As we cleared the jungle mist....

As we cleared the jungle mist, we saw the airport ahead. Then realizing ….

Thus Kevin began and ended his portion of the blog . Not a bad start, except that instead of jungle mist, we left the Fort Buchanan Army Base dewy darkness—at 4:30am. We returned our rental car (which had served us in excellent fashion) and our gps (which had served us in más o menos fashion) to the Enterprise car rental spot. From there, a van whisked us to the airport where we checked in and then found out that we had to go through the FDA check point first to have all our luggage x-rayed.

Now we find ourselves flying along the eastern edge of Florida at great rates of speed. Reflecting on our visit, Puerto Rico is special because on one hand, the country and culture is foreign, but at the same time, we still feel the comfort of “home.” Using American dollars, being able to switch between languages and not standing out when you do, not having to fill out immigration forms, seeing US postal services and familiar businesses, seeing Old Glory flying next to the Puerto Rican flag—all these give one the sense that, “Yes, I am in the US.”  However, at the same time, distances are in kilometers, gas comes by the liter, signs are in Spanish, housing reflects a more Latino style, and flora and fauna are very tropical. Just a wonderful blend.

Our last full day in Puerto Rico—yesterday—featured our return from the west coast area to San Juan and then a few hours finding some businesses we were curious about. Specifically, we wanted to visit the U.S. Veterans Administration Caribbean Medical Center –basically the Puerto Rican version of the VA Dayton Medical Center. We found it in San Juan, along the route of the elevated metro line.  Being that it serves such a large population (Caribbean region), the center is quite large.  (The VA Caribbean Healthcare System provides services to a population of 150,000 Veterans in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.)

We ate there at the canteen (cafeteria), just at their subway shop, and checked out their retail shop (which had everything—even pet food and dresses and electronic equipment—in a very small area. We found the prosthetics department, just to look at—not to visit—and that was about it. A successful discovery.

As I mentioned earlier, for the beginning and end of our journey we stayed at Caney Lodge at Fort Buchanan Army Base. We enjoyed being around the soldiers and their families—mostly Puerto Ricans. On Wednesdays (yesterday), we discovered another benefit. Caney Lodge offers to its residents a complimentary supper—a type of barbecue taco with green salad, potato salad, and fruit salad.  Sweet—literally and figuratively.

Beyond that yummy conclusion, I took a jaunt to the commissary to pick up some souvenir t-shirts for the kids, and a package of Puerto Rican coffee, just to try. 

Overall, an excellent journey and experiment in travel.  To conclude, I will review here my list of random observations on Puerto Rico—edited from the one posted mid-trip.

• Puerto Ricans offer so much help to a newcomer.
• Sand crabs in your bedroom and lizards zipping around.
• Like other LA countries, the lemons are green.
• I had gallo pinto at lunch (with my shrimp mofongo), but without Lizano sauce (native to Costa Rica), gallo pinto has less tang to it. 
• You can drive 2/3s across the country in less than two hours.
• Gas is about $3.40 per gallon, but except for on the army base, you purchase it in liters.
• Hammock hooks on the porch, hurricane shutters on the windows
• Right along with the Puerto Rican flag, flies the United States flag--even over El Morro, a castle fort built in the 1530s.
• Flying back and forth to the mainland--no immigration forms to fill out.
• A lot of people here drive slow in the left lane.
• A high police presence, and they, too, are helpful--I had to ask one for directions.
• Signs in the woods warning against rabid mongoose.
• Speak in English, speak in Spanish--most the time, you get to pick the language.
• I have seen more baseball stadiums than soccer fields.
• You drive down the highway, turn the corner, and there's the ocean. 
• On Sunday, we praised the Lord and prayed with brothers and sisters ...and it reminded us of special days in other places, but mostly it thrilled our souls this very morning (Sunday, 3/23).  We always need to be attentive to the here and now . . . . living in the past robs us of the present.

We sat by the sea six times today...

We sat today by the sea six times.
Watching waves and flows, ebbs and rise,
Water that before touched lives and lands,
Coming here to us today via rock and sands.

