Puerto Rico, Here We Come!

So ….if you’ve been reading my blogs, you know my daughters and I met our new friend, Jose, during a great night of dancing on the BVI island of Tortola. He invited us to stay at his empty home in San Juan “anytime” because he primarily lives on the sailboat where he gives sailing lessons in Fajardo. At first, we were hesitant to take him up on his offer. What strings would be attached???? My Michelle ,who speaks fluent Spanish, told him “we are not sleeping with you, if that’s what you think!” 😂😂😂. He was astonished we would think such a thing but , hey, we were not used to such generosity from a practical stranger! He assured us he was just offering it straight from the heart and wanted us to experience Puerto Rico. With that said, we could not refuse such an offer and went for a little vacation!

We flew in, immediately got a rental car and headed to Jose’s home. Such a nice large 4-bedroom townhome! We plop down our bags, don’t unpack but rush out the door to visit the Old San Juan district. Old San Juan is the oldest and most historic settlement on Puerto Rico. But before we did any exploring, we were hungry and decided to duck into a bar/ restaurant and found 3 stools available at the bar.

I end up sitting next to a nice looking man who is eating fish tacos. I asked him if they were any good and he proceeds to hand me one to take a taste😳 “okayyyyyy”, I said and it was utterly delicious! Molly then turns and whispers in my ear, “What are you doing, crazy?!?!” Ha! Ha! Ha! The man and I have an interesting conversation. I ask him if he lives in Puerto Rico or is a visitor since he clearly doesn’t look like a native, possibly an expat. He replies that he has a vacation home in Puerto Rico and then he looks at me suspiciously and asks if I’m with the IRS or something. I said, “Oh yes, my two daughters are my cover” and burst out laughing! Who asks a question like that?? He explains he’s there to golf in a high stakes private golf tournament, the prize $100,000. Only 10 golfers bringing $10,000 in cash each to supply the winning pot.💰Holy cannolis, that’s a lot of betting money!!! We talk golf for awhile then the conversation turns to politics and he asks me what I think of Donald Trump making a bid to be the Republican candidate for the 2017 presidential election. I let out a little smirk and replied, “ Clearly, he’s not a stupid man when it comes to finance because he has built a small empire ( regardless off of whose backs) but in the area of national and international diplomacy, he would be a DISASTER!!” This man proceeds to tell me that he has met with Donald Trump and found him to be more intellectual than he had first conceived of the man. We agreed to disagree and left it at that. After our meal ( yes, I ordered the fish tacos) and our conversation, he hands me his card and said if I was ever in Puerto Rico again to give him a call. I looked down at his card and he is the managing director for an international trade, finance and logistics company with offices in Washington , Toronto, Beijing and Riyadh. Hmmmm…. well, proud I was able to hold my own!😉

The girls and I move on to walk the streets of Old San Juan. Having been to Spain many years ago I recognized the Spanish influence in the architecture and so I had to research it a little.

In 1508 , Juan Ponce de Leon of Spain founded the first settlement on Puerto Rico. Until then, the indigenous Taino were the principal inhabitants, much like the Virgin Islands and thought to have originated from South America. At first, the leader of the Taino people had struck a deal with the Spaniards to let them settle on Puerto Rico but subsequent leaders felt the Spaniards were displacing their people and revolted. The Spanish built a fortress and wall to defend their settlement and, once again, as we’ve seen over and over in history…those with the bigger guns win.

We walk the streets taking in the beauty of Old San Juan. Puerto Rico decided many years ago to preserve this section of San Juan to keep it a historical site. I absolutely loved it! Hopefully, these pictures capture the feel of being there.

As we were walking the streets, I became obsessed with the different doors of the residents there. When Michelle lived in Spain many years ago, I had visited her and remarked about the doors in Spain and how different and interesting they were and shot many rolls of film intending to make a poster calling it ‘The Doors of Spain”. Of course, I never got around to doing it and since then others with the same door obsession created posters for sale. Ah well…..anyway, here’s a few I snapped in Old San Juan.

As the sun begins to set , we walk back to our car to check out the nightlife near the townhome in greater San Juan.

Yay, we find street dancing!!! 💃 We are a family that LOVES dancing! (Okay, maybe Molly not so much😬 but she indulges us)

Why, oh, why don’t we have this in the states?? People gathering in the streets and conversing and enjoying each other’s company. I feel like people are so isolated in the states… staying in their homes,even prior to Covid, and occasionally going out for dinner but not meeting anyone new. No wonder young (and old) suffer from depression! As much as I love Zoom and Facebook as it tries to connect friends, there’s a whole world of people out there we have not met.

After our long day, we make it back to Jose’s home. So grateful for his trust in us to allow us to have this Puerto Rico experience!

Tomorrow, (and next blog) El Yunque !!! Puerto Rico’s rainforest 🥰