That is until Oct 10, when I found a great deal on Travelocity, one of those last minute ones.
The chosen location?
Puerto Rico.
My wife had been wanting to go there to the El Conquistador Resort (http://www.elconresort.com/) for about 15 years. This trip made this a reality.
We flew out early on Friday the 17th from JFK (part of the package, hence the leaving from JFK instead of the much closer Newark). Here's what transpired:
Friday
We flew out on a 6:50 AM flight on American (el cheapo) Airlines. I'm not a big fan of this airline, but we didn't die, so I guess that's a plus.
We landed on time (oddly) and got our bags and picked up our rental (also included in the package and from Avis, so it was a real car rental place). The car of choice on this trip was a Toyota Yaris, which turned out to be a good thing as I learned that small cars in Puerto Rico are good.
We made our way towards the El Conquistador Resort which was on the east coast of the island. The airport in San Juan was on the North center of the island. To get there, one must drive. Over the five days I drove in Puerto Rico, I learned a few things about how driving occurs on this island:
- There are no rules as to whether slow cars drive on the left or right side of the road. Cars will drive slow on either side and you can pass them on either side. Apparently, many people have passed cars on the shoulders as well as there are a multitude of signs pointing out that the shoulders are for emergency use only.
- Turn signals are not used and seem to be frowned upon.
- Traffic lights take forever. It's a good time to kick back and drink an entire can of soda.
So, we did head to the resort. Got there, unpacked, got our room (which was a garden view, not an ocean view which would have cost $600 more for the trip - as it is, our garden view, did have a view of the garden, and, of the bay as well, and mountains, so really, it was a very good view). The room was big too. And it did have a nice flatscreen tv.
Our view:
We grabbed some sandwiches at the resort then decided to head back into town to grab some basics from the supermarket. It's always cool to go to a supermarket in some place other than where you live, and this market lived up to my expectations. We bought some snacks and a case of water to save ourselves from paying ridiculous prices for a bottle of water at the resort. We also stopped to buy a good roadmap of Puerto Rico. This was something that was needed as the map provided with the rental was bad, and you need a good map when in PR.
Back at the resort, we had dinner (Spanish food, which was so-so) and then headed for the casino for a bit.
Saturday
The El Conquistador Resort has its own Starbucks. My wife was very happy with this. After coffee was purchased, we made our way over to Old San Juan. Making our way on Route 3, which is a highway with really long traffic lights, the trip felt longer than it did. They have a Route 66 which you can take for part of the trip. This Route 66 is really good. For a buck fifty, you get to ride on a highway where there are no lights and traffic moves at a decent speed, well worth it.
After some minor mishaps, including riding through the cobblestoned tiny streets of San Juan looking for parking. we finally got to walk around. We went to El Morro, the old fort by the sea. Really a great spot to visit. We had lunch at Raices then headed back to the resort. For dinner, we had appetizers (lunch was really heavy) and enjoyed the great view from the resort.
El Morro:
Not shockingly, I found an antique store there too. I picked up a picture book of NY from the 50's.
Sunday
After a quick stop at Starbucks, we headed to El Yunque, the only rainforest in US territory. It was a short trip to get there (thank god, already I was tired of driving), and the views were spectacular. We did one hike that took us to this waterfall, it was amazing. See for yourself:
One thing about rainforests. They are humid, and as this one was at a slightly higher altitude, it made things interesting. If you ever go to Puerto Rico, you have to come here.
Instead of heading straight back to the resort, we decided to check out this restaurant called the Ocean View that was literally out the back gate of the resort. We drove the long way to get there to see some of the town of Fajaldo where it was located. The road the restaurant is on a circle where the road ends by the sea. On Sundays, it's a place where everyone goes to relax, hang out and eat. We got there just before the rush and had a great lunch. I had my first taste of Mofundo, which is smashed plaintains, I had this with shrimp. It was really really good.
After lunch, and tired from all the hiking, we headed back to the resort for the rest of the day. It was nice that this was a trip where we actually relaxed. Relaxation was needed.
Monday
A day at the spa. My other half had been wanting to go to the spa. With all the stress she's had of late, this was an excellent idea. I had never been to a spa mainly due to the fact that the idea of people rubbing their hands over me if said hands don't belong to my wife seems alien to me. As I looked through the catalog, I did see one thing that might be cool, and decided to go for it. I wound up going for this thing where I got in this tub (with bathing suit on, mind you, get all those evil thoughts out of your mind!) and had high pressure water blasted at me. The concept was cool, and it sort of relaxed, but the catch is, after you finish, you feel like you're going to pass out. So that part I wasn't enthralled with. But, it was an experience and it was cool.
