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Exploring, snorkeling, roadside food carts and dogs that burgle. 

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The rest of our time in Rincon was spent on the beach, snorkeling and exploring the west coast of Puerto Rico.


Tres Palmas Marine Reserve was literally our backyard on Steps beach. It is a huge natural reef with tons of different coral species and tropical fish. We also saw cuttle fish, a baby blow fish, a razor back turtle, a sea cucumber, an octopus and tons of brightly colored tropical fish. We snorkeled almost everyday. It was awesome! Another species Puerto Rico is known for are their stray dogs. One morning George and I set out to go snorkeling. When we got to the beach we were greated by the cutest black and white lab mix dog. She was so cute and friendly, full of energy wanting us to play with her. She even followed us when we went into the water. I had my fins on first and started to swim out. As I surfaced and turned to see George just getting his gear situated about to swim out to where I was, I spotted that adorable dog running gleefully down the beach with George’s gear bag in her mouth!

Of coarse!

George’s bag had his phone and sunglasses in it! I yelled to him and we swam back to shore to find his bag. It was crazy! We had thoughts of her taking the bag back to her lair where she and her gang of dogs were collecting phones to sell on eBay! Luckily she had dropped the bag not too far from where we were, but not before his glasses and case fell out! We finally recovered all of the items  and promptly tied our bags high in a tree before heading back into the water. Crazy dog!

Driving around and exploring the beach communities in the area was also interesting. The main roads are what we would think of as the alley behind our houses. They were skinny roads that didn’t seem to be two lanes, but they were, and sometimes there were cars parked on the sides making it a bit more nerve wracking. It sometimes felt like a game of chicken! I’ve attached a video to show you what it’s like. The video below was taken on the main road connecting the towns, route PR 413.  We don’t   know how spoiled we are with our roads!

Along every winding road there were roadside food stands and small buildings with a walk up window that sold all sorts of food. Empanadas, tacos, BBQ, fresh juices, Chinese stir fry. It was endless. If there was an empty lot or corner, someone was selling prepared food or fruit. Our recommendation is to stop and eat there, you won’t be disappointed! We stopped at a random empanada stand while we were out exploring and it was tasty!

Below are some pics of some of the roadside carts/stands. Starting with the empanada place.



That wraps up our trip to Puerto Rico. Definitely a place you should visit!

Day trip to Culebra

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It was 5:30am when we left our snug beds to set out to Fajardo for our trip to Culebra Island.  It’s a 3 hour drive from Rincon. The whole way while driving there I was a tad worried because this was MY idea.  I was 99.9% sure it was going to be worth driving 6hrs in one day, but that .01% was gnawing at me. Turns out I was worried over nothing! It was an incredible trip!

We booked our trip using the Viator app with East Island Adventures. There is a ferry that you can catch from Fajardo to Culebra for $5 round trip, if you want to bring a cooler of food they will charge $1 more.  This option was considerably less than what we went with, but you need to arrive at least 2hrs ahead of time and stand in line to get a spot on the ferry. You never know how many people will be there so there is a slight chance it could sell out before you get your ticket. We took the safe route of a guided tour, snorkel equipment, lunch and booze included- Dramamine not- highly reccomend if your sea legs are weak! Another reccomentation is a good water tight bag or case for your phone. One that you can use under water. You will want to take pics, also there is no dock, you swim to shore. So if you want pics on flamenco Beach, bring a waterproof case or bag. 

There are two stops, a cove with a reef for awesome snorkeling and then Flamenco Beach. My pictures below are in that order as well! 

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Flamenco Beach

Rincon

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We made it to Rincon! We’ve been snorkeling, relaxing  on the beach and in the water. It’s been fab. This is a great surf town. Not super developed. But just enough. No highrise hotels. No chain restaurants. George ran out and picked us up lunch from a roadside truck. Puerto Rican rice and beans, tostones (plantains) and roast pork. 

There is an airport for this side of the island so you don’t have to drive 3hrs, but we wanted to spend some time in Old San Juan so we decided to fly in and out of there. 

This side of the island is relaxed and quiet. Not a ton of tourists. 

Once again we are totally thrilled with our Homeaway house! It’s perfect! It is on the beach in the natural marine  preserve of  Tres Palmas Marine Reserve. The reef is right in our backyard. Which is pretty cool highly recommend this apartment. It’s the first floor of a house. 2 queen beds and 1king. 1bath (we’ve had no issues with that, but we only have 1 bath at home so we are used to it) the couple we are renting from has other properties that are larger. They couldn’t be nicer! Everything you could possibly need is provided. Beach chairs, snorkel equip, towels, shampoo, conditioner, soap. There was even some leftover sunscreen to start us off before we headed to the store! Here is the link to our place on homeaway 

http://t.hmwy.io/r2kd/7Y0DBVnhOD

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La Ruta del Lechon – AKA the Pork Highway!

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On our way to Rincon we took a detour to an area in the mountains that is known for roadside restaurants specializing in roast pig. 