Like life of joy and sometimes pain
Tides like days, no two the same.
One still can stand upon the shore
Watching firm in faith, upon the Lord.

Two photo albums from our current pitstop (Villas del Mar Hau) and today's traveling. The first shows pictures from our Villa by the Atlantic Ocean. The second shows our Amazing Race detours today (Monday): Isabella and Aguadilla

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Pit stop: Parada Villas del Mar Hau (Isabela, PR)

VIA SABANA SECA and LEVITTOWN

OBSERVATIONS
• A sand crab just peaked out from under the dresser... 
• Like other LA countries, the lemons are green.
  
• I had gallo pinto at lunch (with my shrimp mofongo), but without Lizano sauce (native to Costa Rica), gallo pinto has less tang to it. 
• I drove about 2/3s across the country, and it took only an hour and a half at the most. 
• I drove yesterday, and therefore we have fewer pictures today. 
• Geckos, of a variety in color and design.
  
• Gas is about $3.40 per gallon, but except for on the army base, you purchase it in liters.
• Hammock hooks on my porch, hurrican shutters on my windos
• A lot of people here drive slow in the left lane.
• Puerto Ricans are super helpful. 
• A high police presence, and they, too, are helpful--I had to ask one for directions.
• Signs in the woods warning against rabid mongoose.
• Speak in English, speak in Spanish--most the time, you get to pick the language.
• Our Suzuki is reliable and runs well.
• I have seen more baseball stadiums than soccer fields.
• You drive down the highway, turn the corner, and there's the ocean. And you drive a little further (on the weekend), and there are all the people at the beach. Sometimes with really loud music. 
• We praised the Lord and prayed with brothers and sisters ...and it reminded us of special days in other places, but mostly it thrilled our souls this very morning (Sunday, 3/23).  We always need to be attentive to the here and now . . . . living in the past robs us of the present. 
  

The Amazing Race . . . 98 Steps

I climbed 98 steps this afternoon. Up into an observation tower mid-way up the mountain Yunque, the highest peak in Puerto Rico. Kevin waited below and helped tourists get their family photos taken in front of an exquisite view of the valley out to the sea.

A rain forest is just that because of the forest and high quantity of rain, and a tropical rain forest has to be located in the ranges between the Tropicorn of Cancer and the Tropicorn of Capicorn (in other words, near the equator). The difference in rain fall of a temperate rain forest (Pacific Northwest) and a tropical rain forest:  100 inches per year compared to up to 400 inches per year.  El Yunque is one of few tropical rain forests in the USA (some sites say the only, but Hawaii and the Virgin Islands have some, best I see).

El Yunque (or "yunk" as the GPS lady reads it instead of the Spanish "june-kay") was our destination today when we left our hotel at the base. We enjoyed the ride out to the country where most the surrounds remind us of the years we lived in Costa Rica.

"No somos molines. Somos gigantes."  Written on the side of a wall (there's a lot of graffiti here), this quote really caught my attention with its reto (challenge) and its literary allusion. I challenge you, the reader, to write me and tell me what is the translation, allusion, and challenge behind those words.

After that venture, we grabbed our Puerto Rican roadmap (tearproof and waterproof, from National Geographic...but still super hard to fold in the car). I navigated while Kevin drove and we explored the northeast coast of Puerto Rico between San Juan and Loíza ("louisa") and Luqillo. Luquillo was a beautiful short beach with rental cottages all along. When the winds picked up, and rain began to fall, we followed the tsunami evacuation signs back out to the main route. Naturally, it wasn't such a storm, but with those tall palms swaying and bending, I could only imagine.


Next, in Loiza, we found the oldest, continuously-used church in Puerto Rico--not a bit marked, but we found it all on our own discovery with the guidebook and map. Then we drove through Piñones National Forest, which is bordered by mangrove-style and low-growing trees right on sand-duned ridges. With cars parked right at the trees, Puerto Ricans covered the beaches with family and fun. (Oh, the rain had stopped by now.) Colorful wood shacks and advertising tropical fruits and "jueye" meat (crab). Then passed that point, we drive into Carolina, with its very manicured high ways and sparkling high-rises. A whole different world.

