Wow - what a view!

Our eco-lodge has a VERY slow internet connection, so we will hold off posting pictures until we have a faster way to do it.  For now, here is our text.  If it is too long, just read the first part! :)

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Bienvenidos a Puerto Rico!  We made it….YAY!  We flew AirTran, which was a pretty decent carrier, come to find out.  When Emily checked us in online last night, we had the opportunity to upgrade to Business Class for $140.  Even though it was only a 2 ½ hour flight, we decided to do it – and boy was it a great decision.  Having the extra room in the seat took flying from an uncomfortable, but necessary, part of the travel experience to a highly comfortable and enjoyable part of the travel experience.  And being able to get off first was a nice bonus too!

The airport in San Juan was weird.  By and large it felt like you were still in the US, but all the signs were reversed – Spanish on top, English in the small italics underneath.  So it was normal but a little off – which was a little eerie.  Our only real confusion of the day came when trying to figure out where to pick up our rental car.  We had to ask two different people before finding out that we were supposed to take a bus to the car agency.  Emily was masterful at her “comunicación en Español.”  Of course, you’d expect nothing less J.  Anyway, once we found our way to the Budget Rental office, we were set.  We have a black Toyota Yaris, which is very convenient on some of these small mountain roads.

Getting out of San Juan was a lot like getting out of any other airport.  The signs were pretty easy to follow and since the traffic system is the same as ours, it was a pretty simple navigation process.  It was interesting to drive through some of the towns.  Again it was a weird mix of Florida beach towns with Caribbean ambience.  The colors are definitely very tropical.  The signs are about 60/40 in Spanish/English, so it hasn’t been too hard to figure out what all is going on.  There were a few spots, however, when, despite there being three lanes of traffic each direction, there ceased to be any painted lanes…which some of the Puerto Rican drivers seemed to take literally!

After about 45 minutes, we got to our exit to Casa Cubuy.  It was probably the strangest feeling of all so far.  One second we were on what felt like a normal US highway, the next minute we were in the middle of a foreign country.  The road to the lodge winds up the mountain – literally – and in some places is a car and a half wide (and I’m talking about the Yaris, here!).  Still it was pretty straightforward, and the directions were, “go straight to the top,” which is where we are now.  It was FANTASTIC!  I’m sitting on our porch looking across at the clouds rolling by on the mountain-top across the way and listening to the two waterfall we can see from our room.  WOW!  I’m sure we’ll take many more pictures as we progress through the journey.  For now we are resting.  The people who own the lodge own a restaurant about a mile down the mountain, so we’ll probably go there for dinner (rather than all the way down to town).   Thankfully there is an honor bar where you can get snacks and drinks without having to drive 20 minutes into town to get them.

So, all in all…a great first day!  Amamos a Puerto Rico!

Adios! -Cary

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