The Pork Highway, or La Ruta del Lechón, is a roughly three-mile stretch of Route 184, which is located in a central area of Puerto Rico called Guavate. This winding road is lined with more than a dozen casual roadside restaurants, known as lechoneras, specializing in slow-roasted whole pig (lechón).

It was incredible! Seemed to be mostly locals, only a handful of tourists. It is known as a place to go on weekends and holidays. It seemed like each restaurant had their own band the music was loud and everyone was dancing, drinking  and eating. It was a mass party! The food and atmosphere was so great. I think it is a prerequisite that you know how to dance here. People were dancing in line to get food, dancing while they waited for their drinks, as well as the people that were dancing on the actual dance floor. You can’t help but smile here! 

We had pig, mofungo, blood sausage, rice and beans and tostones. It was awesome! I’m sorry I didn’t take a picture of our feast! 

Ok, so no words can do this justice, but pictures and video can! 

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Old San Juan 

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Puerto Rico we’re back! Karen and I were here 4 years ago for 4 days, but this time we  brought George along and Karen’s best friend of 13 years, Isabel! 

Traveling to Puerto Rico is easy and cheaper than other Caribbean destinations. If you are a US citizen you do not need s passport. Puerto Rico is a US territory, so the currency is the same and more importantly driving is a piece of cake, making it easy to see the island and explore! Renting a car is a must. 

We flew into San Juan, rented our car at the airport and headed to our hotel in Old San Juan.  Old San Juan is awesome! Narrow cobblestone streets, colorful pastel buildings with ornate balconies and heavy wooden doors make for an architecturally stunning city. We booked a room for one night at Casa Blanca Hotel https://hotelcasablancapr.com/

It was an incredible hotel! Right in the heart of the action. Extra bonus for me, there were movie references throughout the hotel, like the movie playing on a constant loop in the lobby, it was awesome!  Below are a few pics of the hotel and street view from our balcony. 

Casa Blanca playing in the lobby 💗


After we settled in our room, we walked around the city stopping at shops and vendors along the way. San Juan is an easy city to walk. It is about 10-15 min from end to end. There is a tram that you can hop on and off of, but I imagine you can walk the distance you want to go in the time it takes waiting for the tram to arrive! Our approach to seeing San Juan was to not have an agenda. Just wander the cross crossing streets, stop at shops, sit on benches and people watch. Stop at cafes to have a drink. Slow down and enjoy not having an agenda. 

Some highlights of our meandering. 

After all that walking we needed to rest our feet. Most hotel have a rooftop pool or jacuzzi, Casa Blanca had 4 cement double bath tubs! They were awesome! Of coarse I had to try it out! It was awesome!!

Morning view waking up. So gorgeous! 

 

The next morning we set out for the fort, Castillo San Felipe del Morro. This Spanish fort was so cool like stepping into history. 

Sentinel turret. 

Chapel

Beautiful cemetery next to the fort


Next stop the surf town of Rincon where we will stay for the remainder of our trip! 

Stay tuned…

Sienna

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We decided to train it to Sienna for our last full day. Sienna is another hill top town that Tuscany is known for. It did not disappoint! The medieval buildings lined the streets and seemed to loom over us like they were shielding us as we wandered through them.

Piazza del Campo is the principal public space of the historic center of Siena, Tuscany, Italy and is regarded as one of Europe’s greatest medieval squares. It is renowned worldwide for its beauty and architectural integrity.The twice-a-year horse-race, Palio di Siena, is held around the edges of the piazza.

            

The city was full of grand architecture and beautiful art

              

We barely scratched the surface of Sienna. It would be nice to spend a night here!

We are sitting at the airport as I write this post. A little sad that Italy is so far from Pittsburgh.


                                            

Pisa, Firenze and the Tuscan country side

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So if you are like me, I have never heard Florence called Firenze. That is the actual name of Florence. The name that Italians call it! It shocked me. Why don’t we call it Firenze? Sorry Firenze…It’s too late now, everyone knows you as Florence!

“Florence was founded by the Romans in the 59B.C. and called Florentia, which is probably why we call it “Florence” rather than “Firenze”. In italian, “Florentia” (pronounced flo-rent-zhee-ah) sounds more like “Firenze” (pronounced fee-rent-zhee) but with an easier pronounciation without the “L”.”                                               -yahoo answers  

But first, on the way to Florence we stopped for about an hour in Pisa. We heard from our apartment contact in the Cinque Terre that the tower was about the only thing to see in Pisa. So we trained it to Pisa, then bused it over to the tower. Quick bucket list side trip. It was cool. 

Florence has been great! The hustle and bustle. Bargaining for leather goods at the street market, high end shops, art, amazing  architecture, the “Line of David” (record scratch)  Wait, what?? That’s right, after waiting in line for two hours to get into the the Accedemia museum to see the statue of David, they cut the entrance line off 5 people ahead of us!!! It was heartbreaking!! So let this be a lesson to you, if you can reserve a ticket online to the museums you want to go to, before your trip, DO IT!! Some people waited 3 hrs in the blazing sun. Not something I care to do while the city is waiting there in front of me to be explored!! Other than that fiasco, Florence is stunning and vibrant with life. 

