When you get the opportunity to spend a weekend in Puerto Rico just as the temperatures are starting to drop in DC, the only answer you should ever give is an enthusiastic yes. You can always work out the details later ;) CJ's family spends a week each year on the island, so I was super excited when they extended the invitation to me as well. A few thousand Southwest Rapid Rewards Points and two fake sick-days later, we were headed down to paradise.
Due to some weird timing issues, I had to fly to San Juan from a work engagement in Fort Wayne, Indiana. But, I made it down no worse for the wear and stepped off the plane to a hot, humid, sunny day (way different than the 40F temps in Fort Wayne). CJ, his mom, and his grandparents had been there the previous year so they had an itinerary of must-sees lined up for our long weekend. First up was lunch at a little kiosk in Luquillo - we took in the ocean view and while eating some delicous seafood. I also tried mofongo, a dish of mashed plaintains fried and served with chicken. And sipped a few margaritas to start off the trip.
The resort we stayed at in Rio Grande was beautiful (I might be using that word a lot in this post). We were wiped from the flight and spent the evening relaxing.
Next morning, we were up bright and early to visit Culebra, an island about an hour ferry ride from the main island. This place was gorgeous. CJ, his mom, and I rented a jeep to tour the island, which made the day just that much cooler :) We spent the day beach-hopping on a few different parts of the island. Snorkeling at Playa Tamarindo, enjoying an awesome lunch of seafood empanadas and feeding stray cats at Playa Flamenco, and driving with the top down to the secluded Playa Zoni. We got to break out the ENO hammock at the few of the beaches as well.
Day two was our last full day on the island, so we made sure to pack everything in! We started the day off with a full breakfast before heading off to hike in El Yunque national rainforest. CJ and I were excited to hike to the top of the El Yunque mountain, but the toughest part of the hike was finding the correct trailhead. I had little faith that we'd ever locate it, but after a few tense minutes in the car, we made it! Reaching the top was pretty exciting too ;) The hike through the rainforest was fun - we found lizards, exotic flowers and tons of snails. The view from the top was breathtaking. We relaxed for a little bit at the peak, and of course grabbed some selfies.
After cleaning up and grabbing lunch, CJ's mom treated us to one of the highlights of our trip - an afternoon horseback ride on the beach. The horses were so sweet, and trotting down the white sand beach on horseback was like something out of a movie. I'm sure we didn't look so graceful from the outside, but hey, we had fun! There was one scary moment when CJs horse galloped chest-deep into the ocean, but we recovered and made it out alive.
That night, our last night on the island, we had dinner on the patio of a very charming cafe (can't remember the name) not too far from the resort. We were there for a while, and enjoyed mojitos, fried cheese, and a plethora of seafood dishes. I had a seafood soup. On the way home, we stopped by the hotel casino and I won big (!) then blew a big chunk of my winnings on $12 Maker's Marks drinks at the bar. Oops.
As soon as it began, our four days in paradise was over. We spent the morning with CJ's mom driving through and browsing shops in Old San Juan, and had one last mofongo meal and sangria before boarding our plane back to reality. Even though it was brief, I'm glad I was invited to tag along to get a glimpse of the beautiful island.
j (:
Due to some weird timing issues, I had to fly to San Juan from a work engagement in Fort Wayne, Indiana. But, I made it down no worse for the wear and stepped off the plane to a hot, humid, sunny day (way different than the 40F temps in Fort Wayne). CJ, his mom, and his grandparents had been there the previous year so they had an itinerary of must-sees lined up for our long weekend. First up was lunch at a little kiosk in Luquillo - we took in the ocean view and while eating some delicous seafood. I also tried mofongo, a dish of mashed plaintains fried and served with chicken. And sipped a few margaritas to start off the trip.
The resort we stayed at in Rio Grande was beautiful (I might be using that word a lot in this post). We were wiped from the flight and spent the evening relaxing.
Next morning, we were up bright and early to visit Culebra, an island about an hour ferry ride from the main island. This place was gorgeous. CJ, his mom, and I rented a jeep to tour the island, which made the day just that much cooler :) We spent the day beach-hopping on a few different parts of the island. Snorkeling at Playa Tamarindo, enjoying an awesome lunch of seafood empanadas and feeding stray cats at Playa Flamenco, and driving with the top down to the secluded Playa Zoni. We got to break out the ENO hammock at the few of the beaches as well.
Day two was our last full day on the island, so we made sure to pack everything in! We started the day off with a full breakfast before heading off to hike in El Yunque national rainforest. CJ and I were excited to hike to the top of the El Yunque mountain, but the toughest part of the hike was finding the correct trailhead. I had little faith that we'd ever locate it, but after a few tense minutes in the car, we made it! Reaching the top was pretty exciting too ;) The hike through the rainforest was fun - we found lizards, exotic flowers and tons of snails. The view from the top was breathtaking. We relaxed for a little bit at the peak, and of course grabbed some selfies.
After cleaning up and grabbing lunch, CJ's mom treated us to one of the highlights of our trip - an afternoon horseback ride on the beach. The horses were so sweet, and trotting down the white sand beach on horseback was like something out of a movie. I'm sure we didn't look so graceful from the outside, but hey, we had fun! There was one scary moment when CJs horse galloped chest-deep into the ocean, but we recovered and made it out alive.
That night, our last night on the island, we had dinner on the patio of a very charming cafe (can't remember the name) not too far from the resort. We were there for a while, and enjoyed mojitos, fried cheese, and a plethora of seafood dishes. I had a seafood soup. On the way home, we stopped by the hotel casino and I won big (!) then blew a big chunk of my winnings on $12 Maker's Marks drinks at the bar. Oops.
As soon as it began, our four days in paradise was over. We spent the morning with CJ's mom driving through and browsing shops in Old San Juan, and had one last mofongo meal and sangria before boarding our plane back to reality. Even though it was brief, I'm glad I was invited to tag along to get a glimpse of the beautiful island.
j (:
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