Puerto Rico -Part 1
San Juan
I fell in love with Puerto Rico. The people here are the kindest of any other place I visited by far! I did not have one single bad interaction with anyone I spoke to! Also, huge props to the people of Puerto Rico for speaking multiple languages. You inspire me. This was my first time doing a little bit of solo travel and this was a such a good place to do that. My friend did join me for 2/3 of the trip which was also super nice 😊 Here’s what I did in my couple days in San Juan during the month of January.
Uber is definitely the way to get around when in San Juan. The price of an uber varies WILDLY depending on the time of day, so be flexible if you can, or just know that when traffic is bad, the cost of your uber is going to triple. I stayed in Old San Juan for my first two nights in Puerto Rico, I stayed at Fortel Hostel which was a great price! One think to know is that they have limited reception hours, but if you plan accordingly, the price is definitely worth it! You are within walking distance of everything in Old San Juan: sites, cafes, nightlife, really anything you could want.
Old San Juan is full of colors and vibrancy. It’s a joy to wander through this area. There are some areas of Old San Juan that didn’t allow cars on the roads and the roads that did I would not even want to try to drive a rental car through. Very narrow streets with limited to no parking and there’s just a lot going on! Oh and lots of cats!
The first night I was in Old San Juan I ate at Deaverdura which has great authentic Puerto Rican food. You can tell the food is good based on the line of people I always saw waiting outside. I did wait in line, but it didn’t take too long to get seated. I also visited La Factoria that night and met some people on Hostel World staying at some other hostels. There are essentially three different bars. You enter in the first area that has a large bar along with some couches and small tables. If you continue through the door that’s almost behind the bar, you’ll come to your second bar, and if you go past that, you’ll reach the third bar which has a little more room in this area for dancing. I went on a Thursday night at about 8 and it was pretty packed and difficult to get a drink. This is not a great place to go and talk to people. I was with three people I didn’t know, and it was almost impossible to have a conversation.
In Puerto Rico it rains all the time. The first night there I kept waking up to the sound of rain pounding the glass windows outside the hostel. It rained all the next morning, and I hid out in a coffee shop until it died down. It then rained a couple more times during the day but always in short bursts. I recommend always having your rain jacket with you, as you never know when it’s suddenly going to start pouring. I spent the rest of the day wandering through Old San Juan and taking so many pictures of the forts, ocean, and of course the cats!
My second night I went to Triana Tapas for drinks and a flamenco show. I absolutely loved the show. They do recommend making a reservation. The Friday night I was there, there were still empty tables, but better to be safe than sorry. Their Facebook page should have updates on when they have shows (linked above). From what I remember, the guitarist, Juan Carlos, was 82 years old and he was funny and incredibly talented. He played so many different varieties of music, from Mexican, Spanish, Argentinian, Greek you name it. It was also fun to watch the different dance variations from all over the world. Highly recommend seeing this show as it is my favorite unplanned activity of the trip.
The next morning, I went to café Mallorca to have an amazing, sweet, buttery pastry and coffee and enjoyed them on the plaza outside the café to start off my golden birthday! I then dropped my stuff off at my next hostel, Mango Mansion, and then headed to Escambrón beach to try out scuba diving! I booked through Viator with Try Scuba Diving and had a great experience! There were two PADI certified guides and there only ended up being me and one other girl, so it was a private tour. I have only been snorkeling once, 8 years ago in Maui, and it took me forever to get comfortable with the breathing. Swimming has always been something that I haven’t been good at and can cause me to easily panic. I wanted sooooo badly to breathe through my nose and you can’t do that, so I’d either still try to breathe through my nose and get some bubbles or water in my mask or the breaths I was taking through my mouth made me feel out of breathe and I’d have to come back up to the surface to breathe air in through my mouth normally. I was so frustrated, but it made it even more satisfying when I finally got the hang of it. Life lesson: Sometimes things won’t come as easily as you want them to or as easily as they do for others. Take a breath, collect yourself, and keep trying. I’ve been working a lot on meditating and trying to remain calm in situations that usually brought me anxiety and I think this and the kindness I showed myself allowed me to eventually figure out how to breathe and enjoy the rest of the tour. I got to see a turtle, hold a sea urchin, and see many different, colorful fish. It was awesome and a great way to start off my 29th year. I spent the rest of the morning and afternoon relaxing at the beach and reading.
Next, MY FRIEND ARRIVED. I rented my first rental car by myself and picked her up and got my birthday party started. I recommend renting a car through a well-known, reliable car company in case anything happens, it makes the claim easier and less stressful. That night we ate mofongos because you have to when you are in Puerto Rico, at least once. Then we spent the rest of the night hanging out at La Placita. My friend described it as the tropical version of Las Vegas. You can carry your drinks around between all the different bars and everyone is playing music. It’s so much fun and each place is unique. We met up with some people I had met at my last hostel or through the Hostel World chat and it was great dancing the night away with new friends. We stayed out until 3:30am which for me and my old person habits was CRAZY. Mango Mansion, our hostel, is only a couple blocks away from La Placita which was super nice to be able to walk to. Our hostel also had foster animals, cats and dogs roaming around. Imagine coming back a little tipsy to cute little fur balls! You obviously have to pet and take pictures with them that you won’t remember doing when you wake up the next morning. We did stay in a large room in the hostel that I believe slept 12 but it was a good price for the convenience of the location and for free breakfast and coffee in the morning (waffles and mangos, what more could you want?). We only stayed here one night so we could pack up the next morning and start heading around the island!
We did come back to Mango Mansion the night before our flights home. There is no parking at Mango Mansion, just side streets near the building. We did try to park in a parking garage, but it is closed at night, so we ended up moving the car and parking very close to the hostel. However, the next day, I started the rental car to take my friend to the airport and heard an awfully loud sound, a strange smell, and then a check engine light popped up. Turns out, someone decided they wanted the catalytic converter off our car. This is my worst nightmare, especially for the first time renting a car on my own. Pro tip: if staying somewhere without a garage or designated parking in San Juan, it’s probably better to return the rental car and uber the rest of the time. I was able to stay calm through it all, get a tow to the airport and file a claim. It was not the ideal way to end the trip but that’s part of travel, you must expect the unexpected, know things can go wrong, but cherish the culture and experiences that being in a new place bring.
