Puerto Rico Day Five - Rest and Relaxation

Hola!

  Today was our last day in Puerto Rico and we spent it going back and forth between the ocean and the pool.  It was a perfect day for swimming, hot and sunny with barely a cloud in the sky.  David, Jacob, James and I all got some degree of sunburn but nothing that should bother us too much on the plane tomorrow.  

Jon was thrilled to get cake for breakfast

  The ocean today was calm and beautiful.  The surf was still a little rough for the boys, certainly too rough for them to practice swimming.  But Will had his "adult attitude" and he came out to jump in the waves.  David stayed near him and was really great at protecting Will from the high waves.  Although at one point after a big wave Will told James, "A wave knocked me down and I went into the black"  I'm not sure what he means exactly but I love his turn of phrase.  

Will and Daddy in the waves

Our beach

Playing on the beach

Swimming in the Caribbean

Jacob and Jon

  
























  Jon had his inner tube and enjoyed riding the waves back into shore.  I think we'll need to get him a boogie board this summer.  The boys also spent a lot of time on the beach with Daddy building sand castles and burying themselves in the sand.  In the afternoon Jon made friends with a little boys who had a squirt gun.  Jon shared his shovels and pails and the little boy shared his squirt gun.

Jonny riding the waves

Building castles

Will on the beach

  While we ate lunch Jon serenaded us with his new ukulele, he was so cute!  Afterwards, James and I played Munchkin (a really fun card game) with my brothers while Will and Jon painted with Grandma.  Will and Camille painted a picture of the view from our balcony and Jon used bright colors to paint the city of San Juan.

Painting with Grandma

Jon's picture of San Juan and Will's picture of the palm trees in our backyard.

   Although the adults loved the ocean, the boys favorite place to be is the pool.  The pools here are all pretty shallow, mostly under four feet so Will could stand in them and practice his swimming.  Jon used his noodle to swim around although he also practiced his swimming in one of the shallower pools.

Jonny under water

Will swimming under water

  Will was doing great swimming under water and toward the end of the day he met a girl just a little older than him.  They talked about swimming and she taught Will a few tricks.  I hung back so they could play but it was fun to watch them.

Will Swimming

Will doing an underwater flip

Two cute sharks

  After hours of swimming James and I left our tired boys in the very capable hands of Camille, Jacob and David, and headed for a little date night.  We had a delicious dinner in Fajardo which is just past El Yunque and Luquillo.  On the way over we took a back road through a tunnel of trees.  The trees intertwined above the narrow road and provided a complete canopy.  It was very cool and I wish we could have gotten a picture.

  On our date James and I processed our trip and discussed some of our favorite things.  One thing that we've both been struck by is how much our boys are growing up and what we've learned about them.  Jon loves food.  I've always known this but I didn't realize how adventurous he was.  He turned down pizza for broccoli soup, he loves pina coladas, and he ordered and devoured food that he's never seen before.  

  Will notices people and has a kind heart. In El Yunque he said hi to every single person we saw.  And in San Juan, after we passed a man in the street, he told me "That man has a sign that says 'help the blind'.  His eye doesn't work but he needs money so they can repair it and then he won't be blind anymore."  (He had read the sign and the rest he thought of himself.) We talked and Will and I decided that if we saw that man again we would stop.

  OK, one last recap and then I'll be done.  I love the people here.  Everyone we've talked to has been incredibly nice, even when we didn't speak the same language (although almost everyone did speak English)  The countryside is beautiful, the people kind and the food delicious.  I wish we had more time here but I think we will definitely come back again.  

And so until next time... Adios!!  
Thank you for reading!

Puerto Rico Day Four - San Juan

Hola!

We finally have sun!  After three days of clouds and rain the sun came out and the temperature climbed into the nineties.  Jon usually goes with James to take out the trash in the mornings but this morning the sun scared him off.  "I need sunscreen or I'll get burned up!!"

  Today we headed into Old San Juan and our first stop was at El Morro, a 16th century fort.  Below the fort was a beautiful cemetery with some excellent views of the ocean.  Many of the grave stones had images of Jesus and with the Easter story fresh in his mind Will was excited to discover the tomb where Jesus had been buried   He was disappointed to learn that this was not the case.

Our walk through the cemetery

El Morro Cemetery

Taking a break in the shade

La Perla

Jacob and Will watch the waves from the cemetery wall

David enjoys the view

  The walk from the cemetery to the fort was across a huge grassy field and the boys wasted no time running through it.  We took a while to get up to the fort because the adults kept stopping for pictures while the boys ran back and forth.

Will in a lookout tower

Walk to El Morro

Jon tiptoeing after a bird

Right outside the El Morro

Daddy and Will on the wall

  The day was very sunny and by the time we got to El Morro we were already hot.  The fort is pretty big and we didn't get to see all of it but what we did see was really cool.  The boys decided to play Lego Pirates of the Caribbean and we were all assigned our roles.  Then Will Turner and Jack Sparrow led us through the fort finding jails and secret hideouts and escaping from bad guys.  I love exploring with Will and Jon, the world is so exciting.

My silly boy

Stairs down into the fort

A secret hiding place in the wall

Exploring the fort

Leaving El Morro

  After El Morro we headed into Old San Juan to find some lunch.  We ended up at the Pizza Barria (I know, we're in Puerto Rico and we go for pizza) where we had a spectacular meal.  Most of our meals here have been partially shared, we order a lot of different things and everyone has a little of everything.  Today everyone but Jon shared pizza and pasta dishes as well as some appetizers.  Jon however ordered the soup of the day, a broccoli cream soup, and a pina colada (without alcohol).  Grandpa would be proud.  :-)  Will took a sip of the pina colada, his eyes got really big and all he could say was "Wow"

  After lunch we explored San Juan and shopped.  Will found a map of Puerto Rico and Jon bought himself a ukulele.  Jon walked the streets playing it and he wanted to join in with a street performer who was playing a guitar.

