We stayed on the island of Culebra for one week. This was different for me, as when I travel I usually stay in one spot for a few days and then move on. However, it was quite nice to have a "base" and get to know a place better. Not too many days later, did we manage to make some friends and run into them at the only decent grocery store. We rented a golf cart one day and toured pretty much every paved road on the island !
We would sleep in, I would enjoy my coffee while overlooking the bay, and then we would pick a new beach to snorkel in for a few hours. We sampled appetizer dishes at local restaurants and dined on fresh seafood.
Mike managed to catch a lobster under the boat deck one evening ! A fellow man lent him his spear pole, and sure enough, 1/2 an hour later, we boiled the guy for 15 minutes, marinated the lobster in a garlic/lime/soy marinade and grilled him over a hot BBQ grill !
Mosquito bites, sun burns, windy ocean winds, tropical birds and plants, all of which felt good to be out of the element of the desert winter life that was occurring in Utah !
We drove the crazy roads East to Luquillo, where we tasted some soggy fish on a patio, while we watched lizards chase each other around and spent the day touring the port town of Fajardo. A kayak session out to some coral reefs and snorkeling, with a nice ocean side hotel for the night !
An early wake up on a Sunday (note: taxis don't really run much on sundays and many places are closed on Sundays or close around 1 pm). We took a $40 small plane ride out to the island of Culebra. What a journey to see the island and beaches from above !
Mike's video of the plane ride, we couldn't help but laugh with joy !
As Lonely Planet describes it, "a sign on a shop door in the ‘capital’ Dewey
reads ‘Open some days, closed others.’ Welcome to Culebra, the island
that time forgot; mainland Puerto Rico’s weird, wonderful and distinctly
wacky smaller cousin that lies just off the east coast.
Long feted for its diamond-dust beaches and world-class diving reefs, sleepy Culebra is probably more famous for what it hasn’t
got than for what it actually possesses. There are no big hotels here,
no golf courses, no casinos, no fast-food chains, no rush-hour traffic,
no postmodern stress and no problemas, amigo."
The early part of February is a great time to escape the long, cold, dark days of Winter. The time when Winter just seems to never end, and you pretty much are ready for Spring flowers and warmer weather to be here. 2017 is off to a great start and a 12 day trip down to Puerto Rico in the Caribbean was exactly what I needed !
Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States, which was gained US citizenship in 1917. A relatively small island with just over 3000 sq miles but containing over 3 million people ! After a very long travel day, we arrived in the capital of San Juan. We had some time and a rental car and drove all around the city and it's outer regions. The main city of San Juan was very clean, upscale, and loaded with hotels and tourist attractions along the beach.
However, the farther we traveled away from here, the more it changed. Shackled houses, many dogs lounging in the streets, stray cats, garbage everywhere (old cars would be dumped and growing into the forest, couches, etc). Which made us think, exactly how do they remove all the large garbage items from an island? Has to be super expensive to transport away and then get shipped to....where?
We stayed near the El Yunque National Forest, which is the only tropical rainforest within the US Forest System. Large green plants, stunning flowers, birds, and jungle like atmosphere greeted us and we had a relaxing day to catch up on our sleep.
OH ! so that is how pineapples grow ! neat !
Video of birds and nightlife sounds in the forest by Mike:
The roads are crazy island roads and Puerto Rico has more cars per capita than Los Angles ! Roads were very narrow, no middle line, curvy, and giant giant potholes. We once saw a wild horse bolt out right in front of us and continue up the road towards us! Not to mention, dodging the stray cats and dogs. Below is a video my boyfriend, Mike took! Check it out:
After some rest and fresh sushi, more beach time, we drove East towards the coast (well everywhere seems like the "coast" on an island, ha ha), we stopped to have lunch in Luquillo.
We would sleep in, I would enjoy my coffee while overlooking the bay, and then we would pick a new beach to snorkel in for a few hours. We sampled appetizer dishes at local restaurants and dined on fresh seafood.
