¡Buenos Días! We are in Puerto Rico

July 19, 2015

¡Buenos Días! We are in Puerto Rico

Red Eye flights are the silent killers. I really don’t know that we survived it, unless of course, heaven looks like Puerto Rico. Really though, that 12:15 a.m. flight from Salt Lake City to North Carolina was horrendous. Jordan and I have both taken multiple 13+ hour flights, and this flight was, by far the most draining. The flight was shaky and every seat in the plane was occupied. Therefore, the plane began emanating the odor of each stinky body on that aircraft, shortly after takeoff. Everyone was restless throughout the flight. I think the pilot was a little restless as well, because his landing was the kind that made you question if you would be leaving the aircraft in one piece. We (crash) landed at 5:30 a.m., but the time in Salt Lake was 3:30, so naturally, we were all zonked.

The layover in North Carolina was fairly uneventful. We had a run-in with some less than savory characters, but that is to be expected no matter where you travel. The flight to Puerto Rico from North Carolina was good. Steady flight, nicer flight attendants and a quieter plane.

The interior of the airport in San Juan has cute diagrams of Old San Juan

Upon landing, we had a bit more trouble. Here’s the deal, we tried to cut some costs throughout our trip, so we went for the cheapest rental car company we could find. Rental cars are freaking expensive, especially when you are considered an “underage driver.” Jordan is 23- two years shy of being 100% eligible for a rental car. So we opted for a random car rental agency that had less steep of prices for underage drivers. Payless Car Rental is not located at the airport. Instead, you had to board one of their crowded shuttles and hitch a ride to the car place. 45 minutes after landing, we finally hopped aboard the shuttle. An hour and 15 minutes later we left the car rental agency with our car. It really was a mess. The moral of the story is: as appealing as it may be to go cheap and save money, it isn’t always the wisest choice. We ended up with our rental car, but the story could have gone far worse.

Payless Car Rental

Our Car

With lifted spirits in our rental car, we drove to our hotel. The roads are uneven and overgrown with shrubbery. Palm trees dangle provocatively over the highways. Everywhere you look, you see green. The area really is beautiful. As we were driving, Jordan commented on all of the coconuts lining the side of the road. No sooner does he say that, “WHAM!” a coconut came loose from the palm above our car and hit the roof. It took a moment to process what had just happened. What are the odds? As soon as we say, “Wow, look at all of the coconuts on the road,” we are hit with one. We couldn’t stop laughing after that.

Fruit trucks line the sides of the highway

After a 45-minute drive, we arrived at our hotel- the Embassy Suites in Dorado del Mar, Puerto Rico. The hotel is beautiful, and the service is great. We checked into our room, and left immediately afterwards in search of food. Our hunt was successful- granted, we didn’t opt for an awesome, local place. We ate at Pizza Hut- and it was delicious. Our bellies full of pepperoni delight, we had newfound energy. We returned to our hotel and checked out the grounds.

Look at that pizza. Heaven. Pure heaven, I tell you!

The Embassy Suites are located next to an old, deserted golf course. The area is overgrown and amazing. Everything is running wild. We were both amazed by the untamed beauty of the area. My favorite feature of the course was the ponds. The ponds were blossoming with lily pads. Birds were casually trotting on the greenery in the water. It was an amazing sight. We wandered for a while, and then returned to our hotel room, where we showered and went to sleep- at 7:45 p.m. Yes. We were exhausted!