Tag: travelblogger

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Puerto Rico Must-Do Experiences and Adventures

We’ve lived in Puerto Rico for only two months, and already a number of friends, and friends of friends, have reached out to us looking for recommendations or advice for visiting the island. I realize no one has time to go through our whole travel blog in search of ideas on what to do or see on La Isla del Encanto.

So if you’re coming to Puerto Rico and staying around the capital San Juan, here are a few of our favorite things to do, see and experience!

Urban Beaches

If you’re staying in San Juan, you will enjoy Isla Verde Beach, with its wide swath of sand and crashing waves. Ocean Park Beach is quirky and fun, but difficult to access unless you’re staying close by. We also recommend Balneario Carolina, or Carolina Public Beach, just east of Isla Verde, which features bathrooms, showers, shade trees, and beach bars. Admission is free, and parking is just $4. The sand is soft, the waves are gentle, and you can while away an afternoon in a beach chair with a mojito in hand while watching jets take off from and land at San Juan International Airport, right behind you.

Stroll west down the sand and enjoy lunch or dinner at Ocean Lab Brewing Company, which serves up really good pub food and a variety of craft brews on a large open balcony facing the ocean and the beach club below. (Make sure you enter from the street side; the beachside door is for members only.) Don’t miss the gift shop!

Balneario de Carolina: https://www.discoverpuertorico.com/profile/balneario-de-carolina/7704

Ocean Lab Brewing: https://oceanlabbrewery.com/

Urban Snorkeling

You can snorkel for sea turtles at Escambron Beach on Puerto de Tierra in San Juan. It’s not the best snorkeling on the island by any stretch, but it’s convenient if you’re staying in San Juan. And the chances of seeing a sea turtle are high!

Scuba Dogs Dive Shop (for renting snorkel gear): https://scubadogs.net/

For some truly spectacular snorkeling, go on a snorkeling day trip on a catamaran to Icacos Island, embarking from Fajardo. We did the Catamaran Spread Eagle II, and it was a blast. https://g.co/kgs/ZwRNd2

Viejo (Old) San Juan

Old San Juan is worth a day trip just to experience 500 years of history mingled with today’s rhythm of life. Enjoy strolling around the old city while you soak up the beautifully preserved Spanish Colonial architecture, shop for local crafts, and eat and drink Puerto Rican fare. Take in the historic sights, especially the iconic fort San Felipe El Morro, the governor’s residence La Fortaleza, and the Museum of the Americas. Definitely spend at least a day!

View from El Morro

Here are some links to get you started in OSJ.

Arts and Culture

The Puerto Rico Art Museum in Santurce is excellent, if you want to spend a day away from the beach and out of the sun. https://www.mapr.org/es

Centro de Bellas Artes has world-class cultural offerings. https://www.cba.pr.gov/

If you’re a Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton, In the Heights, Tick Tick Boom) fan, take a trip to his family’s hometown of Vega Alta, less than an hour’s drive from San Juan, and spend a couple of hours in the Galería de Lin-Manuel Miranda. Lin used to fly down from New York to spend summers visiting his abuelos (grandparents) here when he was a kid. In fact, his grandfather was a local celebrity decades before Lin started winning awards! https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/galeria-lin-manuel-miranda?tab=visit

This mural in Vega Alta honors Lin and his grandfather

Rum and Spirits

If you fancy rum or just a good time on vacation, we recommend taking the Mixology Class at the Bacardí Rum Factory.  Take the ferry to Cataño from Old San Juan (Park at Doña Fela) for a spectacular experience. https://www.bacardi.com/casa-bacardi/tickets/

Mixology class

Another rum option is to take the tasting tour at Ron Barrilito, the original Puerto Rican rum. https://rondelbarrilito.com/

These are splurges, about $80 each. Both are worth it!

If you decide not to spend the time or money on a rum tour, we recommend at least having a piña colada at El Caribe Hilton, which claims to be the birthplace of the piña colada, or Barachina in Old San Juan (https://g.co/kgs/nP36j6), which makes the same claim. https://www.forbes.com/sites/chelseadavis/2019/07/10/this-is-where-the-pia-colada-was-born/

Hiking the Rain Forest El Yunque

If you want to hike in El Yunque, the rain forest, you need to buy your tickets in advance on the first day of the month, from the US National Park Service website. They get snapped up fast. However, the site doesn’t work well, so be prepared for Plan B. If you fail, which is likely, you can always book a guided tour. 

