“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” – Maya Angelou
“My pillow at home beckons and I shall lay my tired head and sniff the familiar scent.” – Kaloi
Our last full day yesterday was spent driving around the entire city of San Juan. Ruben (remember the taxi driver who gives false weather forecasts?) by now became our personal chauffeur.
We started driving through the high-end part of the city called Concado. This is where we went to buy bottled waters the other day except we didn’t walk far enough to see the resort casinos and other nice places.
We continued on to Santurce and he dropped us off so Trini and Oya can buy some fruits at La Placita. Ruben explained that the place turns into pulsating musical area pointing at the different bar restaurants. He said the entire area is blocked from vehicles and I can understand why – extremely narrow streets with nowhere to park!
Ruben drove us to his neighborhood and I believe he called it Via Palmeras in Loiza. He stopped by a huge mango tree and tried to pick some of its fruits but they were too high. Trini and Oya were disappointed.
We then drove through a nice neighborhood called Ocean Park and went to a beautiful beach called Playa Piñones in Isla Verde.
We drove through this area where both sides of the road was lined with tiny stalls, it was called Kioskos de Luquillo.
Ruben took us to the public beach – Carolina Beach – where he said there were no Gringos. It was really for the locals and I was not impressed as there were trash strewn all over the place but Ruben told us it’s very popular.
We started to salivate at the delicious aroma of grilled pork and chicken and we followed the smell. We were hungry at this time since it was already past noon. Unfortunately, the barbecue were not ready yet so we ordered the local empanadas (pork or beef wrapped in mashed plantain and deep fried). Ruben told us to try the breaded deep fried bacalao (a type of fish) which was good except it was too salty for my taste. The empanadas were delicious though but you have to wrap it with a napkin to soak up the oil before eating it.
After enjoying our repast Ruben drove us along Torrecilla Baja where all you can see is a long stretch of white sand.
After showing us areas where tourists are seldom found, Ruben dropped us off at our hotel. Oya and Tommy asked Ruben to take them to their favorite place in the world – the casino! They came back after a couple of hours but returned again late in the afternoon to try their luck. Their flight was earlier than ours and the bus were taking them to the airport at 5:30 AM. Our flight is not until 2:30 PM so Trini and I spent our afternoon by the poolside sipping piña coladas watching kids frolicking in the pool. We tried to use the jacuzzi but were permanently occupied by folks enjoying their drinks and chatting with each other.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to those who faithfully followed us in our journey, it really meant so much to me that you would find time to read my sometimes too lengthy blogs. I know there are some who just clicked the “like” button and never read my travelogue but that’s okay too – those “likes” encouraged me to continue writing even when I was too tired and sleepy to do so. My goal was to take you to our vacation vicariously. If one person enjoyed reading my blog (not vlog as some of you indicated, there is a difference), then I have accomplished my goal!
Thank you again and until our next travels….
ADIOS SAN JUAN!
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