Puerto Rico: Rum, Sea, and History, Summer 2024 - Day 1

Thursday - A Whole Lotta Travel

Cataño and Old San Juan from above

Got up at OMG O'clock to make our 5:40 AM flight - IND (Indianapolis) to TPA (Tampa) to SJU (San Juan, Puerto Rico). Goal was to nap at least during that first leg, which I mostly achieved. Spent more time looking out the window the second leg as we were flying over the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, and other beautiful islands. Landed in San Juan to applause - this is apparently a tradition on flights to the island!

Once we landed, because there must be At Least One Thing which Frazzles Me Greatly on every trip -- my phone wouldn't connect to cell service -- at all. Toph's was barely connected, but mine was a Very Expensive Paperweight. Guess who had ALL her reservations, documents, etc. in her email? Guess what airport did not seem to have wifi available in the baggage area? Guess what you can't get to via Toph's phone when your two-factor authentication is pointing to your not-connected phone? Guess who about expired of a panic attack on the spot? Finally found customer service number for Verizon and got through to them via Toph's spotty connection long enough to discover it Wasn't Just Me. While cell service in Puerto Rico is covered by your domestic plan (at least for Verizon) and doesn't require purchase of an international plan, it still goes through their international roaming network, which was apparently on about hour 24 of Massive but Intermittent Failure at that point. (Once I had service again, I saw a large number of freaked-out international travellers on social media who'd been stranded all over the globe, so I had company in my panic!)

Anyway, we had driving to do and another plane to catch, so I gave up on connection and we headed to pick up our car. Fortunately that just needed my ID. Also fortunately, I had downloaded offline Google Maps for the areas we were going to be in, so I could still navigate. (Lesson learned: next time I download and maybe also print off all my reservation confirmations, Just In Case.)

So with hopes that we wouldn't get entirely lost, we headed east away from the San Juan airport, towards the much smaller airport in Ceiba. Parked in the secure lot there with the biggest part of our luggage in the trunk, taking far less with us to Vieques since there was a 25 lb limit per person. A quick and easy wait in a very, very tiny airport - then a quick and easy (if loud!) flight in a very, very tiny airplane! (6 person plane!) And perhaps 15 minutes later, we were in Vieques.

Vieques is a tiny island - with neighboring island Cuelebra, they are sometimes referred to as the Spanish Virgin Islands. Despite being tiny, it's best to rent a vehicle as there are some "publicos" (kind of a cross between an Uber and a taxi - freelance drivers) but you can't guarantee one will be available when you need one, so for the best exploring experience, rent a car. Maritza's was the one recommended in most forums and we had a good experience with them. They only have 3 options - a Jeep, a Bronco, or a Kia Soul. While a Jeep would have been fun, we were only on the island for a day and a half, so didn't seem necessary, so Kia it was.

Vieques doesn't actually have more horses than people, but it almost seems that way! Human population is about 9000 (so about the size of the town I grew up in!), and horses are estimated at probably 1000. They are also not actually fully feral, but they are definitely free-range and ubiquitous. We managed to dodge all in our path, and made it to our hotel.

Malecón House is a gorgeous 13-room boutique hotel on the malecón (waterfront) of Esperanza, a tiny town on the south of Vieques. Here, we got our first direct view of the blue, blue water of the Caribbean Sea, and checked in to our lovely room. I missed getting a photo of the room itself so stole a couple from their website of what I'm pretty sure was exactly our room. After some time exploring the lovely grounds of our house, we were back out to explore the small-m malecón and find some dinner!

Ended up at Bananas for dinner, and the beginnings of exploring Puerto Rican food and drink. We split an order of Carne Frita (fried meat - really pork) and extra tostones (mashed-and-fried plantain patties) and (not pictured) amarillos (sweet plantains), and all were delicious! Also not pictured, our drinks: Toph tried their house sangria, which was as advertised. I was delighted by the Viequense, a mix of fruit juice, coco lopez, amaretto, and (of course Puerto Rican) rum, which had just the right combination of tart and sweet to be refreshing and not cloying!

Afterwards, we wandered down to Lazy Jacks for another couple of drinks (also not pictured! What was I doing? I know - drinking ) - in this case, several varieties of painkillers, which were delicious. We also got to try Don Q Passionfruit rum, which I loved so much that I got a bottle later to take home with us. Lazy Jacks was absolutely our kind of place and we both agreed we already knew we'd be happy to come back to Vieques for lazy hanging out like this again.

And best of all, I got to end the evening seeing the Southern Cross yet again, this time over the Caribbean. That's three years in a row, over 3 different oceans (the Pacific, the Atlantic, and the Caribbean)! I'd love to make this an annual tradition.Finally, a last nightcap in the room, purchased from the honor bar in the hotel lobby, of the ubiquitous and ever-present Puerto Rican beer, Medalla. I adore Puerto Rico, but hope I don't have to drink Medalla in order to return. It's fine, it's just plain ol' beer, and given my druthers I'd rather have a rum drink!

A long day, but despite stressors, all's well that ends well, and this one ended beautifully.

TL;DR PICTURES

We've reached Puerto Rico! Here's a zoom in on El Morro, the fort in Old San Juan initially constructed in 1539!

On the road! You very quickly learn the Spanish words you need for driving, like "Salida" for "Exit".
Some things are familiar - like McDonalds billboards. Others are unfamiliar - like the beautiful bright orange flamboyan tree.

La Frutera was a lovely stop for delicious piña colada smoothies - no rum yet; we're still in travel mode! And some coconut candy just for fun. (Not shown in the paper bags - some not-terribly-impressive empanadillas. I'll recommend their smoothies, not their food.)

The Ceiba airport is TINY. The trip to Vieques is in the smallest plane I've ever been in, and the shortest flight too!

"Bienvenidos", welcome!

We got our car from Maritza's Car Rental -- they pick you up from the airport via shuttle.

Once on the road, we confirmed what I had read during planning: there are horses everywhere in Vieques! Beware, they do not follow traffic laws! :) 

Also, everywhere you turn in Puerto Rico, there is art, including on Vieques.

Loved our stay at Malecón House. Here's the beautiful view of the Caribbean from the roof.

The views from the malecón (boardwalk) of Esperanza are breathtaking.

Carne Frita (fried pork) and tostones (mashed-and-fried plantain patties) from Bananas restaurant, yum!

Enjoyed some drinks at Lazy Jacks bar - rum, yum! A laid-back, quirky atmosphere (and bar signs) that we appreciated. 🙂

Ended the lovely first day with a view of my favorite constellation (because I can't see it normally): the Southern Cross, with Alpha and Beta Centauri gleaming close by! Note that the water looks red because many Puerto Rican shorelines use red lighting, so as not to interrupt the nesting habits of sea turtles.

(You can return to the index to see another day's post, here: Puerto Rico 2024 Index )