Sailing the Caribbean

We left Atlanta on December 30, amid the most significant airline fiasco in years.  It was a perfect storm!  Thousands of flights were canceled due to the weather.  A huge storm with frigid temperatures complicated what already is traditionally the busiest travel season each year.  Then to add to an the complicated situation Southwest Airlines had a glitch in their system and canceled still thousands and thousands more flights.  What a mess!  I promise we will adjust our timing from now on!  Nothing around Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Many people sadly didn’t get to take their vacations as planned or did not get to return home on time, and others like Stan and me had long delays and missed connections.  Although it was late at night, we did make it to Puerto Rico as scheduled, two days ahead of our ship’s departure.  As a note, we always plan to arrive in the departure port city well ahead of scheduled departure dates on every cruise we take.  Why take a risk?  Anything can happen to cause a missed sailing and we never want to be in that boat. 🙂  Plus we always enjoy having a little time to explore the departure city.

Stan and I and our girls visited San Juan 27 years ago.  It was one of our first off-shore vacations.  Back then Condado Beach had a sparse collection of beachside hotels and a sprinkling of restaurants.  We stayed at the Ramada Condado.  — say that and repeat it over and over.  People will think you are speaking Spanish.  The road was paved back then in 1996 but the shoulders were sand.  We could walk to restaurants and other hotels. Today, Condado Beach is the busiest beach and resort area in Puerto Rico.  The road nearest the beach is now one-way only and the finest of hotels and resorts, hundreds of high-rise apartments and condominiums with luxurious infinity pools and spacious spa and lounging areas are densely packed on both sides of the two streets going in either direction.  It’s like old Miami except everything here is sparkling new and quite glamorous.

Just as it was 27 years ago, Condado Beach is still beautiful and the surf remains enticing but dangerous.  It is safe to wade the first few feet of the surf but any farther, waves roll in fast and hard.  Below is a swift undercurrent that can sweep a very strong man off his feet. But oh, is this place pretty!

As we walked all through Old San Juan we passed a restaurant with a sign showing their specialty is mofongo.  Mofongo?  What a curious name!  We wondered what that could be.  Of course, Google knew.  Mofongo is a dish made with fried plantains that are then mashed.  Garlic and oil are added and then the mixture is molded into a bowl into which moist stewed meat or shredded chicken in broth can be added. Ok.

As we sat in heavy traffic en route to the ship on departure day, we had plenty of time to get to know our Uber driver, Senor Victor – what a nice man!  Among the many things we talked about, we asked him what he considered authentic Puerto Rican food.  He thought for a moment and then said mofongo!  He told us about his family gatherings and how mofongo was always a special dish.  We vowed to have some.  And we did!  After the cruise, we visited a cool–looking restaurant near our apartment that boasted Puerto Rican food.  Sure enough, they had mofongo filled with any meat prepared in any variety one can imagine.  We chose Ropa Viaja (old clothes) which is long-simmered herbs, spice, and skirt steak.  It was delicious — but not so delicious when we warmed the leftovers for brunch.

We took in as much of San Juan as we could on the one full day we had before and the other after our cruise.  San Juan. Puerto Rico a great vacation place.  I highly recommend it.

The cruise was a bargain we picked up during the Covid shutdown, and it was nice.  We spent ten days in the Caribbean making short stops in Aruba, Bonaire, Grenada, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Maarten, and St. Kitts.  These Caribbean islands are something to behold!  As my dear friend, Betty Klein so precisely describes them, “Each one is different yet, a lot of sameness.  All so beautiful and interesting.”

The relaxing, carefree cruise is complete.  It is over.  Now Stan and I begin the real journey . . . we are off to Costa Rica.  Starting with a flight to San Jose, we plan to see the area and then move on through the country in the next few weeks.  Let’s see what we discover in this small but very diverse country. Do come on along with us!