Rincon, the Grand Finale!

The last few days of our trip needed to be relaxing, so Rincon was our destination!  We got in after dark, and it was an adventure just to find the house!  Holy inclines on the roads!  I was so scared that the car wouldn't make it down a few, Melissa had to talk me through it, but we made it alive!  The house was BEAUTIFUL, everything we could have asked for and then some.  We were so exhausted that we just wanted food and sleep, so our host recommended a restaurant that was just down the road, maybe a half mile or so, Los Pescadores.  Oh my goodness, it was amazing.  Right on the beach, delicious food and drinks, inexpensive, and right by where we were staying.  We fell in love with the various pinchos (fish, pork or chicken skewers).

Mmmmm....pinchos......

The next day, we woke up feeling relaxed and refreshed.  First stop was to the store to get some food to cook for breakfast, then off to the beach we went.  The steps to the beach were just past the end of the driveway...

We pretty much had our own private beach!  It was gorgeous, and not a soul in sight.  We quickly learned where the higher ground was to put our stuff, and from then on, it was time to relax.

Just looking at this picture makes me feel relaxed.  You can hear my brain saying "aaahhhhhhhh....."

We thoroughly enjoyed just lounging around on the sand and in the water.  We brought snorkels and goggles, and had so much fun diving for shells.  I think some of my favorite memories from this trip were the 2 of us in the water, completely relaxed, being our stupid selves, and cracking ourselves up over and over again.  Wait!  What's that!!!  Could it be...?????????

Photo by M. Coates, I was busy defending our beach!

PTERODACTYL ATTACK!!!

The problem is real, people.  Do not go unarmed.  We didn't see any spikes in Rincon to protect ourselves.  Luckily, I found this pointy stick.  We survived unscathed...this time...

Day 2 was a big day.  We had decided weeks before to get tattoos while we were away. We both researched local artists and decided on Skin Vault in nearby Aguada.  I had messaged a bit with the artist, Julian, and felt pretty good about it.  This would be my first, so I was very nervous and obsessive with the design and such. 

I was thrilled when we got there that the shop was spotless, and that Julian was fantastic!  I couldn't have imagined my first tattoo experience going any better anywhere else in the world.  About halfway through my tattoo, he asked me how I was doing, and I replied "So far, so good!"  We all found that amusing, I realize I say that phrase so often in my life, so that's why the blog is titled as such.  So far, so good...

The tattoo was exactly what I had pictured, even better if that's possible!  The compass represents both travel and finding direction in life.  The arrow represents moving forward and that in order to more forward, sometimes you have to be pulled back first, like an arrow before it sails.  The combination of these 2 symbols is really powerful for me right now in my life, and I wanted the tattoo somewhere I could see it, so it's on my left forearm.  I absolutely love it, I thank Melissa for being there with me so I couldn't chicken out, and I thank Julian for putting this beautiful piece on my body.  

After we were both done, it was food time!  I had the best meal of my trip in the town of Rincon.  

It was skirt steak stuffed with sweet plantain mash and caramelized onions.  It was amazing.  And our waitress was the Puerto Rican version of Snooki, it was very entertaining.  We spent our night back at the apartment, sitting and reading, and packing for our trip back home.  It's amazing how relaxing that is, when both of us rarely take the time for ourselves at home.  I'm working on making it part of my daily routine, it does a body and a brain good to end the day with a good book!

Saying goodbye was rough!

How much can we fit into one day?

The answer: A LOT!!!  Sunday was our day to explore the forts and Old San Juan.  The weather was very hot and humid, but we were glad that the rain stayed away as this was the day we did the most walking.

Castillo San Felipe del Morro

Lucky for us, it was the last day of National Parks Week, so we didn't have to pay an entry fee to visit any of the forts.  We began the day nice and early at the Castillo San Felipe del Morro.  We must have beat all of the cruise tours and such, because we happily didn't have to deal with many other people.

 

Photo by M. Coates

Photo by M. Coates 

We were famished by the time we were done climbing up and down all of the levels at El Morro.  We were going to go to a well-known touristy restaurant for breakfast, but there was an hour wait.  I'm happy we left!  We stumbled upon The Carthage Express and had a delicious (and inexpensive!) breakfast of mallorcas (which were on my list of things to try!) and some fresh fruit.

Mallorcas are sweet, soft buns.  We had ours as a sandwich with ham, egg and cheese, dusted with powdered sugar.
Nom nom nom...

With full, happy bellies, we took off to explore Old San Juan.  The buildings are all really neat colors, with gorgeous iron work around the windows and doors.

 We walked through the vast majority of Old San Juan.  On our way down Paseo de la Princesa, we walked through a street science fair.  It was pretty cool to see different projects and experiments set up on the street for everyone to see.  Once you reach the water, you come to the monumental Raices Fountain.

The walk continues through a beautiful tree-lined area.  Fun fact!  Pelicans land in trees!  I've never seen a pelican in a tree in my entire life!  I'm still amazed about how they didn't fall over!

Webbed feet...in a tree?!?!?!?!

Then, we came upon my favorite historical aspect of Old San Juan.  Not many people know this, but Puerto Rico had a HUGE problem with pterodactyls.  There would be constant pterodactyl attacks, they would grab people right off of the street!  In order to combat these creatures, massive spikes were erected throughout the city.

These are for when the pterodactyls come to roost

I shit you not, there were HUGE spikes all over the city.  What else could they be for besides pterodactyls?  They're too big for pigeons.  Speaking of pigeons, there was this one cool park that actually had built in homes for the pigeons in the walls.

Think of all that pigeon poop!

While wandering around, we walked past a restaurant that was on my must-do list!  La Barrachina- the birthplace of the pina colada!

I was surprised for 2 reasons: 1- there weren't as many people as I thought there would be here, and 2- the pina coladas were delicious!  Nice and strong, but not too strong, and not watered down.  Hooray pina coladas!!!  Our bartender was also awesome and funny, definitely a great time to cool off a little bit before heading back out into the sun.

Our last main stop for the day was at the Castillo de San Cristobal.  By this point, I was so hot and tired, but determined!  This fort was smaller, but just as beautiful as El Morro.  

After we were done, we couldn't walk any more.  It was time for a taxi back to our apartment to cool off and relax until dinner later that evening.  One of Melissa's former colleagues has connections to a restaurant called Pamela's Caribbean Cuisine right on Ocean Park.  Everything was amazing, from the service to the drinks to the food to the location.  What a great way to end a very, very busy day!  Drinks in our hands, food in our bellies, feet in the sand...