Road Trip Around The Island of Puerto Rico

  Ponce, Puerto Rico
Monday, October 23, 2006

Sunday, October 22, 2006 Wow, it's morning already! What a full day yesterday. Dinner was so good, it appears that sleepy spirit got the best of all of us. Lets just say it was a good thing we had dinner at our hotel.

With another full day left for some more island discovery, we decided to keep our rented car thinking if time permitted we could venture further out on the island. So after gathering our thoughts about what should we do today, the decision was made to drive around the island and sample some of the local flavor outside of San Juan. Globetrotter test #7 Be flexible and agreeable: who knows how much fun could be in store. Oh yes, Kristin passed that one with flying colors since she was riding with us and really wants to become like us some day.

02. That's water up ahead

Everyone we've spoken with since arriving has told us the island of Puerto Rico is about 100 miles from east to west and about 30 miles north to south, and if we were to drive, it would take a few hours. Well, the Globetrotters and our little wanna-be were willing to find out for our selves how true that was. So with great anticipation of what was to become of our day, we decided to go in the opposite direction from that of yesterday. At least if were not able to make the complete trip around, we would still see much more than the day before.

Anita would get us out the city and onto the main highway and I would take it from there. I suggest if you try this to be certain to have a full tank of gas and a few snacks. We still had snacks from yesterday's trip, so we were prepared to head out. And since I was still stuffed from the dinner last night I didn't think we needed to grab breakfast and the gang agreed. So off we went.

Heading west along highway 22, we drove for about an hour before coming to the first town suggested by the hotel called ARECIBO . The day was beautiful near our hotel however off in the distance we could see the clouds developing into what was to become another day of rain. We still wanted to drive the island and at best if it were to rain, we would just continue our road trip and visit the towns along the coast.

The further we got from San Juan, the island became greener and lined with beautiful trees and large open areas. Highway 22 west later turned into Highway 2 and that took us out to one of the island's most northwest towns called AGUADILLA. The weather was starting to get worse, however we kept pushing along even though it was raining cats and dogs and I could barely see through the window. Kristin suggested maybe if I would turn on the windshield wipers I could see a little more. Ha-Ha, I guess the little wanna- be Globetrotter was right.

The next major city along our route was called MAYAGUEZ. Nearly three hours into our drive around the island we all started to think whether this was a good idea since the rain was coming down so hard. We continued on and figured we would just drive through it. The trick now was getting back before it got dark.

01. On the road in Puerto Rico

Anita took this opportunity to reflect on our adventures here in San Juan and also updated the travel log. Since Kristin is attending school here she brought her laptop and has started journaling her experience as an exchange student. She has even taken the time to journal her birthday surprise with her favorite Globetrotters--us. Here again is Globetrotter test #8: Be willing to journal and share your experiences with those who aren't able to be along for the trip. Laptop computer and memory key could come in handy if you have such, however, it is not a requirement. Journal pad, good pen and knowledge of how to access Internet from any Internet café around the world would work just fine.

Our trip back took us through a road that lead us over some mountains ranges. It continued to rain until we came to this little town called PONCE (pawn-say), said to be one of the oldest cities on the island. As we passed through PONCE, I noticed a large roadside outdoor gathering of tents, better known back home as a "Swap Meet". Never wanting to pass up a good deal, we stopped off to see what they offered. After all, this would be the first time we were able to get out and walk around before heading back to drop off Kristin at school. Your typical swap meet, we did a power walk through and ended up trying the local roadside food again, pinchos. Man oh man those things were good.

The trip around the island took about six hours drive time. Maybe the rain helped us stay on track because had we made many stops along the way we probably would not have made the entire trip around the island due to sightseeing. On our way back we stopped off at a local grocery store to pick up a few things for the starving student before heading over to the dorm. We did a "drive-by" tour of the campus before ending what was to be, as she said, "one of the best birthday surprises she has ever had." Afterward, we continued on until we ended back at Kristin's dorm. Both Anita and I were glad to be there for her to experience and celebrate this time in her life.

We dropped off the rental car before returning to our hotel room.

08. Hotel sign

It still amazes me that the rental place was right across the street from our hotel, which saved us time. Go figure.