National Park Service website: https://www.recreation.gov/ticket/facility/300017

A zipline tour of El Yunque is also awesome. https://www.junglequipr.com

Luquillo and the Kioskos

Afterward, relax at Balneario (Public Beach) Luquillo (closed Monday and Tuesday). Again, free entry, $4 parking, bathrooms, gentle surf, and golden sand. (Note that this is NOT the beach behind the Kioskos. That one is also called Luquillo, NOT Balneario Luquillo, and is interesting, but with a gritty locals vibe. Be prepared to encounter lots of trash) https://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/balneario-monserrate-luquillo/

Then have a meal at the famous Luquillo kioskos. https://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/luquillo-kiosks/

And So Much More…

Drink a passion fruit mojito! Try red snapper (chillo) with criollo sauce!

This is a passion fruit mojito

If you’ll have a car and are willing to explore a little, visit the Pork Highway, a coffee plantation, or Gozalandia Falls. If you have more time, come to our lovely southwest corner of the island, Cabo Rojo, which has clear, calm beaches facing the gentle turquoise waters of the Mona Passage. It’s 2 and 1/2 hours from San Juan.

Our Favorite Tour Guides

If you want someone with energy, knowledge, and enthusiasm to create a tour for you and show you the island, consider Rosario and Chan’s Adventures. Julio and Chan are fantastic! Tell them Bob and Lisa sent you! https://m.facebook.com/100082685624263/

More Great Sources of Info

  • Discoverpuertorico.com
  • Puertoricodaytrips.com
  • Messysuitcase.com
  • Youtube.com/messysuitcase 

This should get you started. Enjoy this wonderful island!

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Return to the Vermont State Fair

It had been at least 15 years since we attended the Vermont State Fair. Back, then we had small children and spent a lot of time in the 4H Barn looking at the cows. Now it was just the two of us, going back to the Rutland Fairgrounds in summer 2022 to see if this annual Vermont tradition is worth our time as adults.

The answer” absolutely yes! Watch and see.

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Feliz Nuevo Año!

Sunset, rooftop, Cabo Rojo.

After a tumultuous 2022 that was disrupted by health setbacks, we are finally here in Puerto Rico, our new winter home, three short blocks from Playa Ostiones, and looking forward to a healthy and adventurous 2023.

We currently have a full house with two kids and two cats sharing our space in Casita Fortaleza.

We love our rooftop

Happy New Year and Feliz Año Nuevo from Messy Suitcase!

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Eiffel Tower Light Show

The highlight of the Bateaux Mouches dinner cruise on the River Seine in Paris was when the Eiffel Tower put on a light show at 10 o’clock. Glorious!

We highly recommend this experience for anyone looking for a romantic or noteworthy evening in Paris. the views are unparalleled, and we lucky to have a clear, warmish early-fall with a full moon. Our only regret was that we neglected to inform them in advance that we were celebrating Lisa’s birthday! If we had they would have brought her dessert with a sparkler on top and played Happy Birthday on the violin! (Come to think of it, maybe it’s better she didn’t singe her eyebrows,)

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Sneaking Around at the International Spy Museum

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to sneak a video in the International Spy Museum. Good luck!

We spent a winter Monday at the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. They shut down Bob’s video, but see what you can decipher! It’s a fascinating place and definitely worth a visit. We couldn’t even begin to capture it. Lisa’s favorite room was the one that showed videos about spying. There’s also an interesting exhibit on women in espionage.

Everyone is issued an interactive spy identity card when they enter, which they test their spy skills at seventeen different digital and physical interactive stations spread throughout the museum.

Unlike the Smithsonian Institution, the International Spy Museum charges admission. It’s right by the waterfront, so just a short walk to some interesting eateries.

Check it out!

