Once again, I have to apologize for being MIA all the time. I have been having exciting weekends and tedious weeks, and I suppose that the tedium has made me lax about communicating the exciting bits. Nevertheless, I do have some fun stuff to discuss!
Last weekend Julie and Bert, the couple from Montreal, invited me to join their little trip to Old San Juan. It was a very welcome excursion, since Punta is seriously stifling after a while, and after that little taste of home a few weeks ago, I have been craving escapes more and more frequently. There is something about doing the same thing over and over again that bores into your pleasure centers and forces you to covet the freedom of anyone with a car and, thus, the ability to do something out of the ordinary. It is a common psychological affliction here with alarming symptoms, such as frothing at the mouth at the mention of a vehicle and obsessing about going to the supermarket in the next town over.
Anyway, we headed out early in the morning with Monika and James C. and arrived in the heart of the city by mid-morning. We parked and walked up to a fountain-centered square called La Plaza de Colón (Map of OSJ for reference), where we sat down at a small cafe with white marble floors and an exposed, wood-beam ceiling (and A/C!) and enjoyed some caffeine with frothed milk. It was very European in atmosphere, actually, quite posh. Then we split up, Julie and Bert for a walk down the oceanfront avenue, Paseo de La Princesa, and Monika and I for a little shopping.
The first few shops we saw were unique - an interesting secondhand shop called Bazaar, alive with color and lacking in taste, a local goods shop called Eklektika filled to the brim with knicknacks and tropical hammocks, a clothing warehouse owned by an Indian man, run by a Puerto Rican couple, selling imported Egyptian belly dance costumes and playing Turkish music. After the first few, though, the shops all began to blend together. More keychains and coconut bras, a different color sarong that says "Puerto Rico!" on it, yet another set of shell necklaces. After an hour, the finds were few and far between, so Monika and I split up to finish exploring. I was a little disillusioned. It had all looked to be so unique!
On my own, I explored a few local artists' galleries, wandered into a number of beautiful and historically interesting parks, and meandered down untold back alleys. (Parque de las Palomas was the best find. It is so named for the hundreds of pigeons who call it home and who are hand fed by tourists daily. It is a fun little place, hidden, flower filled, and overlooking the entire San Juan harbor.) Once away from the usual touristy hullabaloo, Old San Juan became startlingly beautiful and quaint once more.
And why should it not be? Old San Juan, if you have never been there, is a colorful and architecturally fascinating place. It is essentially a walled city, built within the confines of a fort, which was highly coveted as a strategic entry point to the Caribbean during the 1600-1800s.
The city walls are well preserved, and you can walk along the outside walls all the way to the harbor entrance, reading placards about the history of the city and ending up at the old fortress (now a museum). In the afternoon, I did just this. I strolled along the waterside, enjoyed a strawberry-lime shaved ice (with the help of an English speaking good samaritan), and counted the stranded kites in the brush on the cliff above me (45+) and the stray cats in the bushes beside me. (There were stray cats everywhere, well fed and clean, but zero stray dogs. Smart city, knows how to cut down on pest control costs...)
Inside the city walls, I quite surprisingly found myself obsessing over the buildings' wrought iron balconies, doors, and windows, the mosaic tiled stairs, and the lovely old street lamps. I'm usually not terribly interested in the inanimate, but these houses gave the cobblestone streets and greenery its character. I felt often as if I were in period costume, about to go buy lace for a bonnet. I don't know, I'm sure I am overstating this, but my mind wanders to things of this nature when I am left alone for prolonged periods of time. So, with no companions for the afternoon, I packed my camera chock full of vista shots and photos of colorful, climbing back alleys, flowery, sunlit terraces, and miles and miles of fortress wall.
When I finally met up with Julie, Bert, and Monika once more, we headed to the fort museum to look around, then took a stroll back into the heart of Old San Juan to find a spot for some drinks and appetizers (Shrimp Cocktail with Avocado Salad and Frozen Mango Juice with rum), and then quietly made our way back to the Plaza de Colón for dinner at the Café Berlin (Coconut-Tomato Tofu with Breadfruit Mash and a Piña Colada). Deliciosa! Definitely one of the best meals I've had since being here. Then we walked along the ocean and watched an elderly band perform salsa by the waterfront for a crowd of all ages, which was happily accompanying them with a congo line and limbo game.
Great day. :)
Anyway, since that weekend, work has been going well. We had a stormy week last week and were unable to go out on Tuesday and unable to work most of Monday. This week has started out much calmer, though. On the other hand, people have begun to leave. Today was Julie's last day on the island, and tomorrow she, Bert, and Tara all ship out for good. In honor of this, Bert and Julie cooked a feast for everyone last night at the Yale house (beef, stuffed chicken, orzo, stewed carrots, deliciousness all around). I stuffed myself and spent the rest of the evening in the hammock, watching people dance to 80's pop music and play with Kelly's adopted street kitten. It was a great way to say farewell, very appetizing and relaxing. Jeez, can you believe that the next batch of people to leave will include me?! Yipes!
Ok, I have written for too long. I must go grab my laundry now and get back to work.
Much love!
Becca
