When Ship Happens

Old San Juan

After a day of traveling on Friday we just hung out at the hotel.  Saturday morning we decided to head into Old San Juan. 

*I had researched and heard you could catch the city bus for 75 cents each way into Old San Juan.  I seemed to be the only one up for this adventure and was strongly vetoed.  We took a taxi each time and it was $12 per ride.

Saturday morning we got up and got our taxi van.  We talked with the cab driver and asked him if he was going to go get breakfast… where would he go?  Mallorca’s he said.  Great!  Take us there. There is a huge … Square?  Courtyard?  … whatever it is… there is a big place where  taxi’s stop and let you off and that’s where we ended up.  He said to walk down the road that was right in front of us about 2 blocks and we would see it on the left hand side… If you get to the Burger King you have gone too far.

The hint here should have been… if it was only 2 blocks we should have been able to SEE the Burger King.  (You will see a pattern as I go along).  So we walked… and walked… Past skinny streets…

 

Past Long Streets…

 
 

Sometimes we just stopped in the streets...

Past a really cool church…

Took a rest under a tree...

 Took a selfie with me...

Then FINALLY to Mallorca’s

 

It was busy in there.  We stood in the door way for a bit while everyone buzzed around us.  Finally Mark drug the last 2 empty tables together and scrounged up 4 chairs and we sat down.  Once seated, we were promptly greeted by our waiter and given menus. 

 

Trenton ordered a Mallorca with butter…sort of like a flat, squished donut/bread with powdered sugar.  Mark ordered pancakes with a side of sausage… it turned out to be fried Vienna sausage… he didn’t eat it.  Mom and I ordered eggs with ham and potatoes… they turned out to be French fries!  LOL  It was a fun breakfast. 

We were told in Old San Juan there is a free bus that travels around and there are several bus stops located throughout the city.  AFter our experience going to breakfast we thought this would be the way to go!  We waited at 1 bus stop for probably 20 minutes and the bus passed us because it was full.  We walked and waited at another bus stop for probably 30 more minutes and never saw another bus.  We could see what we thought was one of the forts and asked someone if it was.  They told us yes and pointed… 2 blocks that way.  It was 2 blocks that way…. But the entrance to actually get IN was about 10 blocks…. UP the hill and around the corner.  Mom almost died.

Once we made it to the top of the hill the views were breathtaking!  You could see for miles… down the coastline and back out across the city.  We paid to get in … I think it was $5 for adults and Trenton was free.  It is a really good deal because it actually includes admission to both forts… San Christobal and El Morro and the tickets are good for 7 days!  First order of business was to buy some water and sit!  After that the exploring was on!

 

By the time we finished this we were exhausted!  We got us a taxi and headed back to the hotel.  I already had 10,000 steps on my FitBit and it was probably 10:30-11:00 in the afternoon…. And Trenton wanted to go to the BEACH!  Mom went to her room and Trenton, Mark and I hit the pools.

That afternoon we headed back in to Old San Juan for some shopping and basically because we just couldn't get enough!  Mom loves jewelry and is always on the hunt and Mark wanted a new watch.   We asked about a great place to buy a watch and we were told to go 2 blocks that way just passed the parking garage.  We walked about 4 blocks and asked… no one knew a thing about a parking garage, but kept sending us 2 more blocks.  About 2 MILES later we found it and the guy with the watches had just gone home because it started raining!  While on our journey we saw a sign for Blue Diamond Jewelers which is what Mom had on her radar this cruise so we headed back that way.  We found the street it was on rather quickly and when we asked for the store location we were told…. You guessed it… 2 blocks!  Jesus… a mile later we found the store.  By this time we have officially missed lunch, but I don’t think there was an inch of Old San Juan we hadn’t covered!

