Our first day was mostly a travel day getting to Puerto Rico. All we really did was fly and shop at the world’s worst Walmart. We did have the bonus of being randomly assigned exit row seats for our flight, which was amazing! Our condo was also pretty nice once we found it. As a bonus we overlook a gorgeous marina, so we get to see the water and boats out our windows.
Our first full day started off with an early morning drive to San Juan and snorkel at Escambron beach. We were told that this was the best place to go to see sea turtles, so we were really excited to give it a try! When we arrived, we parked and found a really good spot on the beach. It was kind of windy and not very warm, so we really just wanted to hop in the water as quickly as we could.
The water visibility was not great. The choppy waves really turned everything up, but we did have some amazing experiences with sea turtles! We saw one pretty quickly and got to swim around it for a little bit while it laid on the bottom. Then we moved on and we ended up with another two sea turtles! And just like in Hawaii, one swam up and took a nice big breath right in front of us. We were able to poke our heads up and see him above the water and then go back down underwater as he dove down. He took three breaths at three different times while we all swim around close by. It was so magical!
We did a big lap sort of around the bay and then came in for lunch and to get our dry clothes on. We really had accomplished everything that we wanted, which was basically swim with the sea turtles! Now it was time to move on and start exploring San Juan After a brief lunch on the beach and a quick change in the car, we left our car behind and started walking towards old town.
I’m not sure it was such a good idea to leave the car back at the beach. The walk to old town was really long but more than anything. It was hot! I was dripping with sweat by the time we reached the castle and we were all sort of hangry! lol
The buildings were all sorts of different colors and we even got to see the blue cobblestone streets. The blue bricks came over on ships and were originally used as weight. Eventually, we walked through winding streets to del Morro, the big fortress on the peninsula. My America The Beautiful pass paid off again because we all got in for free! It was very similar to Saint Augustine, practically identical, so we were glad we got in at no cost. There were little rooms that we could go in and cannons pointing out over the water and little windows that we could peek out of. It was fun to walk around and the rooms offered shade, which was nice.
After the Fort, we went to a place called La Factoria that Mark had read about. Mark and Owen got some authentic piña coladas and we enjoyed some air-conditioning for a few minutes. Then we grabbed a bite to eat at a place called the stuffed avocado and it was amazing! Each bowl came with one whole avocado on the bottom and then a type of rice and protein and little toppings. Mark and Owen split a raw salmon and tuna bowl and Kaia and I split a Pork bowl. Then Mark took one for the team and walked back to get the car while the rest of us shopped in the little shops. Then we drove the hour back to our condo and got ready for our trip to Vieques the next day!
