Puerto Rico

Before I get into the details of the trip, it is worth noting that many unfortunate incidents occurred right before and during the trip. Two of which were my camera breaking the day before we left and me forgetting the charger to the camcorder (which all of my pictures on this blog are from) so I was really only able to get pictures of the first half. Sad times. In fact, just to get them all out of the way I will list all of the other foul-ups that took place.

• Augie got Hand Foot and Mouth disease right before the trip, and we were still getting over it when we had to travel on the plane.
• Forrest contracted HF&M as well, though his "adult" version only lasted about 24 hrs, he did run a good fever on the 5 hour plane ride and felt rather cruddy. 
• I also contracted HF&M about day 2 of our trip and had to spend a day lounging and napping. 
• My dad twisted his knee a little bit on one of the first days, and used a funny cane for the rest of the trip.
• My mom completely fell going down a slick ramp (oh yeah, it rained most days we were there) in a fort we toured and sprained her knee and ankle. She was hurt so badly we took her to the ER to make sure there were no fractures and her leg swole up like a sad balloon. (I know swole isn't a word, but I am a Texan, so it is.)
• Forrest re-injured a calf tear/sprain and his calf swole up and got hot and red. He was in a lot of pain for the second half of the trip and had to ice his calf a lot and prop it on pillows. Also sad.
• I got sick again a few days before we came home and am still recovering from the worst virus that I have ever had in my adult life. This time, I had to take a 5 hour plane ride with a toddler while very ill.

Okay. Now onto the "meat" of the trip. 

We spent a total of ten days in PR, the first half staying in San Juan and the second half staying in a little beach town called Rincon. While we were in San Juan we did a lot of walking. It is a very historic area (we stayed in "Old" San Juan) and there were a couple of Forts/Castles to tour.

This is Castillo de San Cristobal (where my mom fell!)

During the San Juan half of the trip we took a couple of excursions in a rental car. The first was to the El Yunque rainforest. It was absolutely beautiful, but I DO NOT recommend taking a baby in a stroller on  the "easier" trail to the waterfall. Not easy. Not safe. Wouldn't even recommend taking the old people you bring. Luckily the old people stopped early, found a bench, and waited for us to make it back to them. There were actually two waterfalls, a small one that was easy to see from the road and a big one to hike to, and this first video is the smaller one. 

The other side excursion we took was to the "Pork Highway". The Puerto Ricans call these restaurants Lecharones and it is where they roast whole pigs and serve it with local side-dishes. Forrest saw this on Food Network and it was a trip must-do for him. 

The second half of the trip was beautiful, but unfortunately I have no proof! We swam at calm, amazing beaches and drove around the small town discovering neat things to eat. We also made an excursion on this half of the trip to tour a coffee plantation up in the mountains. It was a hour of winding road there and back, and I got very carsick. Not my favorite part of the trip, but as a coffee lover I am still glad we went!

All in all, I think Puerto Ricans as a whole are exceptionally sweet, helpful, and country-proud people. That being said, they are horrific drivers. Also, I am an equally horrific camera-woman, so sorry if anyone feels motion sick after reading this!

The End!