Today we rented a car to tour the Tuscan countryside and wine region. It was nice to get away from the throngs of people! Again, like in France we were a little nervous about driving, but we figured we made the reservation, we have to do it! It was great! It was much easier getting out of Florence than Paris. We were at our first stop of San Gimignano within 45 min. A really cool hill top medieval town with gorgeous vineyard views. 

From there we went to Volterra and then to the Chianti region. The day went by really fast and we saw some of the most beautiful countryside. Just gorgeous!

Tomorrow we are going to train it to Sienna for our last day. Sorry David, I guess it just wasn’t in the cards! 

Oh I almost forgot, our apartment is awesome! Great location and even better it has a rooftop porch with a view of the Tuscan hills and this time, there was an elevator!! Woohoo! How did we luck out? It has been nice!! 

      

Our Florence Apartment. The porch was so great, we ate dinner in every night with a bottle of wine. Which by the way is crazy cheap here. I guess because it is so close to where they make it. It barely has to travel!

       

Around Firenze   

Funny traffic sign graffiti 


    

  
The Duomo is seriously impressive. It is massive! 
                     

Tuscan countryside

   
     

  

                 

 

Etruscan ruins 600BC 

    

Voltarre  






  

  

  

 

Dogs of Italy  part 2

   

 





  
  

Cinque Terre

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ok so my wifi is spotty here in Riomaggiore. I’m going to keep it short so I can post this before the wifi stops working. The Cinque Terre are 5 cities nestled into the coastline of the Italian Riviera. We are staying in Riomaggiore. You can hike between cities or take a train. There are no cars allowed in the cities unless you are dropping off luggage or goods. 

We toured around yesterday, took a boat ride to see all 5 cities from the ocean. Went to the beach and had a fantastic meal. The Cinque Terre are known for lemons, pesto, terraced vineyards, sea food as well as the quaint towns that are still locally run. No hotel or restaurant chains here.  It is unspoiled. We took a hike today from Volastro to Corniglia the trail meandered through vineyards and olive trees along the coast. It was breathtakingly beautiful. It took about 2 hrs.

Ok so here are the photo highlights of the Cinque Terre!

  

   
Riomaggiore 

  

Monorola  

 
Corniglia 

  

Vernazza

 

Coming into Monterosso   

  Watching the locals play boccie  

One set of the ten thousand  steps we climbed  all 5 cities are located on hillsides = a workout!! 

   

Morning from our apartment, which by the way couldn’t have been better !

The start of our hike. Trail starts behind the church in Volastro.   

          

The terraced vineyards are amazing. Who would have thought to farm here? 

 And ended in Corniglia. So quaint!

   

  

We then trained it to Vernazza for a bottle of wine seaside!

     

Nighttime in Riomaggiore! Tomorrow, Florence! 
 

Venice- Graceful Decay

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This concept of graceful decay kept coming to mind as we walked the streets of Venice. The brightly colored cracked, patchy stucco of the buildings. The stone on the floor of the churches that has been worn smooth from hundreds of years of use. The weather worn painted shutters that show the peeling under layers of paint. People pay good money for these types of faux finishes in the states! Here, this is just how it is. This city is so old it is hard to comprehend. 

     

George and Karen were discussing a painting they saw in the Dodge’s Palace ( the Dodge was like the King of Venice. This palace was built in 1340) they were looking at a painting of the palace in Saint Marks Square with medieval people lining the square and the balconies of the palace.  It looked identical to today’s palace only the people have changed. How surreal to be standing in the very same building that an artist painted hundreds of years ago! It’s crazy. 

Anywho we’ve had a fantastic time. We’ve put in about 5-7 miles a day! We leave in the morning to catch a train across the country to the Cinque Terra’s on the Riviera. Should be an adventure. 

Here are a few pics highlighting out stay here in Venice.    

          
This church and bridge was featured as the “library” in Indiana Jones and the last crusade    

 

   
       

A few of the many alleyways we wandered…   

                 

The Doge’s palace    

     

Looking out the Bridge of Sighs- where sentenced prisoners could get their last glimpse of Venice before being locked in the dungeons!   

   

Looking at the Bridge of Sighs from the outside.  

Last but not least. My first instillation of      The dogs of Italy…   

           

Venice: Jet lag & Gelato

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    It was a long travel day but we made it! Venice is unbelievable. We keep looking at each other and saying “Are we really here?” It is very surreal. So, by the title of my post you can guess that I had some fierce jet lag! But I muscled through, after a two hour nap 😉   and managed to salvage the evening and end on a high note with some gelato! 

  The view from our apartment is stunning   

 The apartment is perfectly charming. Really cool beamed ceiling.  

 After checking in to our apartment, we went to Piazza San Marco, which is just a 2min walk from our place. Had some wine and ice cream and listened to music.    

      
  Below is the gate leading to the courtyard for our apartment building. 

 This is our courtyard 

 Access to the canal is right when you walk in!  

 We spent the evening roaming the narrow alleys of Venice. It was stunning.  

   
  




      
Tomorrow… More Venice! 
Ciao!