Hola from Puerto Rico!
Or, as a local would say it,
PUELTO RICO!
All packed and ready for our red eye flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Seven hours and one connecting flight later, we arrived.
Let's go! Let's go, Puerto Ricoooo!
Pause. I wish it were as simple as booking a flight and showing up, but as we all know,
those days don't exist anymore so let me show you what we had
to do to plan and prepare for our trip. Let's rewind a bit.
The time has finally come to plan my next Audventure! I'm so excited guys. It's been
over a year since I've taken an international trip. I know technically Puerto Rico isn't an
international destination since it's part of the US but,
very much is it's own culture. So know I'm gonna do some research and see what I need
to do to make sure we don't run into any hiccups when it comes to covid restrictions.
Let's Do it.
Most important thing you need to do complete a travel declaration form showing
a negative covid test that was taken at most, 72 hours prior to your departure. You fill out a form
on this Travel PR site, upload your test results, and you'll receive a confirmation email that looks
like this. You can complete the form once you arrive, but you'll save the time and headache
doing it before and having the confirmation printed out. Once it's scanned, you're good to go.
Getting around by car is easiest here so i highly recommend renting one.
There was a free airport shuttle to our off terminal rental spot.
We thought we were getting a sedan so we got a good laugh when they brought us our car.
Mobbin' in the minivan! Dude, we didn't even need an Airbnb, could've just slept back there.
We decided to stay on the east side of the island in Fajardo for our first two nights
since we planned on visiting Culebra Island by ferry early the next morning.
It's a beautiful little town surrounded by pristine beaches
and is also home to the largest marina in the Caribbean.
We found a cozy bed and breakfast on Airbnb with a highly rated and reviewed rooftop cafe -- all
run by Señora Gladys, who welcomed us upon checkin and showed us our room.
Cute, cozy, and all you need in a place to lay your head down for some rest. She was very kind
and motherly, and made us feel right at home. Once we settled and changed it was time to eat.
Mofongo relleno de camarones y filete de pescado con arroz y habichuelas. Two very
traditional Puerto Rican. Mofono is one of the more unique dishes here, it's made
of mashed fried plantains and traditionally served with fried meat and chicken broth soup.
But you can get it with really any type of meat or opt for the veggie version.
Had a couple of cold ones to wash down our dinner..Medalla is popular national lager
you'll see everywhere, and had a couple of shots of Don Q rum to go with them.
Capped the night off with one more round at another little local bar with a good vibe.
Started off the morning by taking in the view of the sunrise from the rooftop cafe.
I get why she named it vistas cafe. What a view.
Today we're gonna make our way over to Culebra. It is 7:20am our ferry leaves at 9am. We should be
on the island by 10am and we're gonna do some paddle-boarding. You ready? Let's go!
This is one of the other things you will have to plan for in advance.
Culebra ferry rides are super limited capacity for tourists right now so it's hard to get tickets.
Porferry.com is the official ticketing site for Culebra trips. You'll have to book two one way
rides which comes out to about $4.50. Tickets are typically released two weeks in advance,
but it really varies so I'd recommend checking everyday cause once they're released,
you gotta snag them. The other thing you have to do is pay for any additional items you're taking
like umbrellas, chairs, anything like that. We're taking a cooler which requires a ticket as well.
There's a $7/day parking fee and a shuttle that takes you straight to the terminal.
Time to pack the necessities and make our way to Culebra!
They don't allow cloth masks so I had to buy a pack of these.
Everyone was nice and socially distanced as we waited to board our ferry.
At 9am on the dot, it was time to board.
This is what full capacity for these ferry rides looks like right now. So as you can tickets are very limited.
Take in those views. The wind and sun and the ocean mist felt incredible.
After a 55 minute ride, we arrived at Culebra, which means snake in English.
We were greeted by Hector el Protector, a wooden sculpture built by Thomas Dambo
who actually needed to resurrect him in 2019 after being knocked out by Hurricane Maria.
He holds a very special place in the locals' hearts.
Culebra sits 17 miles east of the mainland and is approximately 7 by 5 miles
We booked an airbnb experience to paddle board beforehand so we made the 10 minute walk to the meeting point.
Our guide was a local named
Norman who started off by educating us on the island and then it was time to paddle board.
He went over the do's and don'ts, showed us how to set our paddle heights,
and we were off. I did pretty good! Definitely got the hang of it.
My boo, not so much.
Capped off the experience with a little dip and we were off to the
part I was looking forward to the most: relaxing on Flamenco Beach.
It's a short taxi ride over, shouldn't cost more than $3-5 pp. We were able to hitch a ride with
the couple that paddle boarded with us, so that was sweet. There are plenty of taxis
waiting there, so i'd suggest lining yours up for your ride back to the ferry terminal.
Welcome to Flamenco beach! Not even the gray skies can hide the beauty of this
place. We got a nice little tropical shower to welcome us, but it quickly dissipated.
