I am obsessed with beaches, the sun, the ocean, islands, budget travel, and Latin America. :) Puerto Rico was affordable, so I jumped on it. Also, my Spanish just really needs to get better, so I found Puerto Rico less intimidating in that respect.
Costs:
Flight (one stop in Ft. Lauderdale): $280 (which is more than I should have paid. Time it better and you can get same flight for $230)
First leg on Jet Blue, second on Spirit.
Accomodation: $220
Car Rental: $120
Gas: $40
Food: $200
Drink: $100
Entrance Fees and boat tour: $80
Total: $1,040
3 days and 4 nights in Old San Juan.
3 nights at an AirBnB in Ponce.
I researched the history of Puerto Rico a little bit. I didn't know much about it all, except that it's "occupied" by the US. I learned that the US aquired it in 1898 in the US initiated Spanish-American War. Puerto Rico had belonged to Spain before then. Which is incredible to me, that Spain held onto it for that long. It is actually the only colony that never became independent. Sadly, it was given self rule by Spain just 6 months before the US invaded. And it's also super amazing to me that Puerto Rico is still a colony of the US. It's truly a modern day colony. Because the US controls the basic functional elements of it: currency, communications, trade, laws, immigration, social benefits, etc. The US has the final say on all of it and the citizens don't get to vote or have represenation in Congress. So yeah, that is a colony, just like the colonies from 500 years ago.
Already, there is that, making this place strange. Then, there's the ethnic make up. Slavery was not abolished until 1873, when almost 30,000 slaves were freed. So African influence is strong in all aspects of culture. As well as Spanish and indigenous. So the ethnic diversity is much different to Austin, and it made being there feel so strangely comfortable and wonderful. Like how life really should be.
The indigenous peoples of Puerto Rico when Columbus arrived were called Taino. They populated most of the Caribbean, and apparently the big boss of them all was the tallest of them and lived on Puerto Rico. They were small and did not have steel, so were easy for the Spanish to savagely destroy.
Puerto Rico was ethnically diverse, which I really enjoyed.
I landed and took a cab to my hostel. I was starving so went next door to this cute little place and immediately had a Medalla, the local beer, and some local cuisines.
I had a private room in a small one floor hostel that was on the third floor. It was pretty crappy, despite all the great reviews. :) That is budget travel for you! No air conditioning. But the owner was a really nice guy and called me Italia and made good big breakfasts for me.
My first day I went straight to Castillo San Felipe del Morro, a huge Spanish fort on the tip of the mini island that is Old San Juan. It was amazing!! It was begun in 1503. So incredible.
I quickly learned that I needed sunscreen. I knew I would, but not this quickly. The sun felt more intense there. There were tons of sunburned tourists wandering around. :)
Then I walked back and stopped for a drink. I kept wandering around, just absorbing everything. I was about to go on a tour of the governer's mansion, which was finished in 1540, but the tour guide told me the tour was in Spanish and there was an English one in an hour. So I went back for it, but it was cancelled. *sigh*
I've learned with traveling that things go wrong constantly, and you just have to roll with it. I was so excited to be there, I didn't care, and thought I'd go the next day. But that never panned out. :) I saw a flyer for a boat tour of the bay for $49 so I called and booked that. That evening I went out searching for food and found this tapas place that had flamenco dancing. It was tons of fun. It was also POURING rain when I got out.
Next day I wrote some postcards, then went on my boat tour. After that I walked around the capitol building, then went to the other fort in town. It was pretty hot and I was wearing my not good for walking sandals, so I was pretty beat afterwards. I got a drink at a hotel bar, where the bartender explained to me about Barrilto rum, a rum that is made on the island by Puerto Ricans, and is not marketed or exported. He said it's only to be sipped neat. So that's what I did. :) I actually liked it! Then I walked along the walkway around the city. There were tons of street cats. :( Most of them mostly feral, but of course I found one that let me pet it. :) I know I went to eat somewhere after that, but I can't remember where.
The next day I wanted to see Casa Blanca, a house that was built for Juan Ponce de Leon in 1521, although he died before he could live in it, but his daughter lived in it. It was used as a fortification against Taino attacks. Then I wanted to go to the Museum of San Juan, but it was closed until 1pm, so I went to the National Gallery next door, but could not find an entrance, and finally learned it was closed. Then I wandered around looking for the Museum of the Americas, and finally found it, but it didn't open until 1pm. It was really good, and worth the wait. I then rushed home to change and get to the only beach in Old San Juan. Old San Juan faces the Atlantic side of the island, the north side. The south side faces the Caribbean. It was great to be on the beach, just soaking in the sun.
