Cobblestone, Cold water, and Coconuts!

Puerto Rico

December 6, 2014

Old San Juan (Photo by MJ)

I traveled to Puerto Rico this weekend with some of my favorite people! We landed in San Juan Saturday afternoon without a sketched plan. The wind blew us over to the car rental building and Hertz quoted us an affordable price. With a map and a compass (and 5 phones without service)… we were off!! After a quick U-turn and realizing that my compass was, in fact, broken [ :-/ ]… we buzzed through the non-touristic part of town (pretending we knew where we were going) and left quicker than we arrived. 

One in Old San Juan, we strolled through the streets. It reminded me a lot of France with the cobble stone floors, narrow passage ways, and musicians in the street performing for dining tourists. Since our stomachs were starting to eat themselves, we eagerly approached the food trucks on the street by the port. Before arriving, I was dreaming of fresh fish, steamy paella, and fresh fruit juices. To my dismay, all of the options were fried, meats, or processed sugars. The hunt for a place to feed two vegetarians (and three meaty-eaters) continued up the streets and through the crowds who were enjoying what seemed to be a food festival. 

We landed upon Greengos--- a “Mexican-American” restaurant that felt more like the USA than some places in the US. It must have been good because we returned there twice more, a couple hours later, for more mango drinks and burritos.The rest of the night started with a walk through the whole town and ended with dancing in the streets to a band. (That was the second time this week that I had to dance to Latin music. Secret #1—I can’t dance).

Sunday morning we woke up, piled in the car, and drove south towards El Yunque National Forest—the only rain forest in the USA (according to Leslie). The car swirled up the little mountains past the greenery (the bamboo were HUGE!) and stopped at an awesome waterfall on the side of the road. 

Gotta love those trees!

We drove further up to a path that, by foot, takes you to another waterfall. The path rose and fell, swirled and surprised until 4 steps lead you to the rocks that lead you into the freezing water that leads you to the pounding water of the waterfall. (Secret #2—I have an irrational fear of cold water.)

Waterfall fun!

On the ride back, we stopped at a little place on the side of the road for lunch. The meat eaters were in heaven with their tamales, kebabs, and plantain/meat cake-thing. I was in heaven with my coconut!

 

Bird's-eye view (Photo credit: Mario)

Cruizin', Boozin', & Snoozin'

October 4, 2014

St Thomas, US Virgin Islands

Safari Taxi; photo credit: http://www.greatexpectationsusvi.com

After passing security, we ran to the gate hearing our names as part of "the final call". The plane filled with more drunk people remembering their childish spirit as we got closer to landing. As the plane got closer to touch-down, I saw the beautiful small, mountainous islands colliding with the super blue water. We walked down the stairs of the plane the air greeting our enthusiasm with warmth and freshness. The airport provided free samples of the local rum-- banana and vanilla-- and taxi drivers tried luring us into their overpriced vans. (They weren't as overbearing as in Cancun but they did try lying to us that there isn't a local taxi/bus system nearby.)

Within 5 minutes of leaving the airport, we found a beach with soothing white sand and welcoming clear water.

 Later, we dried between the toes and walked another mile to find the safari taxi. For $2 a person, we toured the island without a clue of the final destination. Following some tourists, we got off at Red Hook and sat down at a restaurant to fill our bellies and figure out a plan. (Spoiler alert: there never was a plan and we never figured out a plan!) ...This led to 8 varieties of rum, rum cake, some fresh air, and good conversation...

Itching from mosquitoes, I waited impatiently for the sunrise the next morning and welcomed it with glee once  he finally decided to light up the beach.

Good morning beach!!

The safari taxi dropped us off downtown. As we missed the planned stop and were not too hopeful for the 10am farmers market (any clue if it is actually good??), we walked and walked and walked at least 6.5km in the direction of the airport. This led us past the cruise ship port, through the industrial district, and up a "mountain" that revealed the beloved beach from yesterday.



WooHoo! Walk walk walk... We stripped down to bathing suits once the feet touched the sand, but fell asleep too quickly to dive in. After a couple hours of napping and chasing the shade, we dove back into the crystal clear water. Ahh :) !

What lucky ducks we are!

Swimming, Sweating, and Singing

Miami, Florida
September 20, 2014

During a dark bike ride of South Beach early Thursday morning, Kelly informed me that her swim team needed an extra member for their relay race this weekend—the Alligator Lighthouse Swim. This is an 8 mile swim with a team of 4 people—while one person is swimming, the other 3 people are kayaking alongside the swimmer to help guide him/her.  A couple of hours later, I was a confirmed team member and trying to hold down anxiety about the big race. We woke up early Saturday morning in Islamorada (in the northern Keys of Florida) and headed to the beach to prepare for the race. At 8:37, my team was off. About six and a half hours later, we returned to shore with our bodies depleted of food and water but with an abundance of sunburns and jellyfish stings. We all slept well that night!

photo credit: The Standard, Miami

Sunday morning, we woke up early to drive back to Miami. The Standard Spa was hosting its third Yoga Fest. We were in Downward Dog by 11am, bodies covered in aloe and sunscreen, listening to the yoga chants and breathing in the positive vibes. It was a day of peace, pondering, and positive vibes. The bike ride home was so energetic! A few good takeaways from this day: (1) Fill your life with the good stuff so there is little room for the bad. (2) Nobody cares what you do, they care about how you make them feel.

