Well, it's midnight and I'm sitting in a beach chair on the rooftop of a hostel, accompanied by somebody's black puppy, listening to the music from the venue next door wafting over on the breeze, smelling the salt air and watching the occasional passer-by. It's been a long day, but somehow, I'm not quite sleepy yet.
My friend Anna's parents spend a lot of time in Puerto Rico and love the place like a second home; we've often talked about coming down and hanging out with them for awhile, and now, we've finally done it. Starting today, it's time to make this little island's acquaintance.
If there's one refrain that repeats itself when Bill and Kim (Anna's parents) sing Puerto Rico's praises, it's the warm-hearted, fun-loving nature of the island's inhabitants. That may or may not be the case; time will very soon tell. I've had a couple of clues already, though - the guy who spontaneously danced a jig while waiting in line behind me to board the plane, and the entire back of the plane breaking into applause as we touched down... neither are occurrences I've observed elsewhere. I like this.
The flight over was exceptionally nice. Instead of having to overcome my personal space issues by being crammed into a six-inch space between two other human beings of varying sizes, I was so happy to get a window seat - a rare treat. Too, this time, it meant I got to watch the island come into view - the sun had just set and I could see land, carpeted with twinkling lights, surrounded by the mysterious dark of the ocean. It was beautiful. I was an idiot and didn't take any pictures. I'm determined to do better starting tomorrow.
We disembarked and I immediately felt like I'd entered a different country. Well, the same, and different. All of the signs in the airport were bilingual and it was reasonably easy to negotiate baggage claims and passenger pick-up, but once we left the premises, it became immediately clear that we weren't in Kansas anymore. Thank goodness, Bill and Kim were there to take us under their wing, because yours truly was very rapidly shrinking into a timid little chickie. Bill drove us over to the car rental agency and helped us navigate that whole thing, kicked our bumper to test for duct-tape-and-baling-wire contingencies, and then led us to a place of nourishment. Also, thank goodness for those two semesters of college Spanish I took. Thanks to them, I'm not having too much trouble navigating road signs and store displays, but there just isn't much English out and about. On the bright side, my feminine confidence is soaring. I haven't been this thoroughly checked out by this many males...ever? At the moment, I'm somewhere on the spectrum between feeling flattered and like a piece of meat.
Anyway, Bill and Kim led us (via a tortuously complicated route through a maze of narrow roads populated by screeching traffic) to Sweet Anne Cakes. We arrived just before closing time, so our waitress came over and told us what we could eat - pork? chicken? turkey? rice? yes, I can get you some vegetables... Anna ordered some chicken and vegetables and I ordered some pork and rice and beans, which were starchy and protein-y and thoroughly hit the spot. Bill and Kim watched us eat for a bit, and then we raided the pastry cases and chased that down with delicious Puerto Rican coffee.
Anna needed her almonds and bananas and dried fruit (the girl is a machine), so Bill led us to Super Max (Puerto Rico's ubiquitous grocery chain) and she shopped while I trailed around, fascinated by everything I saw - plenty of familiar items, and plenty more that they don't stock in my neck of the woods. Gets those curious juices flowing, it does...
Then it was goodbye to our protectors and Anna and I struck out for Fajardo, which is where we spend the night tonight. By this time, I was pretty tightly wound, with the whole traffic and language thing - I won't deny I was a little nervous watching them disappear. It was funny, though; once I successfully navigated San Juan traffic and got out on the open road, I got my groove back and things went from scary back to exciting. We made it to Fajardo, although I was bummed that it was dark and I couldn't see anything...
And now, after a lengthy chat with the Puerto Rican-via-the-Bronx parking lot attendant (I start to see what Kim means about these island people), we are safely installed in our hostel for the night. I'm sleeping in the top bunk for the first time in a very long time. I expect to sleep pretty well. And then we're up tomorrow morning at 5:30 to make the ferry to Culebra, where we'll spend a day or two snorkeling and spearfishing and exploring and...camping! Good stuff in store...
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