Puerto Rico – A Recap.
Every summer when growing up my family and I would always take a trip to a beach somewhere. It was just a tradition amongst all of us that every summer we’d make it to some beach – any beach – for some much needed rest and relaxation.
Yet last year, what with my hardcore studying for the NCLEX and moving halfway across the country, it was the first time in seventeen years my family didn’t get a chance to make it somewhere.
To say I was going through beach withdrawals is an understatement.
So when some friends and I found round-trip airline tickets for a next-to-nothing cost to Puerto Rico, it didn’t take much arm-twisting to make the decision to go. For some reason, sunshine, warm weather, and a beach always prove to be decent motivating factors in making travel plans. At least for me anyway.
And it certainly didn’t disappoint. Puerto Rico gets an A+ in providing us with warmth, enough sun to give your boy here a solid tan, crystal blue waters, and killer sunrises and sunsets.
It’ll be a hard trip to beat.
I’ve broken down some of the bigger parts of the trip including where we stayed, the food we ate, excursions we went on, and some of the things we didn’t get to this time around, but certainly will next.
It’s also worth mentioning that Hannah, Kevin, Chris, and Shannon made the best travel buddies I could ask for. Another trip is already in the works with this crazy crew.
Where we stayed:
We stayed in the northern part of the country in an area called Isla Verde. It’s a ten-minute drive to San Juan – the capital city and more touristy part of the country.
Anyone who knows me knows that I HATE being a tourist, so staying in a hotel crowded with hundreds of other people wasn’t an option. So instead we booked an Airbnb in a relatively calm part of town in a house less than five-minutes from the beach. And while the apartment didn’t have central air, the weather was just nice enough all week that we were able to keep the windows open at all times of the day to allow the cool trade winds in. So no AC -- no problem. We also had an amazing patio with hammocks where we spent a good majority of time. All of us agree the hammocks made the best place to catch a nap throughout the week. We fell asleep each night with the windows open, listening to the breeze run through the palm trees outside our windows and waking up most mornings to a rainstorm.
Life hack: The nice thing about staying in Airbnb’s is that instead of staying in hotels where you’re crammed in with what feels like a million others with Americanized chain restaurants right across the street, getting a place that’s in a part of town where you’re next door to locals who’ve lived their entire lives there allows you the chance to truly immerse yourself in the culture. Hostels are also a great route to go, especially if traveling on a budget is what you're looking for. Yet in the three years I’ve used Airbnb, not once have I ever been disappointed.
Food:
I’ll talk money in the next section, but will say that while Puerto Rico is a relatively cheap country to travel to, the food was delicious enough that it was actually our biggest expense on the trip (whoops…). This is another part of traveling where a leap of faith often proves more rewarding than a disappointment. Skip out on those chain restaurants and head for the hole-in-the-wall places that only the locals know about. You didn’t travel all the way out-of-country to eat another hamburger or drink another American beer!Below are a few of the restaurants we tried that were the best of the trip and which by no means disappointed.
El Almendro
Hands down my favorite restaurant of the week. The night we went kayaking through the bioluminescent bay we travelled an hour east to Fajardo, a seaside town in the eastern part of the country. I ordered their chicken breast stuffed with mashed sweet plantain, all wrapped in bacon. The side of native grown beans and rice were an added bonus as was a tall bottle of Medalla – the national beer which I drank entirely way too much of throughout the week (sorry, not sorry). A live band played as we ate in the open-air restaurant with many of the locals sitting around us making their own drums out of their forks and tables. If you want a true, authentic Puerto Rican meal, it’s an area of the country and restaurant you certainly don’t want to skip out on.
UVVA Restaurant
Full disclosure, this restaurant we treated much more as a bar than an actual restaurant, but who could blame us. Being only five minutes down the beach from the beach where we spent most of our time, the drinks were INCREDIBLE. The added incentive of walking twenty feet from the seaside bar to the ocean didn’t hurt either. With a happy hour that lasted from 1-5, we took full advantage of the $3 beers and sangrias, taking refuge at the shaded bar from noon until well after nine in the evening. Like I said, the food (and alcohol) tabs proved to be our biggest expense throughout the trip #NoRegrets
The Oceano
One of the more expensive places we ate at, but by far some of the best food with an amazing open-air venue on the beach. Their website states that it’s the place to, “See and be seen,” so casual attire won’t cut it. Grab a few friends or a significant other and dive into their extensive wine list and amazing appetizers (would definitely try the salmon appetizer). For those wanting a delicious meal that still provides a taste of Puerto Rico, it’s a restaurant not to be missed.
La Placeeta
For those of you wanting to get out at night to grab a drink or two with friends, La Placeeta should top your list. Resembling New Orleans with its winding cobblestone roads, countless bars around every corner, and people dancing in the streets, the festive atmosphere made it hard to leave even though we stayed until the early hours of the morning. It also didn’t hurt that the drinks were amazing or that my travel buddies also love to dance.
What to do next time:
El Yunque
While I would’ve loved seeing the hundreds of waterfalls and vast green forest, it only gives me another reason to come back.
San Juan
With all the fun we were having in the sun and on the beaches, we somehow never got the chance to explore the city. Hard to believe as it tops the list of every person who’s ever visited the island before. While we ended up in Old San Juan one evening for dinner, it’s definitely got the feeling of a city that’s been morphed into an Americanized, touristy part of the country as cruise ships dock there on the daily to allow their passengers a chance to explore. Nonetheless, I’d give it a shot if ever to go back.All this being said, if a reasonably-priced vacation in a beautiful part of the Caribbean is what you're looking for, Puerto Rico is hands down a place I’d visit if ever you get the chance.
After moving to DC, starting a new and at times stressful job, and working eight months straight without any real break, this trip was a breath of fresh air and a much-needed escape. Yet this trip was also the starting point of what I plan to be a year of travel. In a little under a month I’ll be taking off for a two-week blitz through western Europe to explore the Netherlands, France, and England. I’ve also got a few long weekend trips planned up the eastern seaboard throughout June and July as well as a trip to Spain in August to celebrate La Tomatina.
As for where after that? Who knows.
The world awaits.
