I’m off! Granted, if you know me at all, you’re thinking that I’m always a bit off, but this time I mean geographically. I’m writing this from the living room of an apartment hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where my brother (Eric) and I will spend a couple of days before boarding the Azamara Journey for back-to-back Caribbean cruises.
Puerto Rico, November 5-6
I’ve spent more time in Puerto Rico than anywhere else outside the continental United States. When I was growing up, my maternal grandparents and two sets of aunts, uncles, and cousins lived on this beautiful, vibrant island, and my family traveled to San Juan once or twice a year to reconnect.
Many of my memories from that time involve food, for two very good reasons: my grandmother and my Aunt Cila were amazing cooks, and Puerto Rican food is to die for (or to die from, as you’ll see from the list in the next sentence). Proust had his madeleines; I have my maduros (sweet ripe fried plantains) – not to mention tostones (fried, smashed, unripe plantains), arroz con habichuelas (rice and beans), arroz con pollo (rice and chicken), pasteles (akin to tamales, but with dough made from plantains, yucca, and pumpkin), pastelillos (small fried pastries), and of course, piraguas (shaved ices with tropical fruit syrup).
And then there were the sights and sounds: silken white beaches (Isla Verde and Luquillo), the majestic El Yunque rain forest, the cobblestones and pastel buildings of Old San Juan, the showy (duh!) flamboyan trees, the parrandas (Christmas carolers), the crowing roosters, the coquís (nocturnal tree frogs whose name comes from the males’ two-note call) …. Puerto Rico truly is “La Isla del Encanto.”
Eric and I spent Thursday evening and all day Friday wandering through Old San Juan and the adjacent neighborhoods of Condado (mostly hotels and restaurants) and Miramar (largely residential and business, including an inordinate number of beauty schools).
Much has changed since I was last here ten years ago. Swaths of Old San Juan, including the Puerta de Tierra area where we’re staying, have been rehabilitated.
There is street art everywhere, with several striking new sculptures and murals.
We stopped for lunch at a vegan restaurant called 100% HP: the “HP” stands for hecho de plantas, meaning made of plants. Their motto is “We Fool Carnivores,” and I have to say that, even though I’m not a carnivore any longer, the mixed plate that I had did a great job of convincing me that I was eating delectable shredded beef.
Regardless of your gustatory preferences, it’s well worth a visit. (If you disagree with me after eating there, you can take out your disappointment on the punching bag in the bathroom – a first, in my experience!). The restaurant’s address is 604 Calle Cerra, and the phone number is 939-222-6222.
After lunch we headed back into Old San Juan to spend time admiring the buildings, the art, and the animals.
Many fond memories of my childhood visits came streaming back as we wandered through the city. Only a couple of cousins remain from the three generations who spent wonderful evenings sitting in my uncle and aunt’s backyard in Bayamón, gathering around my grandparents’ dining room table in Santurce, and convening at my other uncle and aunt’s apartment just off the Condado. Now, though, it’s time to look ahead, to all the new places and experiences awaiting us over the next two weeks.
