Basically, our trip was perfect. We rented a condo right across the street from a beautiful beach. Nearly every morning, we played on the soft sand
and splashed in the relatively calm waters.
In fact, in the three places we've visited to beat the Boston winter (Cabos San Lucas; Guana Cay, Bahamas) this was the first beach where we were able to swim. The condo was in Luquillo, about 45 min away from San Juan. The town was not huge (read: congested with cars) but very convenient.
We did a few day trips despite the crazy driving (people don't signal, and don't slow down when entering a highway). Nearby El Yunque rainforest was nice, but we couldn't walk very much because of Galina and Nikita. We all loved Old San Juan; it reminded Igor and Galina of Spain. On my prodding, we had lunch at La Bombanera, where I went many years ago at the end of a cruise (and I was running a very high fever). The food wasn't as good as I remembered it (Cafe Mallorca down the street may be better), but the coffee is REALLY good. We also went to Ponce, but the drive through the mountains was way more interesting than the actual town.
Food was very good. A full kitchen and nearby grocery store made it easy to eat-in; salsa music on the radio made it a pleasure to cook! We were also close to some good bakeries. Nikita particularly liked the French bread ("Mommy, the bread is sweet!"), which tasted more like Filipino pan de sal to me. One thing I would've liked is more tropical fruit, but I read that Puerto Rico doesn't grow many because of import laws, which is really unfortunate. The next time we go to Puerto Rico, we would like to visit one or two coffee plantations - with a stop at a lechoneria for me!
Now, if we could only figure out how to not get sick when we get back from winter vacation. But that is another post.
