All posts by Andi

Travel

Last Full Day

Leave a comment

Today was a our last full day here in Puerto Rico. In the morning we did a tour of Coqui’s Hideaway. We were able to see all the plants and how big the property really was. It was raining a little. Don and Steve saw a big snake and then he fell and slipped in the mud. Good thing we have our own washer and dryer at Coqui’s.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

After that Judy and Steve went to look at some gifts shops and Don and I went to the kiosks again for lunch. Then we relaxed in the pool before going to Fajardo for a tour of the Bio-luminescent Bay.

The tour of the Bio-Bay was a kayak tour and Don and I have not had a good history with kayaks. This trip didn’t start off well. It was pitch black and the water was very rough. We could not get the kayak to go straight in the beginning and I started freaking out. I decided that I didn’t want to go and we made it back to the dock. I told the tour guide I was scared and not good at kayaking. He asked if we wanted to hook up to his kayak and he can pull us, so we decided to do that. It was much easier and I was happy our tour guide was so accommodating. We saw other couples and groups being pulled also, so we were not complete losers. The Bio-Bay has glowing plankton and it was very pretty.

Food Blog, Snorkeling, Travel

Road Trip to La Parguera

Leave a comment

So since we rented a car here in Puerto Rico we decided we wanted to check out some beaches on the West Coast. We woke up pretty early to go on our road trip. Our goal was to explore the town of La Parguera which is on the Southwest side of the island. The trip started out not so great because we missed our exit on the expressway and we were lost for awhile. Driving here is crazy I can’t stand the drivers. Finally we found our way and took a road through the mountains. We drove through lechon highway, this is where all the restaurants have a pig on the roaster.

Once we started getting to the other side of the island it got a lot hotter and dryer. The climate was so different. The drive got better on the highways and it was beautiful.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

We didn’t stop much though, only for gas once. Then we made it to Parguera in Lajas. Right when we parked a man came up to us and wanted to know if we wanted a boat or if we wanted to eat. He took us to a restaurant called Puerto Parguera. We were the only ones there. We ordered empanadas and they were delicious. Then we each ordered a mofongo and it was good. People were stopping by to take carry out. The woman there was very nice.
20131219_112604

After lunch we went to the port and looked at all the boat shops. We came to Johnny’s Boats and talked to them about a 1 hour snorkel trip. The guys there didn’t seem very friendly but we decided to do it. One guy took us out on a little motorboat to a mangrove island. We got out and snorkeled around the island. It was kind of scary because it was dark by the mangroves we saw a lot of cool stuff.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

When we were done we asked the tour guide if he knew any good beaches on the way back to Ponce he told us Playa Santa. So we started driving…saw some horses by the street, stopped at dive shop. Looked for Playa Santa but got side tracked and ended up in a nature reserve and went to a beach there.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

It was a pretty awesome day. On the way home we got some lechon.

Bloggings, Reviews - Travel, Snorkeling, Travel

Snorkeling in Culebra.

Leave a comment

Woke up today and got ready for snorkeling at the island of Culebra. We booked with the company called East Island Excursions. We were a little worried our excursion would be canceled because the winds had been very strong for the past few days. We had to be at the port at 9 am, so we stopped for some breakfast at a deli nearby.

The boat for the excursion was very nice. Our main tour guide was Chris. He kind of reminded us of Doug Tucker haha. We sat with another couple from California. They guy, Carlos, was originally from Brooklyn but he was in love with California now. He had a very fun personality and talked a lot. His wife’s name was Marlene.

The boat ride over to Culebra was very rough. I thought I was going to puke, so did Marlene. Of course Carlos and Don were perfectly fine. A lot of other passengers were feeling sick also. The tour guides gave us a tissue with hand sanitizer on it and told us to sniff it. This was supposed to make us feel better, maybe it did a little but I just felt horrible.

We were so happy to make it to our first snorkeling spot without getting sick. It was awesome. Probably some of the best snorkeling we have done. There was a lot of coral and a lot of fish. We snorkeled for about an hour then we got back on the boat for lunch.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Lunch was really good. They had sandwiches, chips, fruit, cookies, and pasta salad. They also started serving rum punch. The rum punch was very good. Then we headed to our second location which was Flamenco Beach. Flamenco Beach was rated the #2 beach in the world in 2012. It was beautiful. The snorkeling was also very good here, we were not disappointed. We saw a dogtooth snapper, he hung out underneath the boat. The sand on the beach was so fine, like powder.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

After we were done at Flamenco we started to go back to the port at Fajado. We were able to enjoy this ride more because it was much smoother. We had some more drinks and fruit. Rum punch is always so delicious. We talked with Carlos and Marlene and we got back to the port around 3:45.
20131218_161047

We went to Walgreens on the way back to Coqui’s. There were horses grazing in the grass near Walgreens, freaken crazy! Don’s bee sting was still very itchy and tender so we picked up some ointment for it.

Judy and Steve made steak tacos for dinner tonight. They were delicious. This trip has proven to me more that I don’t see the point in dishwashers…haha I can do it faster and better myself. We watched Tropic Thunder. After dinner Don, Steve and I went out to the pool. Don and Steve enjoyed a cigar. We saw Senor Seis again! We also saw a giant frog. There is so much wild life here.
20131218_195700

IMG_2662

IMG_2668

Bloggings, Food Blog, Travel

El Yunque National Forest

Leave a comment

We woke up early today to get ready for our tour of El Yunque Rain Forest. We were to meet Louis at 930 at the El Yunque Visitor Building. When we got to the rain forest it was raining, so we took shelter in the visitor center and waited for Louis.

