Puerto Rico

Our first destination was Puerto Rico! Dave served his mission here and the two of us have wanted to travel there for many years. My first impression of the island was it's size! From the map, it looks tiny! However, in person, the island seems to extend quite far to the left and right. We considered renting a car or paying a driver to take us to the rain forest. However, as our time was limited, we opted to visit the city of Old San Juan and the old forts. No need for a group tour as Dave was our guide! Hindsight, this was a fantiastic decision. We began our journey by walking up toward the old fort. Along the way we saw a Christopher Columbus monument and some beautiful architecture! After a 15 minute walk, we noticed a trolley that serves the city. We hopped on only to learn that it was on its way down to the port before returning back to the fort. This meant we drove past all the sights we had just seen, dropped off a few patrons and then returned to the fort! Oh well, the scenery was enjoyable and we definately could use the exercise after being on the cruise ship for 2 days!

We loved our tour of Fort San Cristobal and El Moro! The scenery from the top was breathtaking!

As these forts are ran by the National Parks Department, they have a junior ranger program at the park. Kierstin and Steven completed the workbooks which required them to answer questions concering the two forts and then take an oath to finalize their junior ranger status. It sure is a good thing Dave reads spanish fluently as the books are written only in Spanish!

How can you resist running in such a beautiful open area? Dave said that before Hurrican Hugo, this area, especially, the walkway leading to the fort, was lined with palm trees. Being at this location, you can see all around the city and the island. You truly have a feeling of being at the top of the world!

After our tour of the forts, we walked only 5 minutes away to where we planned dinner. Dave asked a few locals where the best place to eat. After 2 gave the same response, we trusted their opinion and headed to a restaurant that specializes in "campo" or countryside food. We ordered a variety of dishes and ate family style. Our first selection were tamales which were delicious! These were much like a Mexican tamale but instead of having a corn meal exterior, it was something else delicious, filled with beef. We also tried Veal Stew which David LOVED. Bread fruit which is very similar to fried green plantains. However, this restaurant had a divine butter and garlic sauce for dipping. We also tried roasted pork which was flavorless, and some roasted chicken which was ok. Their beans and rice were delightful! These are very similar to the traditional Cuban black beans and rice. However, Puerto Ricans use red beans as the base instead of black. Dave was delighted to see the traditional salad on the plates. This consists of a few lettuce leaves and a slice of tomato. I guess, some things really don't change. Of course, the traditional thousand island and italian dressings were on the table. After our meal, we were stuffed but, we had to try the flan! I don't usually enjoy flan, however, this one was not too sweet and very light! A favorite drink from Dave's mission years is Champagne Cola. No, there is no caffeine or alcohol in this variety! He was delighted to see it in the fridge at the restaurant and of course, drank it for dinner!

After dinner, we continued our tour through the city. We stopped in a few shops and meandered until time to return to the ship. The kids and I were immediately impressed with how similar the construction and city looked like Penang. In fact, both David and Jessica commented that they felt like they were "home." Many of the homes are built of concrete with iron bars for the windows. The streets are very narrow with towering building on either side. Furthermore, the homes are mixed in alongside with the businesses. Often, the business owner would live above his/her shop. We were delighted with how cool the air temperature was! We could understand why there was no need for air conditioning in the homes. One distinct difference that we all agreed on was the distint lack of motor scooters in Puerto Rico compared to Penang!