While we were camped out in the chairs at the jewelry store it came a torrential downpour outside, so we chatted it up with the employees on where is the best place to get lunch/dinner.  Unanimous decision was Café Puerto Rico… “just a few blocks that way”!  We finally nail down that it is in the taxi square where you get dropped off (we were about a mile away… thankfully it was mostly downhill AND on the way back in which we needed to go).  We got there at 4pm.  They closed at 3:30 and would not re-open until 5pm.  There were 4 tables outside with umbrellas and we sat our happy little selves down!  The waiter came out and said “You know we don’t open for another hour?”  Yep… we aren’t walking another step.  We’ll be right here!  And so there we sat and people/pidgeon watched.

By 5pm, the four tables were full… there was standing room only under the umbrellas and a line outside the door.  The waiter came out and seated us first… 2 minutes later the restaurant was full!  Dinner was Mofungo all the way around.  We each got a different kind and every single one of them was delicious!  Which is my favorite Mofungo you ask? … Whichever one I am eating at the time!  If you go to Puerto Rico and DON’T try Mofungo atleast once… it should be considered sin!  … On the other hand...fried Vienna sausage… not necessary… ever.

The pictures suck because it was really dark in there...the ones with the flash didn't look good either :/

What I learned about Old San Juan….

Street signs and traffic laws are optional.

Everything is 2 blocks away, but not really.

Nothing is fast… except the cab drivers.

He who honks first has the right of way.

San Juan ... Caribe Hilton

We arrived in San Juan uneventfully.  The landing was a little hard, but the Pilot assured us it was not his fault… he said the co-pilot did it.  Unfortunately, the co-pilot was standing there as we exited the plane and was looking back at the pilot like “You son of a B!#%$”  LOL Regardless… we landed.  :)

San Juan airport is nothing like DFW.  We braved the restrooms, gathered our bags and made our way out to the taxi line.  Taxi’s were very well regulated.  Everyone stood in one line, an attendant walked down the line and asked where you were going and how many were in your party, then told you the flat rate price and handed you a copy of the sheet.  Vans were lined up, ready to pick up passengers.  Total time in taxi line had to have been 5 minutes.  Total price:  Airport to Caribe Hilton (4 passengers, 7 bags) $20 + $1 per bag

We arrived shortly before 7pm, but it was already getting dark as Puerto Rico does not observe daylight savings time (nor do the islands).  It was the 4^th of July and I was hoping to find some place that was going to have *Fireworks*.  I was told while Puerto Rico observes the 4^th of July holiday… they rarely celebrate with fireworks.  When I asked … “So then how exactly do you celebrate it?”  I was only met with a blank stare.  Who knows…perhaps they just wear red, white and blue and call it a day.  I was afraid of this and had prepared by visiting our local dollar store before leaving town.  Trenton had his own little celebration on the balcony with glow sticks :)

 

Caribe Hilton

Spanish Lesson #1:  In my Texas accent it would be pronounce “Care-ib”… in Puerto Rico it is “Ca-rrr-ee-bay” with some R rolling in there.  WARNING:  If you call it “Care-ib” to the taxi drivers you may never get there. 

How did I pick this hotel?  Mom originally wanted me to just book a Hampton Inn as she is a member of the Hilton Honors Program.  Upon my research… There were 3 Hilton properties on the island.  The Hampton Inn (relatively close to the airport… comes with a view of … not a damn thing), the Hilton Condado (closer to Old San Juan… view of the ocean… but you can’t swim in it) or The Caribe Hilton (closest to Old San Juan, amazing view and swimmable beach).  So, that decided that.  It was really only $30-40 more a night than the Hampton Inn and technically closer to everything we wanted to do.  I decided we would spend that money in cab fares so might as well just stay someplace nicer and closer.  Pretty good argument, right?  I thought so.  Caribe Hilton it was.

The Caribe Hilton is just beautiful!  It has an open air lobby check in.  The breezeway leads right out to the ocean.  The place is huge with several towers of rooms.  We requested ocean view rooms, which is what we got.  The bathroom was freaking phenomenal and even had one of those rain shower heads. 

 

I don’t know how many pools there were, but there were several.  Some were only a foot deep for the little ones, others were 4 feet or so.  I saw one that looked like an infinity pool, 1 with a swim up bar.  Plenty of lounge areas and there were cabanas on the beach you could rent.  There was also a swimmable beach with platforms you could jump off of. 

