Nov 2012 - Nassau Journals

26 THE JOURNAL NOVEMBER 2012
Ican’t stop thinking about Puerto
Rico since we returned from our
first vacation there last month. The
images, impressions, adventures, and experiences
swirl into a kaleidoscope of contradictions
wrapped in enigmas. The bottom line is - we
would return. While there were extremes of positive
and negative, Puerto Rico beckons you back.
Everyone we met, from tourism professionals
to average citizens, could not have been nicer or
more helpful. Despite occasional language barriers,
we managed to communicate, punctuated by
warm smiles and many utterances of “gracias.”
Examining our timeshare options during
the only week we could escape, I recalled hearing
that Puerto Rico is rarely considered for
Caribbean vacations, “which is a shame because
it has such beautiful beaches.” After ample research,
we booked a week at Club Cala de Palmas in Palmas del Mar,
on the east coast near Humacao. Many web searches and three phone
calls to the resort later, we still couldn’t get a handle on exactly what
to expect. Having a rental car to travel the highways and byways was
essential in getting immersive. Juggling maps on our way out of the airport,
immerse we did.
Look at those mountains! The palm trees! The flowers and birds! The
colorful dwellings! Wow, the rum is cheap. Man, they eat a lot of fried
food here. They have a Walmart! What’s with all the stray cats and dogs?
People here don’t use their blinkers. Where’s the
sign that leads to Route 3? These were only the start
of our Puerto Rican revelations.
One must not need a liquor license to sell
booze, because it was available in every gas station,
market, in-home tavern, and even by the side of
the road. Outside the resorts, beers start at 78 cents.
We spent most of our time away from resorts,
choosing eco-tourist spots and popular local
beaches to sightsee. We quickly learned there is so
much to see and do in Puerto Rico, it would take
several weeks to everything on our list.
Club Cala was fab. Our renovated, comfortable,
functional unit faced a marina; the beach was
a minute’s stroll away. Palmas del Mar is a massive
gated community occupying a mountain rising from the beach. It included
our timeshare and a large rectangular plaza with stores, restaurants,
post office, mini-market, and retail shops topped by apartments.
Within Palmas, there are numerous smaller gated communities, each with
its own name, abode style, security guard, and amenities. Condos, townhouses,
and freestanding homes get more elaborate as you scale the community’s
heights. The compound includes a country club, golf courses,
tennis center, school, and a Wyndham Hotel with a small casino. At the
boatyard, a picturesque cove area has more shops and three quaint restaurants
run by a French chef. Everyone gets around Palmas on golf carts. Security
abounds. The beach was phenomenal and except for Labor Day
weekend, sparsely populated.
Our first night was the last for many Palmas
homeowners preparing to leave. We were invited
to a blow-out fiesta with a live band in the plaza.
Judging by that first night, we thought the whole
week would be one big fiesta, but by the end of
Sunday, most regulars were gone, things got quiet,
and we decided to venture forth. Traveling around
was a sometimes daunting challenge, but we dove
into local life with the same fervor we dove into
snorkeling on the small island of Culebra, over a
coral reef in a national park. Culebra and its famous
Flamenco Beach are known for their exqui-
We Will Never Forget
site natural beauty. It took a 50-minute car
trip, a 45-minute ferry voyage and a tenminute
bumpy van ride to get there, but as
Hubby proclaimed, “We found paradise.”
A young guide on the ferry provided helpful
tips. He told us about a place we want to return to
see, the larger out-island of Vieques. There are only
a handful of bioluminescent bays in the world.
Puerto Rico has three of them and one of the
largest is on Vieques. Best viewed on a moonless
evening, a bioluminescent bay houses millions of
organisms that emit a neon-like glow. Scenes from
“Pirates of the Caribbean” were filmed on a small
pristine beach nearby.
Back on the mainland, we toured the beaches
of Luquillo near the Yunque rainforest, where the
local version of a boardwalk is a string of open-air
eateries, most with pool tables, some more graciously
appointed than others. At Gringos Bar & Grill, Maria let us tastetest
their colorful signature original drinks (sans alcohol). Hubby settled
on a local favorite, a fresh coconut cut in front of us with rum added to
the water inside. Two thumbs up.
Back at Palmas, we countered Yogi from Connecticut at the Wyndham’s
Beach Bohio (cabana). He moved to the island 17 years ago “because
of the weather.” A retired electrician who now augments his
retirement by repairing vacation villas when he feels like it, Yogi was an
invaluable source of information. He introduced us to Rey, who has run
the snack shack for 37 years. A few days later, Rey
stayed open late so we could enjoy another serving
of their fabulous Churrasco beef – an ample slab
with sides for $12.75 – a common luscious island
menu item. While the food/drink value everywhere
was fantastic, like most vacations, it’s the people
you meet who enhance your experience and your
memories. Puerto Rico was no exception. Shoutout
to John at the Palmas Beach Club Country
Club, who created an original concoction before
our eyes and named it the “Laura” after overhearing
me utter, “I don’t know what I feel like having,
but something with mango would be nice.”
We now understand why some here say they
would not return there. As one woman we met vacationing
from Kentucky said, “It’s very third-worldy.” Vacant storefronts,
dilapidated homes, uncollected trash, and sometimes primitive conditions
can’t be ignored. We only toured in daylight and spent our evenings in the
Palmas del Mar compound.
On departure day, our flight was bumped up 40 minutes. At the airport,
we learned it was instead moved back 2 ½ hours. It was our only
chance to step on San Juan proper. We hopped in a cab and asked the
driver to take us to the closest beachfront hotel. We stepped out in front
of the Ritz Carlton and into an entirely different Puerto Rican experience.
Ensconced throughout the posh lobby, pool, and beach area were the wellheeled
beautiful people. Buffed boasting men mingled with bejeweled
women wrapped in white plush hotel robes. I almost bumped into one
hot blonde who stopped abruptly to adjust her
false eyelash. As we surveyed the scene, a friendly
young server struck up a conversation, eager to hear
where we had been. After exclaiming approvingly
that we had indeed experienced some of the island’s
gems, he made the statement that best
summed up our Puerto Rican adventure.
“I watch people come here for seven days and
they walk from their room to the pool to the beach
to the bar and back to their room. They get on their
phones and say, ‘I love Puerto Rico.’ They haven’t
even seen Puerto Rico.” We’re glad we did.