Day Six – March 26, 2009 – Last Tourista Day.

And on the sixth day the Travel Gods granted her wish of finding her hotel with no wrong turns on her last night in Puerto Rico. Probably because she made so many wrong turns during the previous eight hours in Old San Juan.

Slept in late – 0830. The plan was to take pictures of me and Hercules at the beach and then leisurely walk through Viejo San Juan taking artistic and insightful photos of the brilliantly colored rainbow building I’d seen in postcards. I figured I could take pics at least that good.

As they say – “The best laid plans of mice and men, and aspiring photographers, often go awry”. Despite two maps and freeways that basically go east and west, I still spent over an hour and half lost and backtracking through neighborhoods. I found my way back to the gas station by Katie’s apartment, got oriented and headed east again.

Found Fort San Cristobal’s. It was hard to miss, a big rock fortress looming above the bank. It was impressive what could be built 400 years ago without computers and bulldozers. After oohing and aahing and taking pictures for other people’s groups I headed for Old Town. Got extremely lucky with a parking space.

By this time, I was tired and getting a headache and having what people like to call “stomach problems” that really have nothing to do with the belly and a lot to do with finding bathrooms quickly. The tourism board is considerate enough to have a trolley system that goes from the fort all the way to the cruise ship docks. So I hopped the trolley. Was too lazy to do much more than wander a couple of blocks.

It was pretty and decorative, but around corners you could see the signs of poverty and destitution. A woman sitting in a doorway with a jumbo Subway cup whose lower leg was an open oozing sore. We have the same kind of area here in the US, but it seems easier to drive by those parts of town.

I headed back to the hotel to relax and start packing the bed full of souvenirs that I accumulated in six days. Good thing I packed a collapsible duffle back. Mission accomplished, I went to bed early. This vacation stuff is exhausting.

Day Five - March 25, 2009

Another 13 hours on the go. Returned to the hotel in the dark (still haven’t gotten home in the daylight). Took some wrong turns, AGAIN. I am not even going to try to learn the route, going in circles can be a good lesson in patience.

The coqui frogs serenaded me again as Hercules and I returned to the hotel. Still no sightings.

I went on the sailboat, East Wind, today. A lot bigger than the Islena, more people. The sky was cloudier and windier. I enjoyed both trips for different reasons. I liked Arturo and Edwin better-more personal interaction with the tourists. But the sail boat has a different feel, more poetic, more rhythmic, more romantic and full of potential.

I made a personally huge decision and left my camera at home. It felt naked.

I was a lot better with the snorkel and mask. Didn’t swallow as much salt water as yesterday.
Our stops were both in the area of Icacos-the beach swim and a reef on the back of the island.
The food was the same and still delicious after all the swimming.

The waterproof camera experiment was a huge disappointment. I shot 50 pics. Lots of murky water, thumbs, and piecesof bread. I like maybe two. I need to realize –it’s not my SLR, the fish are fast, the current moved me in the opposite direction, the water was kind of murky, the sky was overcast for the second snorkel. So, all in all, I guess two is not bad.

After the boat returned I went in search of a shop where one of the crew got really cool earrings. Across from the entrance to El Yunque National Forest were the directions. Never found the store but ended up driving up to almost the top of the rainforest. And surprisingly, it rained. A nice change from the desert.








So exhausted and happy, I again fall asleep feeling the ocean waves under my bed.

Day Four - March 24, 2009

Eating dinner on a deck with the Coqui frog sounding like a bird for ambient music after an exhilarting day on the ocean. The patio is covered by a tree with gynormous leaves- they could be beet greens on steroids, palm fronds and a black sky scattered with stars. A light breeze from the ocean (sans dead fish smell) turns the overexposed skin to goosebumps.

I am going to expand my culinary experience tonight by trying a dish called pork mofongu. It just arrived in a giant wooden chalice. Note that it is dark, I read the menu by candlelight. But I am stilling going to pick out the cebollas (onions.-was afraid to ask what was in it beside plantains.) It’s pretty good once the onions are gone. The pork is coated with the plantains and fried. Probably not what my naturopathic doctor would approve of, but I worked off about 5000 calories today snorkeling in the ocean. Yes, me the girl who doesn’t like to put her face in the apartment complex pool swam in the ocean.

Katie and I spent the day aboard the Islena, a twin hulled powered catamaran, captained by the muy guapo Arturo and his padre Edwin. (Also good looking for the older cougar women)

Our first stop was Icacos, a little deserted island. Nice calm, shallow water for the neophytes like myself.

After paddling around for a while, we headed for Palomino Island where the bigger coral reef was.


So in full aqautic gear, looking like a dork, I set off in search of fish. And I found some. Maybe this was what Jacques Costeau felt when he was like eight. I swam with redbanded parrotfish, stoplight parrotfish, yellow jacktail, bar jack, blue chromis, porkfish, yellowtail snapper, foureye butterflyfish, hundreds of sergeant majors and yellow goatfish, bluehead wrasse and an ugly trunkfish chapin.






And so tired and crusted with sea salt, we headed
back to San Juan. We were greeted by the ferocious dock guard iguanas.

It was so great, I have booked tomorrow to snorkel again. This time I will be prepared. I have learned how to relax and breathe without hyperventilating. How to tell a good mask fix. And I am bringing a waterproof camera and some bread to entice the fishies to within the camera range.

Today was just indescribable . And challenging. Liberating, Exhilarating. And a conquering of some personal fears. That fear being in water without the boundaries of a pool where your feet can touch the bottom.

And as a side note, beware of iguanas who like to express their adrenaline junkie sides by racing across the freeways. Glad we had Hercules when we hit the 4 foot long monster at 65 miles per hour (. It’s been a while since I’ve had to note a kill by vehicle to my total (4 deer, a coyote, a duck and a rattlesnake (the snake was intentional).

And thus ended the day, exhausted, and sensing the rocking of the boat as I drifted to sleep.