Day 12- April 26, 2010

Day 12- April 26, 2010


Well first of all, Puerto Rico is pretty much the coolest place ever! Oh and secondly, Puerto Rico is pretty much the coolest place ever! We got in, got our rental car and headed into the city of San Juan just to check it out before heading to our eco-resort “Casa Grande” in Utuado.

Along the drive through San Juan, Edgie spotted what we thought was a statue on some rocks jutting out in the ocean where the waves were breaking, so he stopped over on the overlook so we could get a better view. It turned out they were fishermen balancing precariously up on the rocks casting their lines into the waves to catch the fish.

A little way down the road we came into Old San Juan with its old Spanish forts. It was so beautiful. The city itself had these little cobblestone winding streets and the whole scene with the buildings, the balconies, and the streets, reminded me so much of Spain. It was so cool. We just took a quick driving tour because we’re spending our last night right in the heart of Old San Juan. Then we continued on our way to Casa Grande. Along Route 2 we saw several vendors on the side of the road. Neither of us had any idea what they were selling… “pinchos”? What are those? Why didn’t they say anything about that in our guide books?

We actually passed through the town of Utuado to get to Casa Grande, so we stopped for a bite to eat at El Caney, a local dive. There we discovered the meaning of Chuleta Can Can (GIANT deep fat fried pork chops), mofongo (REALLY garlicky plantain mush…strangely quite tasty), and arroz con habichuelas (which I discovered means rice and beans in Puerto Rican Spanish as opposed to frijoles in Mexican Spanish).

After eating we continued our drive on to a tiny road that went south up though the mountains to an even smaller road that winded even higher into the mountains, then to an even smaller road, and so it went, until we finally arrived in paradise at the Casa Grande.

Casa Grande, deemed a “mountain retreat”, is snuggled into the side of a mountain in the middle of a tropical jungle, like a little toucan nest. In front of us is a spectacular view of the valley below, behind us is the trail “el camino”, and all around us lush vegetation and wildlife.

It is a quaint upscale cottage that doubles as an ecologically friendly retreat. It is both trendy and sheik and has the impression of a moviestars private getaway. It’s not hard to imagine Brangelina coming to escape stardom, going for a dip in the pool, and waking up for the yoga class in the morning. It is perfect, just the right blend of frugality and luxury. No A/C. Hot Showers. No TV. Gourmet cuisine. Tit for tat. Edmundo took a nap when we got here, so I went out to the porch, lay in the hammock, and watched the bamboo trees across the valley dance in the wind. My very own puppet show.

Now as we’re lying in bed after a wonderful dinner of Creole shrimp, more mofongo, and fried yucca balls (F.Y.I. Yucca is a vegetable, NOT an animal), and we finished off with coffee and coconut pudding. All around us is the sound of a plethora of night animals chirping us to sleep. Coquí (ko-key), the flesh colored frog is Edmundo’s favorite night sound, and it blends in well with the rest of the medley.

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Día 12-

Día 12 y dejamos Concordia muy temprano para ir a Puerto Rico. Morena, esa boricua!!! Llegamos a la isla y nos quedamos en Casa Grande es un lugar que por la noche se llena de sonidos.

Day 12 and we left Concordia really early to go to Puerto Rico. We arrived to the island and we’re staying in Casa Grande. It’s a place where at night it fills with sounds.