After the spa, we headed out for lunch at that Ocean View restaurant again. This time, we went out the back door of the place and walked there. What's cool about the resort, is that it basically exists on two planes. The main part of the resort is at the top of the cliff, and there is a marina and other parts of the hotel at the bottom of the cliff. To get between the too, you take this funicular vehicle, which is like a cable car. Here, this should clarify it:
You can see the marina part towards the right and the funicular vehicle in the middle of the page (it's the small square white box like vehicle).In the picture above, to get to the restaurant, we basically walked around the resort on the lower half, past the employee parking lot, right into the area. Lunch was great again.
That night, we had sushi (which was oddly very good) at the resort.
Tuesday
One of the things the resort has is its own island too. Palomino Island. This is where the resort's beach is and it's where we spent most of Tuesday. They run ferries from the marina to the island (included free in staying at the resort), so we headed over there (after the normal Starbuck's stop, every day, there was a Starbuck's stop). While the other half found a nice beach chair and got some sun, I did a little hiking. I like going to place where there aren't other people, and I had these trails all to myself. It was a bit hot, but worth the trip, especially when I got to climb on the rocks by the ocean. Here's an example of the view I had:
I also made a new friend too:
Back at the beach an hour later, we got some sun and went in the ocean for a bit. One thing that was good about this trip too is that it was the offseason, so the resort was very quiet, and the beach here was quiet too.
After heading back on the boat to Puerto Rico proper, we went out for lunch to another restaurant next to that Ocean View restaurant (as the Ocean View was closed on Tuesdays). Lunch was great as always.
Back at the resort, we had Chinese food (I know, Chinese food in Puerto Rico, what the heck is wrong with you! But it was very very good) for dinner and walked around the resort. At night, you're encouraged to dress up a bit, and we did, (well, I went from shorts, to business casual, which is dressing up for me).
One thing I need to mention here too, is Puerto Rico is renowned for the Coqui. These are tiny little frogs that at night, chirp. They do it in bunches. It gets loud. Check it out:
That video was taken in the garden area outside our hotel room. Each night, we'd go out and listen to the coquis, and fruitlessly try to see one, as they hide quite well.
Wednesday
For the last day, we headed over to the Bacardi factory in San Juan. Since we had a 5PM flight that day, it made sense to go here first. Now, the tour is free, and they do give you 2 free small drinks per person, but, the tour? Well, one thing that bugs be about it is that you don't actually get to see the factory! This kind of makes things moot for me. You park at this visitor center, then take a tram bus about 20 feet to a little museum where you go into a room with fountain, while someone tells us how wonder Bacardi is. Then you watch a 9 minute movie telling you about how Bacardi is made, bookended by Bacardi commercials. Then you walk through a recreation of part of the distillery and get to smell their liquor. Then, you go into a recreation of an exclusive bar where they demo how to make a mojito (sorta). Then onwards into a room where you can see Bacardi ads from over the the years and you can send a video message. But again, you don't actually see stuff being made, at a factory. This kind of killed the magic for me. But, the free drinks were nice, and it was a free tour, so maybe I'm complaining too much.
Bacardi Magic below:
Afterwards, we made our way over to the Las Plazas de Americas mall, one of the largest malls in Puerto Rico. We had lunch at the food court as my wife spent most of the trip in quest to have Bacalao. This quest was finally achieved at this food court of all places.
From there, over the airport, and back to reality.
Things we learned on this trip:
El Morro:
Not shockingly, I found an antique store there too. I picked up a picture book of NY from the 50's.
Sunday
After a quick stop at Starbucks, we headed to El Yunque, the only rainforest in US territory. It was a short trip to get there (thank god, already I was tired of driving), and the views were spectacular. We did one hike that took us to this waterfall, it was amazing. See for yourself:
One thing about rainforests. They are humid, and as this one was at a slightly higher altitude, it made things interesting. If you ever go to Puerto Rico, you have to come here.
Instead of heading straight back to the resort, we decided to check out this restaurant called the Ocean View that was literally out the back gate of the resort. We drove the long way to get there to see some of the town of Fajaldo where it was located. The road the restaurant is on a circle where the road ends by the sea. On Sundays, it's a place where everyone goes to relax, hang out and eat. We got there just before the rush and had a great lunch. I had my first taste of Mofundo, which is smashed plaintains, I had this with shrimp. It was really really good.
