August 19, 2011

After another relaxing day spent at Isla Verde beach and a round of homemade fish tacos, we ambled down beyond the city wall to catch the San Juan sunset.  The golden rays stretched longer and longer across the clear blue-grey skies and across the now calm waters.  We walked along the wall and down a pier at the original city gates, watching the sky grow darker, with more luminescent shades of gold, and warmer.  The scene was overwhelmingly beautiful, distinct from even the most gorgeous of Texas sunsets, void of the pollution-stained pinks, purples, and blues often part of what many describe as the most beautiful of evenings.  Rather, San Juan's sunset is purely natural.  

August 18, 2011

An early morning road trip found us on Isla de Vieques, a short road trip from San Juan and a rocky ferry trip from Fajardo.  Despite its stunning beauty, the island felt almost untouched by tourists.  We took a publico, a mix between a taxi and a bus, to the other side of the island to take advantage of more remote beaches.  For most of the afternoon, I peered out over my sun-kissed knees at perfectly blue water and a nearly cloudless sky.  I had suddenly found myself in the perfection of paradise, completely secluded from anything with any capacity to cause an inkling of stress.  We had the entire beach to ourselves:  no beach balls, no screaming children, no loud music.  Just us, the beach, and the relaxing sound of waves coming in and off the beach.  I'm not sure I've ever been more relaxed in my entire life.  

August 17, 2011

With the aid of our trusty now-Puerto Rican citizen, Alex Savage, we began our first day of our vacation with a trip to Old San Juan to see the Castillo San Felipe del Morro, one of the Old City's fortresses.  With the rain that came later in the afternoon, this is where we spent the majority of our tourist hours today.  The fortress was built in the 16th century and sits at the northwestern-most point of the island, at the mouth of a gorgeous bay.  It is a huge structure, with all of the original staircases, watch towers and windows, and an awe inspiring view of the wide open ocean.  We meandered about, as I snapped plenty of photos, wondering what it must have been like to live in San Juan when use of the fortress was more integral to survival than it was to a tourist's experience.  The views and history were incredible, and fitting, welcomes to paradise.

August 16, 2011

Traveling can be a chore, but it can also be the trove of amazing stories and random experiences.  Danielle and I's trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico began mid-afternoon today.  Our first story began as I inadvertently brought a butter knife through security.  How it found itself in my carry on, I'm not sure, but by 2 p.m., it was well on its way to San Juan.  Most of our time, when not on a plane, was spent in the Orlando airport, which proved to be a jackpot of stories.  I counsel against flying through Orlando for a number of reasons.  First, it is the reasonable way station for Disney World goers.  Second, Floridians seem to be an interesting, exceedingly outgoing, and spontaneous group of folk.  In between random outbursts of howling, strange yelling across the terminal, and apparent track meets from one end to the next, Danielle and I simply slid into a "whatever" mindset, relaxing our way into our vacation.