 

There are several restaurants located on the property.  A Morton’s steakhouse, Italian place, Asian food, Quizno’s, and more.  Absolutely nothing there was cheap.  It would cost a small fortune if you stayed there a week and ate on property.  We ate the first night in the Italian food place.  My dinner was $30.  They did have a menu for Morton’s steakhouse displayed… perhaps to save some guests the trouble of even going in.

 

I told Mark… let’s go in.  You order the carrots and I’ll order the broccoli and see what they say.  He didn’t go for that :) There were very nice cars parked in front of it every night, so clearly it is a hot spot for people to show off their toys.  .

Spanish Lesson #2: Mom is on a gluten free diet.  Which was partly why she was initially so excited in the airport at the Thai food place when she saw “roll”.  She asked when ordering if they had a “roll” that was gluten free and they told her yes…. So she thought she was getting a sandwich. 

*Puerto Rico has no concept of “gluten free” …. Nor are they able to comprehend ordering a sandwich without the bread.  I went downstairs to the Quizzno’s our last morning there to get breakfast for everyone.  Mom wanted the flatbread breakfast sandwich.  I asked if they had gluten free bread and they looked at me like I was nuts. 

I said … “Gluten free, you know, special bread… for allergies”. 

The man says “Oh si, si” and hold up the flat bread “Dis … special bread”. 

I shook my head no.  I said “ok, just give me the flatbread sandwich” (contained egg, sausage and cheese) “without the bread.” 

His head cocked sideways “OK, you want … Western scramble.”  No. I don’t want them all scrambled together.  Just give me the sandwich thing… without the bread.  

His head cocks the other way… “What you going to put it on?”

I said “A plate.  Do you have a plate?”

Si

“Ok, perfect!  Just put the egg, sausage and cheese on a plate.”

He goes over and confers with the other guy working beside him.  Spanish words flying around in rapid sequence.  He comes back over to me and says:  “Si, Si … you go over there now.”

I got all our food.  Paid.  Received a Western Scramble… with an extra side of bread for mom.  No joke. 

The moral of that little story… if you have food allergies…tread lightly.  The Subway (walking distance on the corner) also has no concept of gluten free bread.

The Caribe Hilton also has very nice tennis courts, a gym and a spa.  The first morning, Trenton and I headed to the gym around 6am.  I had seen pictures of the gym and could not wait to work out in it!  Initially no one was there, which was perfect.  I read the rules and saw no signs of an age limit, so I popped in my 21 Day Fix Video and Trenton headed for the elliptical.  About 15 minutes into our workout, the staff arrived for work and informed us you must be 16 to use the equipment.  She did say he could stay with me… just not use the equipment :/ Trenton was bummed because we have had the talk about acting grown up if you want to be in a grown up area.  He has gotten really good at actually working out and not “playing around”.  So he continued to do pushups and sit ups, then went outside and ran sprints in front of the window for a full hour :)

 

That successfully wore him out... might have to try that more often :)

Apparently they also have a rather inclusive children’s camp with lots of activities, though we did not partake in any of these since we were just going to be there a couple of nights.  We walked through some of the garden's when we were exploring.  That is where the Asian restraunt is located.  We found peacock’s, black and white swans, geese, turkeys, fish… lots of critters walking around.  (Not the fish… they swam)... the turkey will chase you and the geese will try to eat your shoes.  ... You have been warned.

I can say… this is one of the very few resorts/hotels that I could see us staying at longer.  I honestly did not want to leave.

Airport Shenanigans

So Mark got a new job which I suspect will interfere somewhat with my cruise scheduling… however will give me more money to plan with… and it requires him to fly weekly which has decreased his anxiety for flying thus opening up many more cruise possibilities for us… so I have weighed the pro’s and con’s and I’ll let him keep his fancy shmancy job for now.

All that being said… he had NO problems flying to Puerto Rico.  (Boring... I know.)  The morning of our flight was running smoothly.  The 3 of us ate our breakfast.  Everyone was on time.  We made it to the airport with no mishaps, checked our bags at the curb, breezed through the security lines and had almost an hour to spare before boarding. 

