Christmas 2015 Puerto Rico

I have gone home the last 2 Christmases and it has been really cold!  So this year I decided to go on a Caribbean Cruise and spend some time in Puerto Rico.

On the Sunday that the cruise left I explored San Juan on foot a bit.  I saw both forts - Castillo San Felipe del Morro and Castillo San Cristobal.  I wandered around in the shops and found a great store that only sells items made in Puerto Rico.  I got some great art and some Christmas ornaments.  Puerto Rico Celebrate January 6th, the Epiphany, as much as Christmas.  I got a beautiful carving of the three kings and there were displays of the kings and the nativity everywhere.

The sunday I got back from the cruise, I went on an old San Juan walking food tour which was awesome.

mofongo!

I went to Fajardo and went Kayaking at night in bioluminescent bay .  It was still kinda light when we kayaked through the canal surrounded by mangroves.  We were in tandem kayaks and since I was alone, I got to kayak with one of the guides, Omar.  He looked a lot like Shemar Moore only younger.  He gave me a lot of info on the mangroves and the bay.  On the way back it was PITCH BLACK.  I got clotheslined by a few branches.  It was a little scary kayaking on the open bay at night and I would have been freaked if a guide wasn't with me.  It was New Year's Eve and we were worried the traffic would be a nightmare going back to San Juan, but it was surprisingly quiet.

I went to the El Yunque Forest one day and to Luquillo beach.   The forest was great.  I got to go on a 1.5 mile hike and saw some great plants.  Some friends came later in the week and I got to go to El Yunque Forest again and see a different part of it.

A lady asked if I wanted her to take my picture.  I told her it was the first picture with me in it on this whole trip and that I rarely get photos of myself.  She took the picture then said "you should take more picture with you in them, you have a beautiful smile"  so sweet!

These leaves were huge and they were white underneath.  They turn over when it is going to rain so the trees look white.

I stayed in the Hotel Plaza de Armas.  It was right in the middle of Old San Juan and there was always music playing or something going on in the Plaza de Armas.  It was in a good location and the people were helpful getting me tours.  but the place was really damp.  When you are in a tropical place, it is best to have central AC to keep the dampness out.  If you don't have central AC then fans are a must.  This place had neither.  There was a wall AC that did not work well and was SUPER loud so I rarely ran it.  All my clothes smelled.  On the second to last night, the ceiling in my bathroom started leaking so they moved me to a new room on the last night.  The AC was a bit quieter and it was a little less damp, but the damage was done.  I had a nasty cough and mucus in my lungs.  With my lupus it is going to take a month to get rid of it!  On January 1st, I moved to the Courtyard Marriott on Isla Verde.  It is a lovely beach resort on the nicest beach I saw Puerto Rico.  It is far from Old San Juan (a $25 cab ride) so I think it is nice to stay in the two different places like I did.  Stay in Old San Juan and do all your exploring, then stay at the beach and just relax.  My room was great, there was central AC and the view was beautiful.

I missed my girls!

For Christmas 2011, I went with my friend Gretchen to Israel.  There was a family from Indiana on the trip with us and I have kept in touch with them.  We have tried to catch up with each other on other trips, but it hasn't worked out.  for this Christmas, I was trying to figure out whether to go to Puerto Rico or Costa Rica.  Joyce messaged me one day and said they were going to Puerto Rico the first part of January.  That helped me make my decision!  It was fun to catch up with them.

Aaron, Joyce, me, Bill