San Juan

Last weekend I got a cheap flight to San Juan and went with my friend Aileen, who was in desparate need of the beach. It was kind of disappointing, actually, cuz I wanted to spend the days on the beach just relaxing and reading, but it was somewhat rainy much of the time, and the day that it didn't rain at all, it was so windy that it was more of a hassle than anything else.

I had booked a budget hotel right outside of the Condado district, but it was kinda run down and definitely not acceptable to my traveling companion. So we walked a couple blocks to the beach and found "Numero Uno", a relatively decent guest house with chairs directly on the beach. The second night we stayed at another guest house, cuz Num. 1 was full. Then back to the Number One for the last 2 nights.

We did rent a car one day and drive all through the interior of the island, which is all mountainous and tropical. Lots of windy roads, and great views. We got very lost, which was kind of the point. Ended up on a dirt/mud road, god knows where, with Aileen getting more nervous by the minute, but that's when we saw "The View". We found a very remote spot far away from any paved roads where we could see 30 or 40 miles to the sea, and it was amazing. Mission accomplished.

There were some nice dining experiences, and some meditation looking out on the ocean. Came back to NYC to realize that I had left my favorite sunglasses somewhere in the airport. Looking forward to spending time with the BF this week, then off to Texas on Sat where I will visit family and friends for about 9 days. Link, my best friend and roommate (really!) left for Ecuador the day I returned from San Juan. We sent each inappropriate text messages and emailed pictures of ourselves waiting, using our favorite toy d'jour, the iPhone, as we were sitting in our repective airports, waiting for our planes.