Mom… had not partaken in the breakfast eating that morning and went off in search of some nourishment.  Trenton and I went off to waste money in the shops.  As we were in line to pay I spotted mom across the way at a Thai food place.   I thought to myself … “That’s odd.  I didn’t think Mom liked Thai food.”  Not to mention, that certainly wouldn’t be my choice of food prior to a 5 hour flight… but, hey… to each their own.

We headed back to wait in the boarding area and Mom finally comes around the corner, huffing and puffing and all pissed off.  I casually asked what seemed to be the problem when she starts off ranting that “who in the world knew Thai food was sushi!”  (She added a few colorful words in there as well.)  Mark and I looked at each other like she was crazy and said what are you talking about?  She says… “I was looking at the menu and ordered this roll thing.  I thought it was a sandwich!  They brought me out this tray of sushi!  I hate sushi!” 

I never thought I was going to laugh so hard in all my life!  Even 30 minutes later I started up again… “She thought it was a sandwich!” Bahahahaha

She ended up getting a salad at TGI Friday’s and that smoothed her ruffled feathers… until I would bust out laughing again at totally inappropriate moments.

Other than that we had absolutely no problem flying IN to Puerto Rico.  But seriously… once you get there… it is like little Mexico’s cousin, Fernando.  You can’t get out of the damn place!

Some intelligent person (cough cough… me) booked our return flight home for 11:55am.  Carnival will not allow you to do the Carnival transfer if your flight is before 12:00.  Seriously, there were no exceptions.  It was recommended if your flight was before 12pm that you carried your own bags off the ship and don’t check them.  Which we did… and it is no short walk between the port and the road where the taxi’s are.  Once we arrived at the airport there was no curb side check in, so we hauled all the bags inside.  We were then re-directed “down the way” to go through an additional US bag scanning thing.  Which we did… Then we hauled our bags all the way back to the check in place and were told no again… That we had to go over yonder and do the self check in.  Mom’s back was about done so Mark said… “No, they can check us in right there at the counter.” (There was no line and about 5 available agents).  The little security guy stepped in front of Mark and crossed his arms to block the entrance, so Mark just walked around him and up to the counter.  Needless to say… they checked us in there.  I am not sure exactly why they were insistent that you do the self check in… when they had employees standing there doing nothing and once you self checked and weighed your own bags… you still had to go to the same ticket counter to hand the bags over.  Silly.

So once that debacle was over we headed to the security lines.  Everyone breezes right through, but when I go through the scanner something starts dinging and I get a “step over here ma’am”.  I was then told to hold out my hands and they proceeded to swab them with something.  I asked the guy what he was doing and he says “Checking your hands for explosives”.  Eehh!  Thankfully I was cleared and sent on my way. 

I went and retrieved my bag and noticed Trenton still standing there.  I said “Where is your backpack honey?” … About that time a lady holds it up and asks whose bag it is.  Trenton says mine and she says… “I need you to come with me.”  Oh geez…  She empties the contents of his bag one by one.  Pillow pet… Harry Potter book… Iphone… Tennis ball (?)… and a rock excavation kit he bought in Barbados.  She seems very interested in the rock kit and he explained it was buried rocks and minerals.  The whole purpose was to carefully locate the rocks and dig them out… yada yada yada.  He’s 11!  So she says.. “ok, we just need to test it for explosives and as long as it’s clear you can be on your way.”  About that time the machine starts going berserk.. dinging and flashing… and the attendant says “Oh.  That's not good.”   I said "What's wrong?"  She gives me a serious look and says the explosive test is postitive.  ....   Well I’ll be damned.

Finally a supervisor was called and we were cleared to fly.  I was just thankful we had packed that rock kit the night before.  Could you imagine if I had handled it before we got to the airport and I had that on my hands?! I would be locked away in a Puerto Rican jail right now!!   I’m just gonna put this out there… if that ever happens to me somebody better start a fund to get me back!

On a side note:  captured this little gem while waiting to board.  Technology has officially reached all ages…. Wonder if they read cruise blogs?