Puerto Rico, You Lovely Island
SAN JUAN – As I write this, I am seated on a balcony overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, which, here on the north side of Puerto Rico, shifts from deep blue to turquoise, and, near the shore when the sun hits it right, emerald. The waves right below me are mild, but a few hundred yards beyond the beach, out to perhaps a quarter of a mile, is a shallow reef, and the surf there is rough. A light but steady breeze is blowing from the east, and the sheer white curtains in the room are waving in concert with the palms below. The air is much cooler than I would have expected, so if I close my eyes and ignore the sound of the waves, I feel for a moment like I would on an afternoon in early March back home.
The hour is past eleven o’clock, but we haven’t wasted half our day. Rather, we have gotten in some relaxation, which is much needed after our adventures of yesterday, and the hectic pattern of hurry-wait-hurry-wait that dominated our Wednesday, when flew here from Orlando. In a few minutes we will hop in our rented Nissan and journey a few miles down the coast to Old San Juan, where we’ll see sixteenth-century architecture, eat desserts and pastries, look out over the sea, visit museums, and maybe listen to some live Salsa music.
When I have the opportunity, I will write about our perilous trek into the remote mountains yesterday. We faced death literally around every corner (and I don’t use the word “literally” unless I mean it).
Filed under: Musings, Travel on August 15th, 2009 | No Comments »