I went out afterwards in search of food and ended up at a cute place and ordered Mofongo, a local dish of mashed plaintains covered in meat or seafood. Then found the bar that Despacito was filmed in and drank more Barrilito and chatted with a couple from Michigan.
Then it was up early to get an Uber to Avis and get my car and go to the rainforest, El Yunque. Driving in Puerto Rico is crazy. The roads aren't great, and PR drivers are SLOW and have no concept of staying the right lane and allowing faster cars to pass. None. It's mind numbing!
Driving in El Yunque was also a bit of a trip, as the road was so narrow and windy. I went to a swimming hole and hung out for a couple hours. Took a few beers and swam the the other side. It was great, except for the parents allowing their kids to scream and yell at each other.
Then I went to some more spots in El Yunque. A waterfall, a sight seeing tower, and a hike. The hike was about a mile all uphill. I was feeling pretty dismayed at how difficult it was. :) But I made it!
Then I drove about 2 hours to Ponce. It was a pretty crazy trip, as I got lost several times and Google Maps is really a bitch sometimes. I got to my AirBnb, which was called Abuelita's Home, after dark. Abuelita's name was Iris and she was lovely. I was so grateful for a clean room with air conditioning. I showered really quickly and wanted to eat. Iris' ex husband had been visiting, so he offered to drive me to check a few places out. I was so exhausted and he was so excited and happy to show off his town. :) I found a fancy place and had crab empanadas and grilled fish, which was really good. Had a hilarious time communicating with the server.
Then I took an Uber home, and it was the only Uber in Ponce, according to the app. The driver was Luis, and he was blaring music when he pulled up. I told him to play his favorite song. He asked, "Do you like Raggeaton?" I replied, "I do when I'm in Puerto Rico!" I filmed us dancing to his favorite song in the car. It was so fun and hilarious! It's those little moments like that, with happy, joyful people, that make one addicted to budget traveling.
The next day I drove about 40 minutes to a historic town called San German. It was glorious. There were hardly any tourists. I saw a couple museums, and a really old church. I ate a veggie sandwich at a little coffee shop and chatted in Spanglish to the owner. He complained about the corrupt government.
Then I drove to another beach! And laid on it for hours. It was great.
I drove back to Ponce mostly in the dark. Ate some bad chinese food, then went straight to bed.
The next day I tried to go on what I thought was a hike, but turned out to be just a long dirt road. I turned back, and went to Guanica, which is a beautiful area on the southern coast. Yep, ended up at the beach again! Then found this cute resort, went in and had a fruity drink, sat on a beach chair and read my book.
Got back to Ponce, showered and changed and ran down to the La Guancha, which was supposed to be a boardwalk along the bay. It was closed however, even 2 years after Maria. I ate some local food, which was their version of fried chicken, and my side was something called "mapen," which I still don't know what it is, but it was good! Then went to the mall (haha) and got a coffee, because I was feeling dead. Went back and went to bed.
My last day, I went into Ponce. Which, as I sadly learned, was the wrong day to do Ponce. It was a Tuesday, and most of the museums were randomly closed. Which is very Latin America. I should have looked on Google, but there were still some that said they were open on Google. A little frustrating, but there were a couple open. I drove a few minutes to an indigenous dwelling site that was discovered in 1975 after a flood. There were a lot of artifacts on display and information about the native peoples of Puerto Rico from all time periods.
I then went back in Ponce and ate. Yuca nachos and fried cheese. PR has a thing for fried cheese. As you should. :) Then I drove along the southern coast, stopping at various places for photos or drinks. By nightfall I was on my way back to San Juan. I had found a super COOL bar called El Boricua, about 10 minutes from the airport to stop at. My rental car was due back at 11:30. And this bar certainly made up for all the hiccups earlier that day! It was so cool. An old guy and his friends started talking to me. He said he is Elmer of Elmer's Glue, and that it is his company. Not sure I believe that. lol. But it was great fun chatting with everyone. There was live music, and people were dancing salsa inside. And there were NO tourists.
I turned the car back in, sat around in the airport, attempted to nap in the airport, and got on the flight to Ft. Lauderdale.
In conclusion:
Puerto Rico is stunning and beautiful. I love the vibe - it is relaxed, fun, and present-moment orientated. The ethnic diversity is so comfortable. People drive obscenely slowly. I enjoy the fact that almost everyone speaks a bit of English, so I could communicate using my Spanish much more. As I could use the English word for words I didn't know in Spanish frequently. There is still a lot of damage from Maria. The food is kind of boring, but natural and tasty. The rum is fabulous. This history is insanely interesting. The people are happy and kind. There are people who long for independence from the US, and there are others that are fearful of what life will be like if that should happen.
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