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karyn1_gw

OT: Puerto Rico pic heavy

karyn1
13 years ago

We had a wonderful time. I was surprised at how many people didn't speak English. Thank goodness for Jake and Madi. All these years of Spanish classes paid off. lol I didn't care much for San Juan and am glad we didn't stay there. Dorado Beach was gorgeous and the condo we stayed in was beautiful with great views. This was the view off one of the balconies. The resort was on a private cove.

{{gwi:475327}} and the beach was just outside

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The rainforest was beautiful but it was a lot of walking. Not as many flowers or critters as I expected. Mainly heliconias, gingers and bromeliads

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This was the most beautiful tree. It looks like a hibiscus but is huge, a Thespesia grandiflora, the national tree of PR.{{gwi:65401}}

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Lots of fruit trees and mangos are everywhere, kind of like oak trees here. I picked up a bunch of mangos that had dropped by the side of the road. {{gwi:475357}}

Also sapote, cashews, star apples, cacao, breadfruit, papayas and several that I don't know the names of. The food was great.

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The kids had a great time but unlike me they were ready to come home.

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Jake & Madi went zip lining thru the forest. Not me, I'm scared of heights. We met another couple at the zip line place that lives about 30 minutes from us, small world.

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Unfortunately I couldn't schedule a time to visit Montoso Gardens or TARS and didn't ship any plants home. I did help myself to a couple passiflora vines that I found growing and loads of seeds. I didn't see any brugs.

Comments (12)

  • tommysmommy
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow Karyn, now I want to go too. I would've expected to see brugs too. How odd. I would've expected English to be standard too, since P.R. is part of the U.S. What were the temps like this time of year? And what about the water temperature? If I have to gasp to get in, I don't. The fruits look wonderful, I miss that about living in Florida. Welcome back! Glad you had a good time,
    Diane

  • karyn1
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The weather was fantastic, about 85 with low humidity and a nice breeze every day. Even the rainforest wasn't as humid as it is here. The water was very warm, no gasp when you got in. lol Brugs supposedly grow there but I didn't see any. I visited a number of "non touristy" places and almost nobody spoke English in those areas. There were way more Americans on the west coast, lots of transplanted surfer types. I also think that many of the people understood English but didn't speak it. I had the hardest time in the mercado in Rio Piedras which is like a farmers market for the locals and the lechoneras in Guavate (stands where they roast pigs on the weekends). I had to visit those places after seeing them on Bizzare Foods. lol Plenty of PR is just like here with Burger Kings and Walgreens. Outside of the coastal and resort areas much of the island appears fairly low income, similar to other Caribbean islands that I've been to. You have your "haves and have nots". Another thing, they can't drive worth a %@&! over there!!!!!

  • chena
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    AWW!! So nice to have ya back.. Looks like a Wonderful time!!! Great pic's.. That pig looks YUMMY!!!

  • figara
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    WOW Karyn, sounds like a lot of fun. The fruits look yummy and your kids look beautiful. Kyle (hope I did not miss spell his name) always has a big smile on his face.
    Welcome back.
    Pat

  • marquest
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Kayrn, you know I told you I have to go to PR every year for business every December for 2 weeks. Where you stayed was the out islands and they do not speak much english but in San Juan they speak english. Everybody in that area is from New York or want to go to New York. LOL

    I laughed at your observation of their driving. I travel with a group when we do the audits. We all thought we were going to die. We finally discovered it is not that they drive like Sh&&t the problem is they do not give a Sh&&t. LOL

    We have to drive 2 hours every day from San Juan to our destination and those are the worst 2 hours I think in my life.

    I am glad you had a good time. I love PR and I have visited many islands and PR is one of my favorites. But I love San Juan. Especially Old San Juan.

  • kasha77
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Karyn-
    Sounds like a beautiful vacation! Will you adopt me? Please don't mind that I'm older than you- and I can be your children's nanny! All kidding aside, thank you for sharing your experiences, because I'll probably never get a chance to go there!
    Glad to have you back!
    kasha77

  • keriann_lakegeneva
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I will be heading there at the end of July for a wedding.. Hot.. I know! crazy!

    Do you have any tips for me? We are staying in Dorado, which is just west of San Juan. I am really nervous about getting a rental car, but that is really the only way to do it or we will be stuck at our resort. Any tips on getting a car, and how to drive over there?

    We are doing a day trip to the East side of the island and going on a Bio-bay tour. Have you ever done that?

    Let me know

    Thanks

    Keriann~

  • karyn1
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Keriann we stayed in Dorado and I'm so glad that we did. Where are you staying? It's fairly isolated but I like that and the beach that the resort was on was spectacular and not crowded. It was in the mid to upper 80's but was very comfortable. You must have a car if staying in Dorado or you'll be at the mercy of the taxi's which will cost you an arm and a leg to get into town. Just book a rental car before you go and a shuttle will take you from the airport, just like anywhere else. I think we used Avis but all the big companies are there. We brought our GPS but they'll give you directions to wherever you are staying. If you have a GPS I'd bring it or you can rent one with the car. Like I mentioned they are terrible drivers and think nothing of just stopping in the middle of the road! There's plenty of local restaurants in Dorado as well as the fast food places. We had a condo so we went to the grocery store and usually had lunch in the condo or at the pool bar. Schedule the biobay and or the bioluminescent bay tour at least a month before you go. That was our mistake. All the tours were already full when we were there. You also need to make sure that the moon is at a quarter or less when going to the bioluminescent bay. It's not that far from Dorado, maybe an hour. Even the western side of the island, Rincon, Mayaguez, etc is only about 2 hours from Dorado. Have a great trip.

  • keriann_lakegeneva
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you so much for the info!

    We are staying at the Embassy Suites in Dorado. The wedding is there so we don�t really have a choice. Then I am doing a surprise day trip for my hopefully soon to be fianc�! (wish me luck) : ) We will be taking off from Fajardo on the East coast. I hope the drive there is not too bad, I heard it can be up to 3.5 hours with traffic! Then we are doing the Bio-Bay tour that evening out to an island. That should be really romantic. I am so glad you said there is local cuisine close to Dorado, I love to eat and spend time with the locals when I am on vacation. Much better than going to a transplanted American restaurant!

    Thanks so much for the tips! I have the Bio-Bay tour secured, catamaran day trip secured and am booking a car this week. I think I am all set�..

    Any other hints/tips for Dorado or the drive over to Fajardo?

    Thanks so much

    Keriann~

  • karyn1
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Keriann I sent you an email instead of boring everyone here. BTW I forgot to wish you luck. Hope it works out. It's certainly romantic though traveling with 3 kids....well. lol

  • sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish)
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Awesome photos! It looks like everyone had a blast. Your kids are so cute and growing up so fast!! Too bad you didnt get to see any brugs but those other beauties make up for it!

  • eloise_ca
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Glad you and your family had a great time in PR, Karyn! Love the jungle/tropical landscape.