Walking the streets with his ukulele

Jon plays by the fountain

The streets of Old San Juan

Our group walking San Juan

Will finds a friend in a little shop

Part of the wall around Old San Juan

   We ended our time in the city at a little plaza where David and Jacob made some new friends.  Will also had a bird land on his arm but I wasn't fast enough with the camera.  And, to be honest, all I could think was "Rats with wings!  Rats with wings!".  After that we grabbed some ice cream (and washed our hands!) and headed home.

Jacob covered in birds

Making new friends

David with some birds

David and James order a coconut

David enjoys his frozen yogurt

Jon

Streets of San Juan

Running through the city

  By the time we left the city it was getting late so we just grabbed some fast food on the way home.  It wasn't too late for a swim though and James, Jacob and David took the boys to the closest pool.  I had been sunburned and was pretty exhausted so I didn't join them.  Tomorrow our plan is to stay in and relax by the pool and our little beach.  Hopefully it will be nice and sunny again.

Adios!

Puerto Rico Day Three - El Yunque

Hola!

  Happy Easter!  The day began with two happy boys discovering Easter baskets from Grandma.  Then, after breakfast, Grandma, Will and Jon went out to paint together on the balcony.  It was so sweet to see!  Camille is working on a beautiful landscape but both of the boys painted pictures of Hiccup and Toothless from How to Train your Dragon.  

  We had originally hoped to find a local English speaking church for Easter but we didn't have much luck.  Even though I'm sure they are around, the closest church I could find was at least half an hour away and we just weren't up for it.  Despite that disappointment it was really nice to have a relaxing morning just spending time quietly together.  

Easter baskets!

Painting with Grandma on the balcony

Will relaxing on the couch

   Around noon we packed a lunch and headed out to El Yunque, the National Rain Forest.  On the way Jacob read to us about the crucifixion and the resurrection from the book of John.  Will laughed when he heard that Mary mistook Jesus for a gardener.  The reading sparked the best discussion we've had on this trip and it was so cool to listen to Jacob and Camille go back and forth on the subjects of sin, grace and guilt.

  But the drive was short and all too soon we arrived at El Yunque which is the only National Park rain forest.  Our first stop was the visitor center which had a lot of information on the plants and animals in the forest.  To be honest, I didn't pay much attention because I was much more interested in the beautiful views and in following the boys around.  Will decided that one section was a bat cave and he spent the rest of the time squeaking and flying around the center.

Will and Jon with Uncle Jacob

Me and Camille with the boys

At the El Yunque visitor center

  

A glimpse of the ocean

  Our next stop was at a little picnic area for lunch and down a short trail we found a concrete building with picnic tables inside.  We'd had showers and sprinkles all day but while we were having lunch it began to pour.  That didn't discourage the boys though and Jacob and David took them out to play in the rain.  We only had to wait fifteen minutes before the rain let up and we were able to make it back to the car.

Enjoying our picnic lunch

Playing in the rain

The rain forest

David by a full and fast moving stream

   El Yunque has one main road going up the mountain with many stops along the way for trail heads, picnic areas and scenic views.  We had hoped to make it to the peak but the trail to the top was covered by an inch of fast flowing water so we decided to pick a different hike.  We chose a 3 km round trip walk to a waterfall.  It didn't pour again but between the mist, drizzle and occasional shower it felt like we were constantly wet.

Leaf umbrellas!

Hiking in El Yunque

The rain forest

   The rain forest was amazing, it was absolutely beautiful.  The dense vegetation, the light mist, the sounds of the birds and the sounds of the streams came together in a setting that I can't possibly capture on camera.  (OK, I'll be honest, it all reminded me of Jurassic Park)  The trail was narrow, wet and a little slippery and there was frequently a steep drop to one side so we kept a tight grip on the boys.

On the trail to the waterfall

The trail to the waterfall

    The forest captured the imaginations of Will and Jon and they spent a lot of time finding dragon skeletons and watching Tarzan swing around the jungle.  Both boys wanted to spend the whole walk with Jacob and David.  Jacob in particular is great at encouraging their imaginations and coming up with all kinds of fun games.  

Silly boys

Will swinging on vines

Tarzan yell

  There was one sweet moment for me and James when we all stopped for a break halfway down the trail.  Will came up to us and pulled us both into a big hug.  Then Jon yelled, "double hug!" and joined us for hugs and kisses all around.  We had just started off again when Will stopped, turned around and raced back to James for another big hug.  I don't know why he felt so affectionate at that moment but spontaneous hugs are one of my greatest joys.

                                  

   The waterfall was roaring when we got there.  There is a little pool at the bottom of the fall where people go to swim but today the water looked muddy, angry and very unsafe.  David and Jacob of course tried to get as close as they could and David went close enough that the spray soaked him right through.  But even on the bridge we were sprayed by the waterfall and it was hard to keep the camera dry.

Me and the boys at the waterfall

Jacob and David on the rocks

On a little bridge in the jungle

  
  By the time we got home it was dark and sprinkling but that didn't stop us from jumping in the pool.  James and Camille made us burgers while Jacob, David, Will, Jon and I swam.  Will practiced his underwater swimming which he hadn't done since Germany.  I wish I could have gotten a picture but it was too dark.  At one point I heard Jon humming the Jaws theme as he swam up from behind and tagged me.  He is so cute.  :-)

  Well I've now had a delicious dinner and the kids are sleeping so it is time to say goodnight.  Tomorrow we are off to explore San Juan. 

Adios!