After a day spent in Old San Juan, my brother and I were ready to explore the rest of Puerto Rico. We both prefer things more off the beaten path, so we wanted to see as much of the rest of the island, the non-touristy places, as possible.
We grabbed breakfast first before heading out of the city. Mercado la Carreta is a modern restaurant that was recommended by a friend and happened to be three blocks from where we were staying. It was a cute restaurant with a market feel, lots of open windows with beautiful views overlooking Plaza de la Barandilla.
I ordered a macchiato to start, and my brother went with an Americano. To eat, I ordered the mallorca sandwich: scrambled eggs, bacon and Gouda cheese on a mallorca roll, which is a traditional Puerto Rican sweet bread. Everything was spot on. The mallorca sandwich was a very well done rendition of a classic breakfast sandwich, and it was one of the best macchiatos. It was a great way to end our stay in Old San Juan.
We rented a car and drove about an hour south to El Yunque, the national rainforest. Known for its diverse biology, we were looking forward to the scenic drive and hike. We opted to climb to El Yunque Peak. On the way up, we took in all of the unique flora and fauna, attempted to identify some of the bird calls we heard, and enjoyed the newness of the rainforest experience. After two and half miles, an hour and a half, and 1,536ft of elevation, we made it to the top! I opened up the bandana I had wrapped around my neck and wiped the sweat from my forehead, took some more deep breaths, and just took it all in. We could see for miles and miles in all directions. It had some of the best views, a near perfect 360 degree panorama of most of the island.
Our mom would have been upset if we came back from vacation without proof that we went together, so my brother took our selfie from El Yunque Peak Tower before we started our descent.
Hiking on the way down, we had a little more pep in our step. Conversation covered just about everything…other hikes we have done, future travel wish list trips, our family, and mostly our guesses about whether or not the people heading up were going to finish in time before the trail closed. There were plenty more tree snails, opening ferns, and ginormous palm trees that we paused occasionally to admire and photograph. We were even christened with the most appropriate mist of rainfall for the last leg. We made it back down to the trailhead, walked up the road a bit, and made it to the parking lot. We finished 5.6 miles in just under three hours, sweaty, thirsty, hungry and accomplished. It was one of the best hikes.
After El Yunque, we were pretty hungry. Driving the windy road down out of the forest, our phones eventually connected to cell service again. I typed “mofongo” into Google maps. Just two miles from a place with a review that read, “Hands down, the best mofongo I’ve ever had,” we were sold. The directions lead us to what we later found out are referred to as the Luquillo kiosks (or kioskos). A plaza-like row of little food stands that butted up against the beach were the happening place that Sunday! The places were packed with beach going folks, party buses, and more. We went stand to stand, picking out an item or two at each, attempting to try as many different things as possible. From morcilla and surullito to mofongo and pionono to rice and beans, it was some of the best food.
We finished chowing down on the traditional Puerto Rican food samplings and hit the road again. Another hour drive along the southern coast of the island led us to the place we were staying for the night.
Quaintly named Chalet Olas del Sol, our Airbnb was a cute little condo in a 4-unit building right on the water in Punta Santiago. The town is quite small and unassuming. The Airbnb itself felt like it had its own private beach, as the Humacao Nature Preserve claimed the beach to its west, and the Muelle Punta Santiago, the city pier, bordered the property to its east.
The muelle had a little parking lot with beach access. From the back deck of the rental, I could see old men gearing up to to fish, couples watching the sunset on the truck tail beds, families with kids packing up their picnics.
Cindy, our host, was very friendly and walked us through the unit when we arrived. After we got settled in, I wanted to catch the rest of dusk before it slipped away. I walked the 100 feet to the beach, took my flip flops off, and walked right up to the very edge of the tide. Waves crawled through my toes, and my feet sank a little deeper in the wet sand. With most of the day behind me, I stood there for a few minutes, thinking about just how much we had packed into it. Time had slowed, and I was enjoying the stillness of the moment, the simplicity of the ocean over the sand, the mountains under the soon to be sunless sky.
As I put my flip flops back on and started to walk back to the condo, the sounds from the muelle come back into earshot. I heard a little girl laughing and she shouted the happiest of somethings in Spanish. It was too fast for me to wholly understand, but I did make out the word, “mejor,” pronounced, “meh-hohr,” which means “best.”
She likely didn’t drink a macchiato with her breakfast, climb El Yunque Peak with her brother, or have her first taste of authentic Puerto Rican cuisine.
But there we each were, right then, taking in the same sights and sounds: the clouds across the gradient sky, the waves upon the beach, and the chorus of coqui.
While I am not sure exactly what she exclaimed just then, I imagine she said something like, “I had one of the best days ever!”
Yo tambien, niña. Me too.