Louis brought 3 other people with him: a couple from Brooklyn and one other guy that rarely talked. We first watched a 20 minute movie about El Yunque. It was horrible quality but very informative. Then we looked around the visitor center. Louis told us to watch out for the mongoose and some kind of boa snake, but that was all that was harmful in the forest. He showed us all kinds of flowers, plants, and trees. He was very informative.

Once we were done around the visitor center we got in his tour van and we started going up the mountain to a waterfall. The waterfall was beautiful. We noticed one of the guys flicked a bee off of another guy’s shirt. Then the bee landed on Don’s neck and stung him. I took the stinger out; it was really big. It was swollen for a bit and I gave him 2 Benedryl.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Next we went to a tower to overlook the rain forest. You could see a lot of the island. We saw the town of Loquillo and the resorts. Then we went down and went to our next location, which was by where we would go on our hike. Louis showed us the big bath, more trees, and we saw a walking stick. Then we did a 2 hour hike. Louis did not come with us. He drove the van to the end of the trail to pick us up. We hiked to a waterfall. It was awesome. We could have swam in the waterfall but we did not feel like getting all wet and having to hike more. Steve took a dip though.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Once we made it back to Louis he took us to lunch. We ate at his friend’s restaurant in El Yunque. It was mostly fried stuff, but it was delicious. We had chicken and shrimp tacos, which looked more like empanadas because they were fried. We also had mashed potatoes around beef then fried. Next was a sweet cheese in corn meal-fried. Fried pork chop and rice and beans. It was really good. We tried some of the store owners Pitorro and we bought 2 bottles. It was crazy because they were in used soda bottles. After we looked around the gift shop Louis brought us back to our car.

Once we got back to Coqui’s we went in the pool. It felt so good. We did not see Senor Seis, who knows what became of him. We put little weights in the pool and dove down to get them. Then we laid out in the sun. After we were done at the pool we came back inside and got cleaned up. Then we just relaxed and watched some TV. Around 7 pm we decided to go to Loquillo to try one of the restaurants at the kiosks. It was just a row of restaurants.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

We decided on a Peruvian place called Cerviche Hut. It wasn’t very good at all. The service was very slow and the food was expensive and not good. After that we went home and put the on the movie Fred Clause. I went to bed around 10….I was so tired.

Bloggings, Food Blog, Reviews, Reviews - Travel, Travel

Old San Juan to Coqui’s Hideaway.

Leave a comment

We woke up today to pick up our cars that we rented. We each got a Toyota Yaris.It was kind of cool to drive this car because it is similar to our Ford Fiesta and we had considered trying out the Yaris. So far I am happy we went with the fiesta.

Since we couldn’t check into Coqui’s Hideaway near the rain forest until 3 pm we decided to hang out in Old San Juan. We left our hotel to head for Old San Juan around 10 am. We found parking spaces in a garage in Old San Juan…it is very hard to find parking! Never rent a car if you are just staying in Old San Juan.

We stopped for breakfast sandwiches and lattes before we started walking around. We started walking to one of the forts, Castillo San Felipe del Morro, ‘El Morro’. The walk there was very hot, but the views were great and we saw lots of cats! The cats of Old San Juan!
IMG_2595

IMG_2645

Once we got closer to the fort it was cooler with a breeze. El Morro was $3. We walked around there for about an hour and took lots of pictures. It rained a bit on the way back but it felt good. We found a place to eat, Manolin. It was pretty good, but it was so cold in the restaurant! The power went out for a bit and it was nice because then the AC couldn’t blast. The food was okay, nothing spectacular. I had fried steak with rice and beans and plantains. After we were done eating we checked out a few gift shops. Then we went back to the car to make our drive to Coqui’s Hideaway.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The drive to Coqui’s was about 30-40 minutes. It was a nice drive until we started heading into the mountains. It got scary, the road was so curvy. Once we got to Coqui’s we met with Ray. Coqui’s Hideaway is basically a house rental and Ray is our host. He lives next door with his wife. Coqui’s is very nice and the property is beautiful. There was a little welcome basket with fruits grown on the property, rum, Puerto Rican snacks, and supplies to make pina coladas.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Once Ray showed us around we decided to check out the pool. The pool area was awesome. It overlooked the rain forest, El Yunque. The pool water was very cold though so I did not get in. I just enjoyed laying in the sun; it felt awesome. The views were amazing.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

We found a few coqui frogs, which is how coqui’s got its name. Coqui frogs live only in Puerto Rio and they are loved by everyone. They make a mating call that sounds like “co-key”. They are also small and super cute.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

We found a huge spider up in the rafters above the grill. He looked like he had been in a fight because he was missing 2 legs. We named him Senor Seis. He was very scary looking but still he was very interesting. I wonder what kind of spider he was. He was above us and too hard to kill so we decided to just keep our eyes on him.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Once we got out of the pool we decided to go to Ralph’s Grocery Store. We picked up a few things then on the way home we stopped at El Verde BBQ. It wasn’t really a place to sit down so we got our food to go. It was a little interesting place on the corner. It seemed to be the place to go and they even had a couple of gambling arcade games. We got a ton of food: a rotisserie chicken, pork, rice and beans, plantains, sausage, and sweet fried potatoes. The food was delicious. After dinner we were stuffed but we still had room for some rum and coke and beers.
20131216_175717

20131216_182624

We went out to the pool again and saw Senor Seis. He had moved a little and was between the boards now in the roof. Then we came back inside and watched some movies. There is a huge movie collection at Coqui’s. We watched 2 movies, I can’t remember the first one but the second one was Whip It. Then we went to bed. Tomorrow we are going hiking into El Yunque.