After lunch, and tired from all the hiking, we headed back to the resort for the rest of the day. It was nice that this was a trip where we actually relaxed. Relaxation was needed.
Monday
A day at the spa. My other half had been wanting to go to the spa. With all the stress she's had of late, this was an excellent idea. I had never been to a spa mainly due to the fact that the idea of people rubbing their hands over me if said hands don't belong to my wife seems alien to me. As I looked through the catalog, I did see one thing that might be cool, and decided to go for it. I wound up going for this thing where I got in this tub (with bathing suit on, mind you, get all those evil thoughts out of your mind!) and had high pressure water blasted at me. The concept was cool, and it sort of relaxed, but the catch is, after you finish, you feel like you're going to pass out. So that part I wasn't enthralled with. But, it was an experience and it was cool.
After the spa, we headed out for lunch at that Ocean View restaurant again. This time, we went out the back door of the place and walked there. What's cool about the resort, is that it basically exists on two planes. The main part of the resort is at the top of the cliff, and there is a marina and other parts of the hotel at the bottom of the cliff. To get between the too, you take this funicular vehicle, which is like a cable car. Here, this should clarify it:
That night, we had sushi (which was oddly very good) at the resort.
Tuesday
One of the things the resort has is its own island too. Palomino Island. This is where the resort's beach is and it's where we spent most of Tuesday. They run ferries from the marina to the island (included free in staying at the resort), so we headed over there (after the normal Starbuck's stop, every day, there was a Starbuck's stop). While the other half found a nice beach chair and got some sun, I did a little hiking. I like going to place where there aren't other people, and I had these trails all to myself. It was a bit hot, but worth the trip, especially when I got to climb on the rocks by the ocean. Here's an example of the view I had:
I also made a new friend too:
Back at the beach an hour later, we got some sun and went in the ocean for a bit. One thing that was good about this trip too is that it was the offseason, so the resort was very quiet, and the beach here was quiet too.
After heading back on the boat to Puerto Rico proper, we went out for lunch to another restaurant next to that Ocean View restaurant (as the Ocean View was closed on Tuesdays). Lunch was great as always.
Back at the resort, we had Chinese food (I know, Chinese food in Puerto Rico, what the heck is wrong with you! But it was very very good) for dinner and walked around the resort. At night, you're encouraged to dress up a bit, and we did, (well, I went from shorts, to business casual, which is dressing up for me).
One thing I need to mention here too, is Puerto Rico is renowned for the Coqui. These are tiny little frogs that at night, chirp. They do it in bunches. It gets loud. Check it out:
That video was taken in the garden area outside our hotel room. Each night, we'd go out and listen to the coquis, and fruitlessly try to see one, as they hide quite well.
Wednesday
For the last day, we headed over to the Bacardi factory in San Juan. Since we had a 5PM flight that day, it made sense to go here first. Now, the tour is free, and they do give you 2 free small drinks per person, but, the tour? Well, one thing that bugs be about it is that you don't actually get to see the factory! This kind of makes things moot for me. You park at this visitor center, then take a tram bus about 20 feet to a little museum where you go into a room with fountain, while someone tells us how wonder Bacardi is. Then you watch a 9 minute movie telling you about how Bacardi is made, bookended by Bacardi commercials. Then you walk through a recreation of part of the distillery and get to smell their liquor. Then, you go into a recreation of an exclusive bar where they demo how to make a mojito (sorta). Then onwards into a room where you can see Bacardi ads from over the the years and you can send a video message. But again, you don't actually see stuff being made, at a factory. This kind of killed the magic for me. But, the free drinks were nice, and it was a free tour, so maybe I'm complaining too much.
Bacardi Magic below:
Afterwards, we made our way over to the Las Plazas de Americas mall, one of the largest malls in Puerto Rico. We had lunch at the food court as my wife spent most of the trip in quest to have Bacalao. This quest was finally achieved at this food court of all places.
From there, over the airport, and back to reality.
Things we learned on this trip:
- Driving is random in Puerto Rico. And turn signals should not be bothered to be included on cars as they are never used.
- There is some sort of obsession with Thousand Island dressing. Every meal seemed to include a cup with this dressing. I'm shocked it wasn't included with desserts.
- I apparently do like Plaintains, I didn't really up until this trip, go figure.
- The place seems rough around the edges, but I felt very safe. Safer than I do when I'm in Brooklyn.
- People are very friendly, it helps to have a Spanish speaker to make this more possible.
- You can find really good deals on Travelocity if you look at the last minute and are very flexible.