Peace.Love.Sunshine

Mole in Mexico

Cancun, Mexico

September 12, 2014

Well, you could say my trip started weeks ago when I went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch with some co-workers. In the battle to find a vegan mean in this place of non-customizable burritos, the lady offered me ‘mole and rice’. Mole (“mole-ay”) is a savory chocolate sauce that ended up being absolutely delicious and sadly disappeared off my plate before I wanted the experience to end!

  Fast forward a couple of weeks and I knew the goal of my trip once Cancun was the decided destination for the weekend—to find real mole in Mexico. We arrived Saturday morning to be greeted by the bright sun and swarms of taxi drivers insisting we ride with them. We eventually landed in Mercado 28 (the internet resources said this would be a cool spot). Well, the internet resources also said that it was a bit too touristy. I’d have to agree. Thirty minutes (and a couple of pesos) later, we found ourselves in Mercado 23 walking through the market allies lined with raw fish, meats, and sugary treats. Magic happened within twenty minutes… we were sitting at a table in the market with a six pesos feast—chips, soup, rice, plantains, more rice, beans, tortilla, chicken, mole, two juices, and a sweet purple water juice. Let’s just say that I was more than satisfied!

The rest of the trip involved bus rides around the tourist zone, an evening trip to the touristy bars, a late night meal of rice beans & mole, and morning relaxation on the beach. 

MachuPicchu, Markets, and more!

September 2, 2014

Cusco, Peru

Friday afternoon, we boarded the plane still swimming in sweat from florida's hot hot day. Five hours later, we arrived in the land of ceviche and crazy drivers (lima, peru). At 6:30am, we boarded another plane to cusco -- the land of the former Inca empire and a growing international tourist destination. By noon, we were in a car heading north. We drove up hills and down valleys, through small forests and sacred spots, past farmed lands and llamas, and around mountains jutting with rocks. The sky couldn't have been any more blue, the grass couldn't have been any  more green, the dirt couldn't have been any more brilliantly bright brown.

 

Sacred Valley (Peru)

Old agricultural plots

Lunch Happened in Pisac in a deep hole-in-the-wall eatery with a clay oven burning wood (empanadas, salad, tea, beer). The peaceful atmosphere gladly welcomed my buzz from the local black lager. (My body definitely felt the change on altitude!)

Yes, lambs are a sneaky tourist trap.... but they're cute!

Clay oven that I'll build in my own kitchen one day

The next major stop had a train station to transport tourists closer to machu picchu. This town is constructed out of stone (from roads to walls) and has gutters in the middle of the roads

tea break!

Getting of the train in Aguas Calientes was not unlike an ant farm after being stepped on by a pesky kid. People were running everywhere, guides shouting the names of their gringo clients with accents that change an ordinary name into art. The rush of water flowing down the mountain killed any possibility for silence. We found a hostel to sleep. Four hours later, we packed a day bag to go explore Machu Picchu. People line up looking like they just crawled out of a backpacking magazine to get on the first 6am bus probably around 4 or 4:30 am. Ladies sell coffee and bananas on the side of the road to people waiting in line. By 6:30 we climbed off the bus to climb a bit higher and explore Machu Picchu. It took 4 hrs to explore the area, but we could have spent 6 or 7 to do a more thorough job and to appreciate every crevice. I was pleased, though. The site is so large and the altitude is so demanding on the body that a return trip another time in life will suffice.

sunrise at MachuPicchu

Post-exploration, we visited the hot springs in town. The pool of water wasn't as hot as I predicted, but warm relaxing water never seems to hurt. Post-hot springs, we managed to find the market in town (thanks to insider information). The second floor had all the lunch options-- 4 soles ($1.90 usd) a person for a bowl of barley soup, a plate of rice, fried trout, and a cup of wheat tea. This was one of the most amazing meals I've had!
We landed in cusco Sunday night. Immediately after getting off the bus, a plaza magically greeted us with people scattered around shouting what food they had to offer. 2.50 soles ($0.88 usd) for a plate of sautéed rice, noodles, potato, tomato and beef with a fried egg on top. (No, I passed on the beef and half the egg). The meal continued with ----/ a jelly-like pudding that goes with rice pudding.... And then we found a juice place where I got to try a smoothie of ------ and ---...(oops... i need to figure out the Spanish names!)

The following day, we passed by a famous stone in the wall-- The Twelve Angle Stone.

The Twelve Angle Stone

I refused to stop eating for a picture :-/

We walked around for a bit and explored the market San Pedro. Isles and isles of inexpensive chia and quinoa and imperfect fruits and veggies and large wheels of fresh bread and bags of local coffee and cacao beans.... Isles of goodies-- kitchen utensils, good luck ornaments, gifts... Isles of food stands with little stools to sit on for a cheap 2 course lunch..... Isles with laughing ladies sitting by their sacs overflowing with dried beans and colorful corn and flours. Ahh, the market. I sat on a crowded bench for a 4 soles lunch of soup and fish and rice and lentils. I don't know what kind of fish it was (trout costed 15 soles this time) but it came from some river nearby, Besides the time and expenses to get to this marketplaces, who would ever imagine that such happiness could cost so little.