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

Puerto Rico Day #1

We arrived in Puerto Rico late last night (Saturday at 9:30).  We hopped in a cab and made our way to Old San Juan.  We are staying in a guest house called Caleta 64 which came very highly recommended on Trip Advisor and is just around the corner from Hotel Convento (also highly recommended on Trip Advisor).  It is a building with 3 different apartments.  Ours is street-level.  Downstairs is the kitchen/dining/family room and upstairs is a queen bed and bathroom.  There are huge doors on the front that directly look out on the street.  Our suite is called La Puerta.  http://www.caleta64.com/

Once we arrived and checked in we decided to take a walk in the neighborhood.  The cathedral is just up the street and many swanky shops that probably cater to cruise ship passengers.  We found a really fun cocktail and tapas place called Mezzanine which is above St. Germain  They had inventive cocktails and a fun tapas menu.  We got black bean hummus and pigeon pea escabeche which was absolutely delicious.  The place had a totally cool vibe with black and white tile, comfortable upholstered chairs (like you would find in a living room) and little end tables to eat on.  This picture is very dark and grainy, sorry.

On the walk home we saw the local United Methodist church and joked about attending the next morning...

What followed was not a stellar night's sleep.  The air was turned up high (thanks Ryan), the bed was hard, and the street was noisy. At some point a car alarm was going off and I was stumbling around in the dark, trying to avoid tripping over charging cords and trying to make the horrible sound stop.  It took me a while to become conscious enough to realize that it was coming from outside.  Needless to say it was a slow start to the morning.  We went for a walk, grabbed some lunch (at Subway of all places), and then went on a 2 hour Segway tour led by Jose.  http://www.segwaytourspr.com/ 

There are cats everywhere in Old San Juan. They lay on the sidewalk, under cars, in doorways. People leave food and water out for them.  They are feral and controversial.

This is the view down our street - Caleta de San Juan.  Old San Juan is super-charming with narrow cobblestone streets and really old 16th and 17th century houses with brightly colored paint.  Reminds me of little villages in Europe.

Puerto Rico was first explored by Columbus in 1493 during his second voyage to the New World.  He called the land San Juan de Bautista after St. John the Baptist.  Juan Ponce de Leon (of St. Augustine fame), who called the area "Puerto Rico" which means rich port, was appointed governor of the island in 1508 but it was in a different area.  The city as it is seen today was founded in 1521.  Eventually (in the 1520's) the island came to be known as Puerto Rico and the city as San Juan.

The highlight of the day was our segway tour.  This is Christy's 2nd Segway tour (also did Washington D.C.) and Ryan's 3rd (he also did Chicago).  Segways are a great way to see a city.  They are pretty intuitive to ride, you are right in front of all that you want to see (no getting off a bus to get a closer look), and you can go farther than you can on a walking tour.

We saw all kinds of sights, including El Morro Fort.  This is a Fort that was built over a period of 250 years as a primary way to defend the Caribbean (since Puerto Rico is the easternmost of the Caribbean Islands it was the first island that invaders would encounter).  El Morro sits atop a hill at the mouth to the San Juan Bay and thus provided good defense.  It was even used during WWII by the Americans to look for German U-Boats.  The views are amazing from up here.

This was the view from the ladies' room - no kidding!

The fort has 6 different levels, rises 140 feet above sea level, and has walls that are 18 feet thick.  It is primarily built of limestone.  There is a network of underground tunnels, a water collection system, and lots of "garitas" or sentry boxes that have become a national symbol.  It withstood attacks from England, France, and the Dutch.  

We also went to Fort San Cristobal which is another fort a little farther east.  It was similar to El Morro.  Along the way we saw Plazuela de la Rogative (plaza of the procession) which was built in 1971. It commemorates an event that took place in 1797.  A fleet of British ships under Sir Ralph Abercrombie , having failed to take the city, undertook a naval blockade and were attempting to starve the citizens.  The citizens were getting desperate so the governor ordered a rogativa, or divine entreaty, to ask the saints for help.  The women of the town formed a procession where they carried torches and rang bells.  When the British saw the lights and heard the noise, they thought reinforcements had arrived and sailed away!

Puerto Rico has been a territory of the United States since the US won the Spanish-American War in 1898 (Spain gave us Cuba, Guam, and Puerto Rico).  That means that people here are citizens of the US but have no political voice.  They are not allowed to vote in presidential elections and have no representatives in Congress.  They have their own governor and legislature.  They serve in the US military and use the US dollar for currency.  They do not pay federal income tax.  In November 2012 they voted for the first time (by 61%) to become the 51st state of the United States.  However, that referendum was non-binding and has no legal weight.  In order for a territory to become a state, it has to be passed by Congress by a 2/3 vote.  This will be very hard to achieve because big pharma has such a presence on the island and has a very vested interest in avoiding taxes.

Dinner was at this amazing restaurant called Marmalade.  We had the 4 course tasting menu paired with wine.  As usual we split each course so it was really like having 8 courses!  To start we had popcorn shrimp (nothing like what you are thinking - there was delicious shrimp served on top to popcorn) and a beet salad.  The second course was a truffle pappardelle and a Caprese pasta (a gluten-free pasta made from sun-dried tomatoes).  The third course was a swordfish (this was just okay) and a pork cheek that was awesome.  Dessert was beignets dunked in a chocolate raspberry concoction and a butterscotch bread pudding that was unbelievable.

Just inside Marmalade

After dinner we stopped at a little place just a few doors up from where we are staying - Trianna.  Ryan enjoyed a few Black Russians.  I had a coconut rum and coke (forgot how that tastes like sunscreen) and then a glass of sangria (forgot I don't really like sangria).  On the way home Ryan picked up a few cats for me to pet.  You may remember that I am afraid of cats and drawn to them at the same time.  I don't trust an animal that may strike out with lightning-quick clawed feet without much in the way of warning.

Tomorrow there will be ziplining.  Trying to ignore my fear of heights....