Kevin and I realized that neither of us have ever been on such a large island--even if it is only the size of Connecticut.

Finally, it was time to find our next hotel--San Miguel Plaza Hotel. We had not wanted to move yet, but somehow a mix-up of dates had occurred and we were forced to. It's not easy to find a hotel the night before in Puerto Rico--at least not on a middle class budget. Furthermore, when we arrived here in Bayamon, we were further discouraged when the elevator from the parking garage didn't work, and we had to climb a stairway--with luggage--to the lobby. Following that difficulty, we discovered that the advertised restaurant was closed.

I mentally prepared to write a scathing review of the hotel--which proudly displayed its awards from 2007, 2008, and 2010--on the three or four hotel sites I have become very familar with lately. However, in the fifteen minutes of rest that we gathered before venturing out for supper, the hotel had fixed the elevator. And Kevin is happy with the air conditioning, so I'm holding off for a bit. We'll see how this goes.

Having large, Puerto Rican style lunches, we usually eat supper at more familiar haunts. Tonight was Subway, a block or so down the road. In the first half hour we were there, just as many people came in for small coffees (and cookies sometimes) as they did for sandwiches. By 5:30, the sandwich line picked up more.

We have also learned today that the "amarillo" ("yellow" in Spanish) 

means "banana" (as opposed to a plaintain), 

and "china" means "orange" (as in, the fruit). 

The Amazing Race trolleys into the past

Kevin and Tia set out this morning aiming for Puerto Rico's famous fort "El Morro," built over 400 years ago. Basically Old San Juan, where the fort stands guard, is the oldest city in the USA if one counts the territories.  Our challenge ("speed bump," if you will) was the fact that we knew that to get to the fort, a tourist must walk at least 1/4 of a mile--not good for our disability.

But we set forth anyway (after a continental breakfast at the hotel), with prayers and hoping. We got ourselves into Old San Juan, and found a parking garage near the site. On the internet, Tia had researched a free trolley system running around Old San Juan, and when one appeared, we grabbed the opportunity for a ride around the town. What a pure delight (and answer to prayer) when we discovered that the trolley drives right up to the entrance of the fort. Our speed bump was conquered, and we enjoyed the history of Spain-meets-the-USA.

For the rest, I will let you peruse the photos....

Tia and Kevin's Amazing Race 2013: the first pitstops

When we set out for San Juan yesterday, we were looking forward to having a get-away and getting back to tasting Latin American culture.  Once landed, we discovered a few other treasures and adventures, and immediately, this became our version of the "Amazing Race."

Being that Kevin is no longer able to walk long distances, we do take wheelchair transportation through airports. When we arrived at the Luis Muños Marin Airport in San Juan, we realized that this had greater benefit than just physical aid.  A young man with a wheelchair started out with, "English or Spanish?" And we eagerly went with "We need to practice Spanish please," and thus our escort began a whisking through the airport with such a welcoming spirit. He helped us through a myriad of walkways, hallways, and elevators, right to our luggage area. He helped get the baggage off the carousel, and took us all the way to the Enterprise van, speaking with the driver so that the van was most accessible. And all the while, we practiced Spanish. Yes, we tipped the young man, but our appreciation went well beyond the material value.

Puerto Rico reminds us a lot of Costa Rica, except that the buildings are taller and many seem newer. The Enterprise shuttle took us to the company and after signing off on a little red Suzuki Vitari, Tia gets to drive out into the city -- oh, wee.  In most of our travels and adventures, Kevin has been driver, Tia the navigator. However, no vehicles fit Kevin's prosthethic leg needs because of those consoles put between the two front seats.  Trucks are good, but that is not an option here. So Tia gets to drive.  That certainly elevated the trip to the "Amazing Race" status for me.

So I got out on those "Island of Enchantment" highways and followed the voice of the GPS as she tried to pronounce Spanish names in English pronunciation.  Suddenly "calle" ("street," pronounced kai-yeah) became "call." So it went. We aimed for the army base, Fort Buchanan, where we intend to stay at Caney Lodge the first few days. Many of you know how it is to drive around areas unknown to you, following directions and dodging city traffic as you get on and off exits that you didn't even know were there. Needless to say (but I will have to admit it here), I did miss a turn here or there, but eventually the GPS and the Suzuki led us to the gate we were headed for.

