Puerto Rico in 7 days - Day 1

We have arrived. I don't even know what words to use to explain the view from our room or the hospitatility we have been shown since stepping off of the plane. Amazing, breathtaking, beautiful, inspiring are a few I would use.

Our trip began last night with a red eye flight to Atlanta Georgia. It was fine as far as red eye flights go. Chris had a hard time getting comfortable. I took a blanket with me which I recommend on overnight flights like that. You can scrunch it up to use as a pillow or use as a blanket, whichever you need. In Atlanta we had to go to a different terminal for our connecting flight. I've had to do this numerous times on flights and this is the easiest airport I've ever navigated. The sign of a good airport is how clean the bathrooms are. Atlanta gets an A in this department. It was so nice to get off that long flight and have a clean, bright place to put my contacts in and wash my face.

Flight from Atlanta to San Juan was great. Once in San Juan we got our luggage and followed the signs for ground transportation. There was a man from the tourism board of Puerto Rico ready to help us. It's my understanding that the only real taxis in Puerto Rico are from this Tourism Board. It's nice that way because there is no haggling and you won't get cheated. A definite plus in my book. The downside to this is that if the taxi drivers go on strike (which they did about a month ago) then there are no taxis at all. I heard that this was a real mess. Within 15 minutes of getting our luggage we were greeted by Raul at the La Concha Rennaisance Resort. He took our luggage and while I was getting us checked in Chris asked him if he knew where the nearest LDS church was so that we can go tomorrow. Raul was immediatley on the phone getting that information and next thing we know he is handing us a map with directions to the church. Fantastic! The gal checking us in asked if this was our first time in Puerto Rico. I told her it was and that we were celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary. To our surprise she upgraded our room to a suite!

After getting settled in our room we headed out in search of some authentic puerto rican food. The concierge recommended a place across the street. It was just okay in my opinion. We both had Arroz con Pollo and I've had better. But it was still good and a great first meal on the island.

Next we took a taxi to Old San Juan. And did the first day of our Old San Juan walking tour. You can check it out here. I loved the insider tips that I learned from that blog like the free drinks on Saturday afternoons from the Tourism Company. Or that there is a really good tapa restaurant at one of the hotels that you pass. What stood out to me the most today was the color of the buildings and cobblestone streets.


Old San Juan is very beautiful and old. the wall that surrounds the old city is 20 feet thick and was built hundreds of years ago to keep invaders out. It's really amazing at how good of condition it is in after so many years. In this picture below, Chris is standing on the top of the wall. So it looks like it might be a road but that is how thick it is. This spot overlooks a very old cemetary. It is a pretty amazing site.



On Saturdays at La Princessa Promenade it is an artisan's market with lots of people selling their wares. This is one of the streets we walked down and I bought a Puerto Rican version of a snow cone and a coconut pineapple sweet. Both were really good.



We were so hot after walking around Old San Juan that we decided it was a good time to head to the beach. By the time we got there the sun was starting to go down and most people had left the beach to head to the party at the pools of the hotel. So chris and I swam in the salty caribbean sea while the sun was going down. It was very romantic until a really good wave got me and I swallowed a bunch of salty water!

When you go to Puerto Rico you need to allow at LEAST two hours for each meal. They are in no hurry over here. Which is fine for the most part. Our dinner tonight was a little excessive. We left our hotel at 9:00 p.m. and got home at 12:30. The food was fantastic and the waiter wasn't rude in the least it just takes a while. You give them your credit card to pay and it can take another 20 minutes to get the copy you need to sign. I think as long as you keep that in mind and decide to relax, enjoy the music and each other's company then you will have a great time.

Speaking of music. This place is one big party. We are used to Beaverton, Or where everything is closed by 10 p.m. Not here. Everything is open late. And they are playing their music. Chris and I were laughing when we went into Haagen Daz. It was midnight and they weren't even thinking of closing yet and had music blaring. When I say blaring I'm not kidding. Chris and I could barely hear each other. But it's fun at the same time.

My favorite part of Day 1 would be swimming in the ocean and laying on lawn chairs right at the water's edge while the sun went down. Tomorrow we will still be here in San Juan so Adios for now.