After finally getting everything squared away with United concerning my lost luggage, I finally met up with my cousin Lynnea and her husband TJ and we took off for the east side of PR to Luquillo to check into our hotel:
OK, no that wasn't the hotel...it was the building next to the hotel. ;-) The hotel was actually pretty clean and nice considering the cost, and it was right off the ocean, which was sweet!The first thing we did was get some food down the street and it was just was we needed. We got some traditional PR food called mofongo, which is mainly mashed up plantains with sauce on top and some type meat or seafood typically. It fills you up fast! (mofongo)
The next day we visited El Yunque, a rain forest on the east side of the island. It was incredible there. Lots of trails, waterfalls, flora and fauna, and tons and tons of coqui tree frogs that are the size of your pinky and make noises that seem like they are offering you cookies all the time..."cookie! cookie!;" hence the name coqui tree frog. We got to swim in one of the pools of water at the bottom of a waterfall and hiked a TON! It was incredible and exhilarating.
That very same day we also went on a kayak tour of one of the world's few permanent bio bays in Fajardo, short for bioluminescent bay. It's actually and lagoon that we went to through a canal of mangrove trees, which stink to high heaven but are part of what make the bioluminscence possible. If you have never experienced it, it's quite incredible. Any action in the water glows! Only at night of course, but it's really fun and something you'll never forget. We were soaking wet, tired and hungry afterwards, and it was so late that the only place open, sadly, was McD's. Damn! And I had gone so many years without eating that crap, but it's better than starving I guess.
The next day we packed our things and were on our way to Lynnea's grandfather's house down in the south central part of the island, called Coamo. First Lynnea grabbed this fruit from a roadside stand called quenepas, a childhood favorite of hers. They reminded me of lychee, but with a bit more tannins. About halfway down to Coamo after going in and out of rainstorms, I realized I left my phone back at the hotel...you guessed it...we had to turn around and go all the way back! It was somewhat of a blessing in disguise though, because we stopped off at a little strip mall and got some pizza, cash, starbucks (not my favorite, but way better than most coffee you can find on the island), and a spanish/english dictionary. Traveling through the mountains on the way down was beautiful and by the time we got to her grandfather's, we were starting to miss the cooler weather of the northeast.
Lynnea's grandfather has a small farm with horses up in the hilly regions of Coamo and we drove up there to check it out. It was very rustic, but great to see an area that was both underdeveloped and rural amongst a terrain filled with expensive mansions across the way. Both her grandfather, his girlfriend and girlfriend's son were all very generous and offered us a lot of family history. His house down in the flats also had tons of fruit growing on it that we got to eat...mango and soursops, which are these yummy custard-like fruit with a creamy texture and big watermelon-like seeds in them covered in a rough and scaly green shell.
Finally, we were off to the west side of the island to meet Lynnea's parents and nephews in Anasco. After getting to the resort we were going to be staying at, we checked out our digs and discovered that where we would be staying for the next 3 days would be somewhat of a glorified campsite...except we didn't have any camping gear. We got two rooms, one with a queen sized bed and the other with 2 bunk beds, a bathroom, and a kitchen with nothing in it but an electric stove top and a refrigerator. Now, these were pretty small quarters and we were going to cram 5 people into one of them...the bunk bed room. There was just enough space between the beds to put an air mattress and that was about it. Wow! It was a little distressing for the 3 of us that showed up first realizing we needed to get so many supplies for the stay there and would have to leave most of it behind. What a waste!
We headed off to k-mart to find food, supplies, etc. and were pretty exasperated trying to find what we needed at a reasonable price...did I mention we were melting down at this point due to plummeting blood sugar levels, lack of sleep, and mild exhaustion? It makes for a fun shopping trip let me tell you! By the time we got out of there we were steaming and drove back, unpacked our stuff and headed out in search of food before one of us exploded in a ball of fury.
We found a restaurant down the road and got some food and wine and united with my aunt and uncle Debbie and Jose and the boys Anthony and Xavier. It was great to see them again after 2 1/2 years and catch up. That was one of the best parts about my trip to PR honestly...catching up with the Aponte family (including getting to know Lynnea's husband TJ). They are some of my favorite family and I couldn't have asked for better travel companions. We laughed a lot, played a lot of cards and dominoes, spent time on the beach, and made some awesome food! I learned about an all-important ingredient in Puerto Rican cooking called , which is a blend of peppers, herbs and garlic. Yum!
Another cool event that happened besides relaxing, eating great food and swimming in the nice, warm ocean was, well, swimming in the nice, warm, bioluminescent ocean! It was amazing because we had just told Lynnea's family about visiting the bio bay, but as you can imagine, it's hard to describe something like that...you really just have to experience it. And that's what happened! There was a temporary bioluminescence on the west side of the island we the whole gang got to swim in it and splash around in it and leave glowing trails in our midst. I would spread my fingers wide and flow through the water and watch these sparks fly off my hands that looked like diamonds weaving in and out of my fingertips. I'll have that image in my head forever!
Lynnea, TJ and I said farewell and headed back towards Old San Juan for our last night in PR to try and enjoy one night on the town. They snuck me in their room since they were going to charge us double just to have a 3rd person in the room. We did a little site seeing around El Morro, a fortress from colonial times that encompasses a large part of San Juan. The architecture was a beautiful mix of old and new, rich and poor and the sunset amazing.
Then we got dolled up to head out and get our drink on! We found this amazing restaurant called Dragonfly, which was an asian/latin fusion. It was some of the best food I have had in my entire life, and I' not exaggerating. I highly recommend it to anyone! 
After eating such an amazing meal, our hopes were high for finding some grand entertainment in the nearby bars...yet what we discovered fell a little short...at least for me. I was pretty beat and headed back to the hotel to crash while Lynnea and TJ went on to have a great night...it was nice to give them some time alone and catch up on my sleep.We awoke and headed out for our last meal in PR, which was actually the worst food we had during our stay there, which set the stage for my travels home (see Pure Hell blog). But, the memories from this trip will long outlast the pain of travel to and from and for that I am grateful. I highly recommend going to this amazing place and seeing for yourself was a gem it is. The people were always friendly, helpful and fun. The food amazing! Scenery to die for! And who can top 80 degree water temps. Love it! Would go again in a heartbeat.
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