As another "many of you" know, getting to the gate of an army base does not guarantee access.  Bases have dozens of gates sometimes, and in this case, we arrived at a working gate, but its hours of operation did not match up with our arrival.  A sign indicated that when the gate was closed, entrants were to pass to the gate at PR28.  Which, of course, meant nothing to us.

Correction. I did recognize it as a route, but where was this route and on which direction do we go when we find it. You get the picture.  Again, very "Amazing Race."

So as soon as we could, we stopped a gentleman at a restaurant called "Fiesta" and asked directions. Oh, yes, he was glad to help us. He knew just what we were looking for. "English or Spanish?"  "Spanish."  So he began to direct us.  At first, no problem; we could follow everything he said. But by the time I got to his fifth or sixth turn and road description, I knew there was no way we could remember all these directions. He continued on, and then asked if we understood.  "Oh, sí, sí, sí." Understanding was not the problem.  Remembering would be the problem.  His last comment:  "If you do it wrong, you'll end up back here again."  Major foreshadowing.  

So we left him, started following the directions, saw a Denny's and decided to have lunch.

We enjoyed lunch, but decided to call the Caney Lodge and get directions from someone there.  I had to borrow a pen (can you believe I didn't pack a pen--even in my personal bag!?), and we were on the phone for probably 20 minutes getting directions--in English--from someone who knew where we were at (or so she thought). We scribbled the directions down on a napkin, and using those directions, two different GPSs, and reading signs (that are not continuous in their direction), we wandered around the area for another hour or so.  The directions given were just not working.  Finally, we stopped at a Dunkin Donuts (just for coffee, bathroom, and directions), and another young man was called over to help us.  "English or Spanish," he asked.  "English this time," I replied.

WIth this young man's directions, we discovered that our original napkin directions were not quite complete, but now we were at least on the correct path. We were no longer passing the Fiesta. We still had another "detour," but on the return from that last missed turn, we finally saw a sign for Route 28!

Exhausted and excited, we were happy to see some of the landmarks (the federal prison, for instance) that the first gentleman had indicated.

Once on base, all the napkin directions worked just fine, and we arrived at the day's final pit stop: "El Caney Lodge." ("Caney" is the indigenous tribal word for the house of a chief).  Once settled, we explored the base some and then ate barbecue on an outside patio. Nice breezes, birds singing, a bit of humidity, but not too bad.

Tia and Kevin's Amazing Race 2013

“Los exploradores.” – Missing the cultures and language that we grew to love over the years lived in South and Central America, Kevin and I decided to explore the one spot in the US that still holds strong its Latin legacy and lore—and even nationality.  Puerto Rico has been a territory of the United States since 1898, and advocates for statehood constantly confront those loyal to maintaining commonwealth status in order to guard culture and history.  

As for the Reillys, we desire to visit and explore this spot in the world because it is a taste of our old home within the fronteras of our new home.  In actuality, when we decided to take this vacation some months ago, we began our exploration with a tour book. Through the Midwest evenings of late winter through spring, we have read of the history, language, fauna, culture, food, and places.  

This morning, we boarded a Airtrans jet (business class!) and flew to Baltimore, and now on Southwest (not in business class) we’re headed four hours south to San Juan, Puerto Rico.  And for all those who always thought that when we lived in Costa Rica we were living on an island, this time we are going to an island.  Puerto Rico is part of the Antilles, between Hispaniola (Dominican Republic/Haiti) and the Virgin Islands.

Goals for this trip:  see palm trees, listen to the ocean, check out the army base and VA medical center, PRACTICE SPANISH, visit a local church . . . . 

And when we arrived in San Juan (our first "pit stop" in this Amazing Race), the Spanish flowing full and free from voices all around me almost made me tear up.

Tomorrow I will tell you why this trip is now called our "Amazing Race."