Info
Map

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Messy Suitcase Mini Tour: Playa Montones

Playa Montones is a beautiful family-friendly beach in Isabela, Puerto Rico. It has sand dunes as well as rock formations, though not a lot of shade, so bring your umbrella.  

Its shallow water make this natural pool the family-preferred beach in Isabela, a safe environment for kids and toddlers to play around. A natural wall prevents the strong surf from rushing in.

The beach is also right next to the jogging/biking trail in Isabela, so you can add a nice walk to your day out.

Watch where you park, though! We got a ticket for facing the wrong way on the street.

Puerto Rico Travel Guide
Discover Puerto Rico
Map

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The Making of a Puerto Rican Carnival Mask

When we lived in San Juan 28 years ago, Bob and I journeyed south to the Ponce home of Puerto Rico’s renowned carnival mask maker, Miguel Caraballo. We commissioned a beautiful mask that dominated the dining room wall of our homes for more than two decades.

That “vejigante” mask is now in storage in Colorado, and a little bent at the tip of one of its horns. Since we spent a few months in Puerto Rico last fall, we decided to commission another one. So last November, we journeyed to Ponce again, and met Miguel Caraballo, his son and his grandson.

Caraballo’s masks are world-renowned. He has a mask on display in the Museum of the Americas in Old San Juan, and another in the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of American Art.

These papier-mâché masks are typically worn by young men who don the colorful costume of a vejigante, a character who roams the streets during Carnaval de la Playa de Ponce, or the Ponce Beach Carnival, playfully scaring children and other revelers. The carnival held each February, features a huge parade, with the vejigante as a protagonist along with the kings and queens of carnival.

Miguel Caraballo started making masks as an apprentice to a woman in his neighborhood when he was 15, 66 years ago. The masks are made with cardboard, newspaper and brown paper, pressed onto molds and held together with a glue made of flour and water. His son makes masks now, and his grandson of the same name does the family marketing.

We picked up our new mask five weeks after our visit. We were delighted! But it was so big that we almost didn’t get it onto the plane back to the States. We had to buy a very large bin from Home Depot to accommodate all the protruding horns. Although the package weighed hardly anything, the combined length, width and height exceeded Southwest’s size limitations by 2 inches. It was only after we cut open the package and took out the mask to show the ticket agent what we were carrying that he decided to seek special approval from his manager. We had to pay $75 for the oversized item, and the agent exhorted us never to try to fly with such a large item again.

We would have been heartbroken to have to leave such a special item behind.

Now that we have purchased a home in Puerto Rico, we plan to return to the Caraballo home to commission yet another mask!

Peopleareculture.com Article
Museum of the Americas
Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History
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Messy Suitcase Mini-Tour: Playa Santa in Guanica, Puerto Rico

After indulging ourselves on pinchos (kebabs) at a little food truck park on the way, we spent a peaceful weekday afternoon at Playa Santa, a quiet neighborhood beach in Guanica on the south coast of Puerto Rico.

There were no restrooms, though it looks like on weekends it’s quite lively, and you can take advantage of food kioskos and kayak rentals. The surf is calm and the kids are plentiful.

INFO

Discover Puerto Rico
Map

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Puerto Rico’s Pork Highway – “La Ruta del Lechón”

Puerto Rico is more than beaches and rum, coffee and conquistadors. It’s also pork!

For a glimpse into the real Puerto Rico, with a little tourist kitsch thrown in, we suggest you pay a visit to the Pork Highway, or La Ruta del Lechón.

Locals and visitors alike gather together friends and family for a day trip to the lechoneras of the mountain town of Guavate.

They drive along winding Route 184 up a mountain to feast on lechonera after lechonera serving slow-roasted whole pork (also chicken), heaping portions of rice and pigeon peas, yuca al mojo, mofongo, and other traditional Puerto Rican dishes, all in a party atmosphere. Get ready to dance!

Don’t worry, vegetarians – the yuca and rice are also outstanding.

Lechón means roasted whole pork, cooked for hours over hot coals or an open flame, so that the skin gets crispy while the meat remains tender and juicy. This is a dish you can typically only get in the countryside of Puerto Rico. 

LINKS:

Discover Puerto Rico Guide to the Pork Highway
El Rancho Original
El Nuevo Rancho
Map

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