Living in Puerto Rico: Week 4 Check-in

Has it been a month already?! The last 4 weeks of our new life here in Puerto Rico have been such a whirlwind ride, it’s time for some R&R! We drove to the other side of the island and checked into the beautiful Las Casitas Resort in Fajardo. It’s a village of cliffside villas nestled within the El Conquistador property and is part of the Waldorf Astoria hotel collection, so it’s definitely a splurge.  A little mix-up with our reservation resulted in an upgrade to a 3-room villa with a full view of the ocean— definitely a good sign for the new year!

This view was enough to keep this traveling brood in one place (for a change!).  We spent the rest of our day just chillin’ by the infinity pool and jacuzzi overlooking the Atlantic ocean and Isla Palominos, a private island owned by El Conquistador. Normally, we have to pull the kids out of the pool, but this time around, they were trying to get us to leave— tough job!

When we finally pried ourselves away from the comforts of Las Casitas, we headed over to the crown jewel of Puerto Rico’s natural attractions, the El Yunque rainforest.  Rain was definitely part of our day as we trekked down slippery slopes to the La Mina Falls.  It’s a .7 mile steep hike to the falls— strenuous for sure, but if my sister and her 8-month-old baby can do it, so can you ?  (This was our mantra for the other kids when they were about to complain!)

By the time we got to the falls, Dylan wasn’t in a good mood as he had slipped a couple of times in the rain.  Not even the sight of cool, flowing waters could calm him down— so we had a little heart-to-heart talk.  We asked him — “Would you turn your back on the waterfalls and go home upset and tired, OR would you rather forget your worries, take the leap and swim to the falls?” Happy to report that our little dude went for it, with Ninong Anthony guiding him and a whole crew cheering him on! Proof that weekend excursions are growth opportunities! Rock on, buddy!

After Fajardo, it was time for a different adventure.  We drove inland and up the mountains to try our other favorite Puerto Rican export — coffee!  We ended up in the town of Ciales and visited El Museo del Cafe, a small private museum that highlighted Puerto Rico’s 280-year-old coffee history.  We were fortunate enough to have the owners, Mercedita and her son, Pedro, give us a personal tour of the museum as well as show us their roasting process, featuring 100% Puerto Rican coffee beans from Don Pello!

We then drove higher up the mountains and followed the aroma of freshly, grilled BBQ.  Popping out of nowhere, was Asao Smokehouse, which was surprisingly packed to the brim.  So this is where the locals go for their BBQ fix!  It was definitely a mecca for carnivore aficionados, and we went all out with smoked lechon and a 2.5-lb. cowboy steak!

Since we already went this far inland, we figured — why not just go through the mountains to the southern tip of the island?  Easier said then done… it was a dizzying, downhill, zigzag ride through narrow roads to get to Ponce — thank you, Human Nature, for the peppermint-eucalyptus soothing balm to calm our nausea!  We made it without any “accidents” in time to catch the sunset at the La Guancha boardwalk.

Ok, it’s almost the end of the week, and time to say goodbye to our beloved visitors from TDot.  What better farewell than to bring them to a favorite hangout for locals and tourists alike?  Castillo San Felipe del Morro in Old San Juan is not just a historic citadel, it’s also a popular spot for families to spend their weekend afternoons flying kites.  We joined in on the fun and brought our flimsy, yet determined kites out.  As we relished the kids’ laughter after finally getting the kites up, we reminisced our time together over the holidays.  Thank you for a wonderful first month, Puerto Rico!