¿Por Que No?

Huzzah, hooray, this is happening!
I'm blogging, and just 5 days behind schedule (in typical alaska-fashion).
To be fair, this is the first place I've had reliable internet. To be unfair, I should have set this up weeks ago :) meh.

Before we get into where exactly "here" is, let me go over some pre-here stops. This is what I've been up to!  I arrived in San Juan dead tired and all kinds of sad--goodbyes are the worst. That being said, my first hostel  was absolutely beautiful! So I was slightly cheered up :)

Located in Old Town San Juan, Pasada San Francisco is surrounded by streets of old, colonial-style houses, narrow streets, and, oh yeah, a Starbucks. Also a Burger King and Wallgreens, but lets just focus on that Starbucks for a while. Mm Seattle. Before you shake your head at me, listen up! I didn't go in. I just couldn't do it. If Bonderman's about trying new things, I figured I'd rip familiarity off like a band-aid and go straight for the big kicker--my affection for pumpkin spice. I took refuge in a cafe right downstairs instead. Quite cute. Also quite bad coffee.

So, learning my bonderlessons quickly, I decided not to order coffee there again. I ordered mint tea with honey (I have fond memories of fresh mint). I should also mention that I was, and still am, quite sick--sore throat, runny nose...the works. So the tea felt juuuust right :) If you talked to me at all about the Bonderman Fellowship, I probably mentioned to you that my biggest fear about this trip is being sick alone. BOOM first day. No training wheels here, folks. Don't panic, there's a Wallgreens down the street--I have meds :)

Old San Juan also hosts some awesome Forts with great history about the occupation of Puerto Rico by, hm, well, just about every body. They saved these political cartoons and had them on display at Fort Murro. C-check it. Bad Uncle Sam and his latin omlette. I didn't feel any hostility in Old San Juan--in fact, its extremely touristy, englishy, and welcomes my money with open arms--but there are definitely neighborhoods in San Juan that aren't so forgiving about my broken-car spanish. I'm staying in a different hostel now (still in San Juan, just hopping around)--we'll see how it compares. I don't remember a great deal about the Forts, since this was the height of my sickness thus far, and I had difficulty not shaking, let alone not spacing out. I did make it up 4 flights of stairs for the view, though :) Te gusta? On the top of Fort Murro, defending Puerto Rico one killer view at a time.

San Juan isn't all! I've done a bit of traveling around the island, too. I met some really great people at my hostel (yay, friends!) and we rented a car to get down to Farjardo, a small city on the east side of the island. From there, we caught a Ferry to Culebra, a tiny island with BIG adventures. Our mission? To experience Flamenco Beach for ourselves--rated the 2nd most beautiful beach in the world by Discovery Channel, it certainly lived up to that reputation.

 I did take a walk down the small path at the edge of the beach, and stumbled across some pretty crazy signs: "WATCH FOR BOMBS." A small reminder that Culebra was once used by the US Navy for target practice. There was an old tank in the water, too. Talk about your trouble in paradise. After Culebra, we took a drive over to El Yunque, just a quick skip away from Farjardo--but with miles and miles of difference. El Yunque is a rainforest, with the most amazing natural waterfall pools.

After spending the day in the salt and sand of Flamenco, the cool (and I do mean very cool) fresh water falls felt just awesome. I've never felt more clean (though in reality, I was probably disgusting).

What else, what else? I'm flipping through my phone to jog my memory (Flu meds, people). Oh! Yes! The Bioluminescent Bay! I didn't get any pictures of this, but oh my wow--it was like stepping into Fern Gully. The bay has millions of these tiny plankton that, as a defensive mechanism, release a luminescent glow when disturbed. I dont exactly know how that helps them survive (hey, you! see me better!) but I won't question it. They're lovely.  We rented kayaks and paddled out to bay to wait for pitch-dark--only to be caught in the middle of a Puerto Rican rainstorm, in the middle of hurricane season. Imagine a soaking wet person. Now throw that person in a pool. That's...basically me, in a kayak, surrounded by glowing shrimp (excuse me, plankton). I wouldn't have changed a thing about it. When the raindrops hit the water, the ripples lit up like stardust. I was kayaking in the middle of the sky, through the stars :) When you cupped water in your hand, the water winked back at you--tiny, shiny smiles. I wish I could describe it better. It was beautiful.

Man, all the describing words! I'm getting sleepy! I switched hostels today, so things were action-packed and chaotic. I also went down to a beach in San Juan--its maintained by the huge hotels set up downtown so they're clean and endless. Literally, you look out and see nothing but blue. It makes finding a nice quiet spot to sit pretty easy--my new hostel-mates body boarded, and I did some yoga :) It's humid enough to be hot yoga, so lets just say that instead. HOT. YOGA. Needless to say, I'm thoroughly sticky. I'm going to explore the bus system tomorrow--who knows where that goes. I certainly don't know what time they come (there is no bus schedule). A truly random adventure :)

I'm not sure when I'll be able to post next, but I want to say one last thing--something pretty important. It's only day 5, but this trip has taken me by the shoulders and seriously rocked the way I think about my day. Never underestimate the power of lady luck, and the fabulous places she can take you, if you surrender a little planner. I've met some truly wonderful people that I never dreamed into my schedule, but who have made this trip what it is so far. Sometimes, the only way to schedule yourself an amazing time is to leave the schedules behind.

por que no?
much love :) ak.