Puerto Rico Day 2

On Monday we got up early again to get picked up by EcoQuest for a ziplining tour.  There is a large parcel of land to the east of San Juan (but only like 15 minutes away) that is owned by the largest land developer in Puerto Rico.  Turns out it is lowlands with mangroves (I guess similar to wetlands in the US) so it is protected land and can not be developed.  Still wanting to make money, they grow some crops and then lease the land to this adventure company.  Our tour consisted of 6 ziplines and like 5-6 suspended footbridges.  We were joined by a nice lesbian couple from Ventura, California, an older couple from Houston,  and 2 young Asian couples from Houston (weird coincidence).  We had 2 guides – Luigi (?Italian) and Kim from Canada (British Columbia I think).  We got all harnessed up and then paddled across a small pond in kayaks.  

I was a little worried because I have had a little fear of heights/ladders in the past.  One thing that helped is the knowledge that this activity has to be pretty safe or a company wouldn’t expose themselves to the risk of being in the business.  As you can see from the crotch-hugging going on in that picture the harnesses are pretty tight and you are securely clipped to two different huge cables. 

 I also think I have more faith in my body and it’s ability to do stuff after taking up running and yoga.  The footbridges were no big deal and the ziplines were exhilarating.   As Joe Rogan would say – fear was not a factor for me.

Here is video that Ryan shot of me coming into a station and a video that Ryan shot while traveling on the slowest zip line that we did:

Here we are at the end of our adventure.

We were supposed to be treated to an authentic Puerto Rican feast at the end of our adventure but the cook had called in sick so that part was canceled.  We were bemoaning this to our driver on the way back to OSJ and he told us about a great little hole in the wall called El Jibarito (which translates to Hillbilly in English!).  We split an order of pastelles filled with pork.  They are basically like a tamale only wrapped in plantain leaf instead of corn husk.  We also had a mofongo made with plantains and yucca (it was like a deep-fried sweet thing – tasted like a funnel cake with the texture of a hush puppy.  We also had some red beans and rice.  Puerto Ricans don’t like any heat in their food and everything is just kind of bland and mushy.  Now I can say I’ve tried Puerto Rican food but I don’t think I’m really a fan.

Sampling some of the local brew!

The San Juan Cathedral is literally at the top of our street so we wandered in after we had gone home to shower.  Construction began in 1521 and it is the second oldest cathedral in the Western Hemisphere.  The original structure was damaged by hurricanes and the current cathedral is the result of a restoration that was done in 1917.  Ponce de Leon is buried there.

Next we hopped on the ferry to Catona (fare is $0.50 each way) to catch the Bacardi Distillary Tour.  It is so popular that taxi drivers wait on the other side and round you up into 12 passenger vans at $3 per person to take you there.  There is a beautiful outdoor tasting area and the tour is free.  

Tasting area

You get 2 drink tickets each and they will make you whatever you want (well if you want a Mojito or a Daquiri you must pay $10 at the cash bar).  We tipped the bartender with our first drink so he returned out tickets to us.  First Ryan had Bacardi Torched Cherry with Coke and I had Black Razz with Sprite.  Mine was too sweet (since I don’t drink soda anymore it tastes kind of gross).  Next Ryan sipped an 8 year aged rum which was smoky and awful.  I had a delicious concoction of Dragon Fruit, club soda, and a splash of cranberry juice.

Then it was time to board the tram for the tour.  We learned the history of the Bacardi family.  Facundo Bacardi began in Santiago de Cuba (he was Spanish) in 1843 by opening a shop where he sold imported goods, including liquor..  Pirates in the area were the first to make rum (distilled from sugar cane) but it was terrible and called Kill Devil Rum.  Bacardi refused to sell such inferior drink.  In 1852 a hurricane wiped out the entire city and a cholera epidemic forced he and his family to return to Spain.  He came back to Santiago and started another business (which failed) and then decided to try to make better rum.  He teamed up with a French guy who was a distiller of cognac and together they perfected a technique with a special yeast and charcoal filtration that resulted in the Bacardi we know today.   In the first distillery that they purchased, there was a family of fruit bats living up in the celing.  Bats are considered to be a symbol of prosperity, good health, and united family in Spain so Bacardi’s wife suggested they adopt this as their symbol.  The bat is still used today.  Bacardi moved out of Cuba when the Communists took over their business.  Today the headquarters is in the Bahamas.  Ryan was a little disappointed that the tour didn’t show any of the working factory.

By the time we took the ferry back we were too late to pick up our rental car.  That means a later start tomorrow than we wanted for hiking in El Yunque.  We had the perfect place picked out for dinner but it was closed on Mondays so we went to a nice looking place up the street.  The most notable thing about that meal was this cat that was just chilling on the floor as we left – total relaxation.

Good Night