Last Sunday I was going through some of my recent albums and came across our Memorial Day weekend holiday pictures. Along with a few close friends, we went to the Caribbean island of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Unlike other vacations that meant packing two hours before the flight, this time we went all out and packed in every possible beach essential we would need. Hats, sunglasses, bathing suits, beach sandals, cover-ups, sunblocks.
Puerto Rico welcomed us with its blue waters and warm salty air. After landing, we hit the road for some local grub alongside the coastal highway of the Luquillo Beach. Dotted alongside the beach are kiosk-styled restaurants called
kioskos de Luquillo with delicious local favorites. Think
rasta-style eating in a shack. We went to the El Jefe Burger
Shack where we downed around 4 pitchers of Margaritas and several rounds of
beers and mocktails. The focus was on drinking. It truly felt like a holiday!
PG had made sure all our rentals were in place so a smooth car ride later we checked in to the gorgeous
Rio Mar Beach Resort with its own stretch of private beach.
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| Love Zeenat's look in this |
The Bride and Groom-to-be sashes given by Jalpa to Rishita and Kintan at our brief stopover in Chicago meant they got a free upgrade to a beautiful suite and the rest of us got upgrades from Resort view to Ocean view rooms. The view from our room was love at first sight.
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| View from our room |
As it was quite late by the time we got into our rooms, we decided to take it easy and hit the resort pool for a swim under the stars. To add to our delight there were Bollywood songs being played by the poolside. It turned out to be an engagement party for a same-sex wedding commencing the next day. The Indian 'bride' and the local 'groom-bride' were surrounded by a small group of happy poeple enjoying their happy day. We cheered on dancing to Daler Mehendi, GaGa's Chamak Challo and other numbers. Dancing in a pool with a bunch of amazing friends was super fun. The wedding was even more beautiful. Although we witnessed it from a distance, it was fun to watch it.
The second day, we spent around four hours in the resort beach. I
could not get enough of the warm water. If we had no plans to hit Old
San Juan town later, I would have loved to stay there till night-fall.
Old San Juan is a vibrant town with European style
architecture and brightly colored buildings. Charming little cafes and colorful people all around. It is a photographers paradise with ready to use backgrounds and ample light.
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| Kintan & Rishita |
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| Gaurav & Ambika |
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| Himanshu & Shweta |
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We explored the town well on the last day of our trip complete with a visit
to a lovely little shop called 'The Poet's Passage' There is a little cafe attached to a poetry area in the back complete with cute little handcrafted items, paintings and photographs.
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| The Poet's Passage - tiny little cafe inside with a character of its own. |
And what is a beach holiday without water activities? Kintan, PG, Himanshu and Zeenat took surfing lessons after which we all jet-skied. Although it was super-fun, a tiny jet-ski accident later I lost one of my company's underwater compacts :( More than losing the camera, I was mourning the loss of all the awesome
surfing and jet-ski pics of the day. Hope a scuba diver finds it on
the ocean bed or someone running along the beach finds it washed
ashore... and posts the pictures online ....looking for the owner of the
pics...... Ok Ok, I am getting carried away. Have seen Message In A
Bottle too many times!
I completely recovered from the camera loss when we went for our 2 hour moonlight kayaking tour at the La Laguna Grande in Fajardo to witness the bio-luminescent bay. The oars of the Kayaks agitate millions of micro-organisms, called 'dinoflagellates' that make them glow in the dark. It is a rare, natural wonder which can be experienced best on a moonless night. Unfortunately, the moon was shining quite brightly so we only got a few glimpses of the glow. Kayaking in dark waters is an experience in itself.
Food-wise, it was a treat for carnivores like us. The vegetarians struggled a bit for choices. Kintan, Ri, and I loved the local fare especially the signature dish of Puerto Rico - Mofongo. Mashed plantain shells stuffed with a combination of seafood, meat or vegetables. We loved the vegetarian version of it at
Guavas. The rest expressed their reservations about its taste. We also had a whole stuffed Red Snapper kind of fish at one of the Luquillo kiosks and a seafood salad which were both super delish and fresh.
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| The signature Puerto Rico dish - Mofongo |
After experimenting with local cuisine we wanted some
desi khaana. While walking around at Calle Fortaleza area in Old San Juan we came across a number of restaurants lined up including an Indian one with an urban twist called
Tantra. I wasn't hungry when we went there so I settled down for one of their interesting cocktails called 'Seduction' Martini. The 'Kamasutra', 'Fantasy' and 'Desire' Martini seemed equally tempting ;)
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| Cameraphone pic of the Seduction Martini |
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| At Tantra |
Pirilo pizzeria at Calle Fortaleza was another good restaurant we dined at. Along with some grub, the highlight of the evening was a Spanish song by the restaurant's guitarist/singer for Rishita and her Kinto. Oh! the joys of courtship :D
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| And then we kissed.. |
Overall a much needed break from work for all of us and a truly relaxing vacation. A chance to spend time with friends who are family here.
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