Flamenco beach is a 1½ mile long crescent on the north side
of Culebra. It has consistently ranked as one of the top beaches in the world
with it's picture perfect stretch of white sand and turquoise waters.
When those clouds move out of the sun's way, those vibrant colors really come through. Also,
so does the sun so pack on the sunscreen, we got so burnt.
And that right there, is our cue to go.
Finished out the night back in Fajardo at Costa Mia restaurant,
where we were conveniently able to order drinks from the walk up bar window
and make our own little salsa dance floor while we waited to be seated.
It was a successful day.
The next morning, we went up to the rooftop where Señora gladys was there to greet us
with a warm welcome and a fresh plate of fruit.
From my garden I have for you the fresh coconut, from here in Las Croabas we have the mango, bananas and papaya.
We enjoyed a great breakfast, took in the view one last time,
said our goodbyes, and hit the road for our next adventure: Hiking El Yunque National Forest.
This is something else you'll have to make reservations for ahead of time.
If you go to recreation.gov click into El yunque, you'll be able to reserve a vehicle ticket.
Once you choose the date, you'll have the option to select either a morning entry pass from 8 -11
or an afternoon one, from 12 to 3. You can stay until it closes at 6pm with either ticket,
those a just the windows of time you can enter. You'll
give them your name and confirmation at the entrance, and you're good to go.
Right after entering, you are greeted by the beautiful Coca falls. The waters drop
85 feet onto a huge dark rock formation. There are several hiking trails scattered
throughout the forest to choose from, although there are a couple that are closed at the moment.
After Coca Falls, we stopped at Yokahu tower. An Observation tower built in
1962 to give tourists the chance to appreciate the beauty of the Forest.
We couldn't go up to the top deck at the time, but still enjoyed the incredible views.
After that stop, we kept driving until we made it to the Mt. Britton trail area,
which is also where you'll be able to make your way to El Yunque Peak, the highest point in the
forest. The maps do a great job of explaining trail distance, time, and level of difficulty.
Based on those estimates, it was going to take us about 2.5 hours to make it up to the peak.
Trail starts off nice and paved but as you continue up El Yunque trail, it starts getting a
bit rockier and muddier, in other words more fun.. The panoramic views of the Cloud-covered peaks,
sweeping valleys, and turquoise coastlines will take your breath away.
It's a crazy feeling when you realize you're on a mountain peak.
The lush foliage surrounding you gives the illusion
of having lots of flat land around you. Nope, you're on the edge of a mountain.
Pretty surreal.
There is a summit observatory at the very top that was built in the 1930's.
This is where you'll see the US survey bench mark of the elevation.
We made it!
On the way back down I put my ecologist hat on and really stopped to appreciate all the beautiful
living things around me. El Yunque is home to over 200 species of trees and other plants.
You'll see hawks and colorful birds, a mongoose or two,
and keep your eyes peeled for the biggest snails you'll ever see.
This tree snail had me mesmerized for a bit.
One thing that you'll hear everywhere but not necessarily see
is one of Puerto Rico's native frog species
or their unofficial national mascot, the Coqui,
Listen closely.
Their name is an onemonopia,
meaning they were named after the sound they make.. 'coqui'
Checked into our next airbnb,
cute little loft with a super pacman which was sweet
and an incredible 20th floor view of the city skyline.
Spent the evening exploring the Condado Beach area and called it an early night.
We spent our last day in the colorful and charming cobblestone
streets of Old San Juan, the heart of Puerto Rican history and culture.
We started at El Morro, one of the largest forts built by the Spanish during the 16th century.
It has six staggered levels that integrate barracks, dungeons, storerooms,
and include some of the original cannons
When enemy ships would try to enter the bay,
El Morro and a smaller fort a half-mile across the bay
would create a crossfire that no enemy was able to get past.
Thanks to these two forts, the Spaniards
were able to defend Puerto Rico from invasions by the British, Dutch, and pirates.
In 1961, the US Army retired it and established a museum.
We didn't actually go inside,
just enjoyed a nice little frolick through the grass area
and took in the view from the entrance.
Next up on the list, wander.
Well, rum first, then wander.
We stumbled upon a hidden gem called Cafe Hijos de Borinquen.
Borinquen was the name of the island before the Spanish arrived.
Great speakeasy with delicious and strong cocktails.
The last thing we did on this trip, and this is an absolute must-do,
was night kayaking at Bioluminescent bay,
an ecosystem that contains organisms known as Dinoflagellates (dinos)
that produce a glowing phenomenon in the water.
Puerto rico has 3 of the only 5 bio bays in the world.
Highly recommend the company we went with Pure Adventure PR
and I wish I had footage to show you guys,
but I ain't got that type of gear or skills when it comes to lighting.
You gotta just experience it!
It was a short and sweet trip and we only scratched the surface,
but we took it all in and enjoyed every moment.
Gracias Puerto Rico.