Puerto Rico

Tom had a day off during our stay in Puerto Rico and we had a rented car, so we decided to drive around and explore. I knew no Spanish and he knew very little, whatever he retained from high school Spanish 20 years previously. So we had a little trouble reading the DMV road signs.
Right away, first thing as we were leaving San Juan, the car coming towards us was beeping, the driver's hands flying around and the driver screamed something at us. Tom waved out the window and yelled, "Bueno! Bueno!!" ("good!") We discovered within minutes the hyper driver must have been yelling "You're going the wrong way down a one-way street!!"

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The entire time we'd been in San Juan, I wanted to know one thing: What the heck was on the other side of those mountains?" When I travel, I always want to know how people live, what is the land like and what is life like there. And that's what I wanted to know about the other side of the island. Especially since it was the Caribbean side and at that point, I had never been to the Caribbean Sea. I wondered: were there pirates anchored just off shore? (no) Were there mysterious fruits hanging from trees? (yes) Was the water clear and blue? (no)
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As we were crossing the island we came across a little donut shop. Again, we had trouble with the language. Tom ordered "dos," meaning two donuts and after a verbal onslaught, he received two bags of donuts. We rolled across the hills, windows open, munching donuts, spanish music playing. Spanish music is beautiful, have I ever mentioned that? The mid-island hills are very much like the following picture. Small rural towns, grassy knobs, sheep and cows.
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As we peaked the mountain, there it was spread before me: the Caribbean! My brow cocked, my head tilted questioningly. Not a pirate in sight. I sighed. What we did discover was a lot of dry, brown, unproductive land. There was an almost visible line dividing the lush, green side and the arid, dry side of the island. I was amazed.
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The island is supposedly full of cliffs, sea caves and natural hot springs, but we didn't have time to hunt them down, we spent all our time looking for a nice Caribbean beach with cabannas and tiki huts. Let me tell you, if that's what you are looking for, just go on a cruise. This is the best Caribbean beach we found within a day's drive from San Juan. It was most unpleasant. Unsuitable for sunbathing or swimming. The ground was covered in something - maybe ants - I don't remember. Something that bit. A lot. We high-tailed it out of there and back to San Juan in time for dinner on the beach at sunset.

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If you want to vacation in Puerto Rico, be sure to plan it out ahead of time, don't assume anything. The islands offer some beautiful scenery and wildflife and some exciting outdoor adventures. Here are two websites to get you started planning your trip: Click here and here.

Be sure to learn a little Spanish before you go, too.