J u n e 2008
Our hearts kept racing with anticipation for fun and excitement the entire time!
We danced, laughed, drank, loved....
OMG!
I can't began to tell you how beautiful Puerto Rico is!
But I'm going to try.
The food, my awesome husband, the fruity tasty drinks (or "dranks"depending on how much you consumed at any particular time) were fabulous!
Simply fabulous....
The RUM, the dancing, the majestic scenery, the people, the architecture, the monuments, the weather, the water, the catamaran glass-bottom boat ride to the private island of Palomino, visits to the Yunque Forest and Catano left us almost speechless!
The MOFONGO was to die for!!!
Ahhhh Yes... PLATO'S
We went to a very extra cool (and fun!) restaurant in San Juan, just walking distance from our hotel. The best food, the awesome service, the best presentation of it and the most fresh fruits and vegetables ever. Not to mention the great drinks.
We were impressed.
The name of the restaurant is called Platos and I have to say that we had the best meals everytime we went there! We fed each other often, which was a very fun thing to do, in trying out each other's choices. Loving every moment of it.
Check it out!
Cynthia's Dinner
Iba's Dinner
Dinner is never complete without Tostones!
We had a blast at the The Bacardi Distillery TOO!
Taking the Tour Was very fun and informative!!!!
We met a lot of fun and interesting people
from across the globe
who couldn't wait to take the Bacardi tour as well!
High expectations my friends, high expectations...
Inside the Barcardi distillery
This Barcardi bartender was hooking a sister up outside too...!
We had to give the Bacardi folks the courtesy of trying out their various rums. It would have insulted them if we hadn't!
Hee Hee :)
Our well-prepared drinks of course!!!!
Iba standing beside a ton of Barcardi!!!!
Inside the Barcardi entrance.
Check out the Bat, their symbol...
The Barcardi gardens
The Ferry
We experienced various ferry rides to other parts of the island!
These were tickets purchased to sail to the port of Catano.
We drove (the lovely drive took approx. anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5 hours at any given point of interest) to: Ponce, Carolina, Farjardo, Porta De Sol, Old San Juan, watching beautiful sunsets on the beach together, buying a ton of things, which included buying more luggage to take our goods back to Calif, the Caribbean sea, the beaches, etc. was so wonderful!
PONCE
Ponce is a very interesting, clean, peaceful, full of friendly people, known for it's beautiful old-world architecture and it's historical richness!
This bill used to be the only currency they used in the 1930's
The 1st thing we did was get some of Ponce's great food!
We'd driven approx.. an hour and a half and we were very hungry.
We were drawn to a historic restaurant, known for it's great atmosphere, great food and especially known for taking it's time in preparing food to perfection. It was well worth the wait....
La Casa De Las Tias
Our Savory Lunch in Ponce...
Iba's Meal
Cynthia's Meal
MAYAGUEZ
The port of Mayguez was absolutely majestic. Very peaceful, not touristy. So much of this city hasn't changed much from earlier days. (which is a very good thing!)
Some of the city was restored after their big earthquake on October 11, 1918, with a magnitude of 7.5 on the Richter scale. There's such an intimate and majestic romance about it all, we couldn't help but take it all in.
Old San Juan
These birds were literally eating out of Iba's hands!
This was our 1st time visiting this lovely, well kept, majestic, romantic awesome place, and we will definitely return! Really... There aren't enough words to describe this place....
EL SAN JUAN HOTEL!!!
Our hotel, the El Juan Hotel in San Juan was to die for as well. The presentation of the scenery, the comfort of our rooms, the awesome service, peace and quite as we slept, etc. was totally awesome!
The casino's kinda gripped me too!
Especially after investing $20 and winning a grand total of $1,300 on the 2nd day! I'd say that's fair enough!
NEXT....
Our Trip to The El Yunque Forest
The El Yunque Rain Forest is a cool, mountainous, sub tropical rainforest. The Eastern side of the Luquillo Mountains, which has the El Yunque rainforest at the top elevations, gets most of the rain.
A little history... This forest is one of the oldest protected areas in the Western Hemisphere by virtue of having been set aside by the Spanish Crown in 1876 while Puerto Rico was still ruled from Madrid. On the ground, this translates into virgin forest that looks much as it did when Christopher Columbus visited Puerto Rico 500 years ago.
This is a very gentle forest. It's beauty continued to draw me in. The beauty was overwhelming...
Check out these awesome and interesting photos!
Of Course we can't forget the beauty of the
Bioluminescent Bay of Vieques Island!
Next...
FARJARDO
We ended our day with a trip to Fajardo.
We sailed to the private island of Palomino.
We had BIG FUN sailing on a catamaran and snorkeling!
Our catamaran Captain. All Aboard!
My personal catamaran captain, Iba.... Sail that boat Iba!!!!!
A Friend we met getting his groove on!
More friends friends we hung with!
Iba and I are worn out from snorkeling, but as you can clearly see, we're having a blast!
Wild Iguanas Everywhere!
Ohhhh Headed Home!!!
Te Quiero Mucho Everyone!
The Britt Scripps Inn San Diego, CA
Come on in!
The Carriage House bedroom...
Victorian cabinet
Our plush robes!
Very adoring and affectionately nice...
Taking in the sweet and tender aroma of various breathtaking flowers, filled the air each day
