a visit in the hotel lounge. Lights flickered. Power outages on the island are reportedly common, but we had few outages during our trip.
Sunday, after breakfast at the hotel, we walked to nearby Castillo San Cristobal. Smaller than El Morro, we didn’t venture up to the top ramparts.
While streets have an historic feel, skylines in Old San Juan are not that striking. We walked down to the waterfront, where Carissa picked us up. She took us to a couple of beach spots & a vista overlooking the city, before going to dinner near her condo. Drinks were great and food too, including mofango (which I didn’t take a liking to).
Monday morning Carl & I ubered to the airport, got our sport utility rental car, retuned to our hotel, to retrieve Mary & Nancy & our luggage. Snug fit. We programmed navigator to head west to Rincon. I had considered taking local roads near the northern coastline, but thought better of it & we stayed on the main toll road. ‘Good decision. While distances in Puerto Rico are small, comparted to Latin American countries Mary & I have frequented, those side roads would have made for a long day.
We took a detour to Crash Boat Beach, northwestern corner of the island. Surprisingly, we encountered a stop-and-go traffic jam in the early afternoon. The beach was a disappointment, particularly because of all the trash in the parking lot.
Continuing on to our Airbnb (AB) destination, Casa Mariola, a few km south of Rincon, we followed the navigator link and found the house perched above the surf without many stops. Cleaning confusion—house wasn’t ready for us. I was able to reach Mariela, AB host & she got cleaners in while we went to dinner at the Beach House—great drinks, food & ocean view. ‘Watched sunset with live music.
Casa Mariola is perched above the shore, waves lapping beneath the deck. There wasn’t much difference between low & high tides, beach not walkable even at low tide. The sound of the surf was nice. Commanding view of the ocean to the west/southwest. We didn’t get much sunset color our 3 nights.
Lots of creature sounds at Casa Mariola. Birds, coqui frogs (at times a crescendo). And, the rooster. Who unfortunately doesn’t realize he’s supposed to sound off only at daybreak. The container of earplugs by the bedside was a clue that the rooster comes with the location.
First night in Rincon the power cord to my laptop gave out. It had looked sketchy for a long time. I didn’t proactively replace it. A MacBook with magnetic power connection, I was resigned to not finding a replacement in Puerto Rico. On vacation—forced break from computer-time. ‘Opportunity to get smarter using my iPhone.
Navigator didn’t keep us on track, but after a couple of reversals we found the lovely B&B English Rose for breakfast, high in the hills. As advertised, great food.
Many beaches around Rincon. Our favorite was Black Eagle, with palms spaced well for hanging hammocks. Mary snorkeled near the landing for small boats. We enjoyed a dinner on the patio at nearby Copa Llena, enjoying a colorful sunset.
Thursday moving day, to Coamo in the southern highlands. A couple of choices on route, I chose the route through the mountains. A recommended outing from Rincon that wasn’t much off our path, we stopped at Gozalandia Falls. Mary was feeling poorly, waiting for antibiotics to kick in—she had diagnosed herself as suffering from a UTI & suspected the hot tub on the roof at Hotel Casablanca was the source. Carl & I walked down steps to a vantage of the falls, enveloped by lush foliage. Next planned stop was Café Gran Batey, a coffee finca, but Mary was looking forward to getting to our destination, so we skipped. We also skipped Casa Pueblo in Adjuntas, famous for promoting environmental efforts. Roads were narrow & curvy, foliage, including stands of bamboo, verdant. Carl was a steady chauffer (‘so glad I nominated him to drive the entire trip!).
The link that to our Coamo AB host Manuel sent to my phone didn’t work. Fortunately, he was available in the mid-afternoon—to come lead us up Estancia Don Polito, high in the hills. Much drier climate here, with expansive views toward the south coast. Spacious 3-bedroom, with a big veranda where the breeze was refreshing.
Next morning we stopped for a soak at long-established Coamo Hot Springs. Two pools, one supposed hotter that the other. Both were comfortable. ‘Chatted with locals who come often. Fortunately, not crowed.
There was a choice of routes to our final stay in Luquillo. Navigator warned we might encounter a slowdown if we took the east coast route, so we stayed on the road toward San Juan, veering east before getting into the city.
Again, link on my phone for our VRBO at Playa Azul didn’t work. I called Ed, VRBO contact and he answered, came & guided us to the VRBO & stayed to orient us—congenial guy, originally from the mainland.
“Change your Latitude” VRBO is right across the street from Playa Azul, with palms receptive to hanging hammocks, which Mary did most days. She did have a close call—was on a bathroom break when the wind knocked down a big, dead frond. It fell into her hammock!
Dinner first night in Luquillo--La Fonda Gourmet. Ironically, meals served in styrofoam. Tasty, but, as we found throughout the island, prices were not inexpensive, as we’ve been accustomed to in Latin America. ‘About what we pay in the States these days.
The VRBO was 2-bd. But 2nd bedroom had a bunkbed. I was going to see if I could sleep ok on the futon in the living room, but fortunately agreed with Mary’s suggestion—we brought the mattress from the top bunk out & put in on the futon—which worked well for me & positioned me to not miss sunrises. Each morning we had colorful sunrises, framed by the palms.
The rainforest is a major draw for coming to this corner of the island. Not far from the beach. With a reservation to enter El Yunque Nat’l Park Monday, on Sunday we followed Ed’s suggestion and found Las Paylas, a cascading stream east of the park. We watched a group of young adults brave the slide, some likely having bruises the next day, testaments to their courage!
Having read about 7 Seas Beach, we arrived at mid-day. Very hot, without snorkels. It looked like a calm area to explore. We didn’t find a lunch spot, made our way back to Playa Azul and Boardriders, a 5-minute walk from our lodging, for yummy fish tacos.
Per my phone, Smoky Joe’s is #1 BBQ spot at the west end of our beach, but after wending our way through the maze of streets in the neighborhood, no sign of Smoky Joe’s. A resident said it’s over at the food kiosks at Luquillo Beach. We found them, very crowed, lots of trash. ‘Sat down at one of them, glanced at the menu, then the noise and crowding overcame us & we returned to Boardriders for fish tacos one more time.
Monday, our last full day, we arrived at the entrance to El Yunque at 8 am, as we’d read tour buses later in the day can ruin the tranquility of the rainforest. We took a couple of short hikes to waterfalls, watched young families frolic in the pools under the falls. ‘Nice lunch at the new visitors’ center, fresh breezes given the mountain elevation.
Monday night we walked to nearby C-Note Jazz Club, owned by Charley Sepulveda, Grammy winner. Charley was there and joined the trio (organ, drums & guitar) with his baby trumpet for one number—exquisite! During the break, Mary, Carl & I lit up cigars. I wasn’t fond of the one commissioned for Obama.
Tuesday return to the airport & dropping off the rental car was uneventful. My route home was via Newark, while Mary, Nancy & Carl changed planes in Houston, so we said our goodbyes in the San Juan Airport.
Ideal layovers of about one hour, but 4-6 hour plane rides are becoming an ordeal--In my mid 70s, I’m finding that my enthusiasm for traveling is waning.
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