Perfecto Rico
We
checked into the Intercontinental Hotel
at 7pm after an all-day trip from Denver, and were pleased with their nice
accommodations. The front desk clerk upgraded our room from the Priceline
$150 street-side room (normal rates are $225+) to a near-top-floor-center
room that had a lovely view over the gardens and pool to the ocean. We think
it was possible because we were travelling off-season and arrived on a Thursday
night.
The hotel room was great for a family—a luxurious king-size bed, and a double
sofa sleeper. As a family of five, we put our girls on the sofa sleeper and
put the youngest in bed with us. Across the street, there was a convenience
market and Burger King—good cheap eats options. Also, there is a pizza grill
right beside the beach on the hotel’s property that offers reasonably priced
food. Other than that, the restaurants on the premises are very spendy—no
coffee shops!
The next day, we wrestled the kids away from the waterfall pool and swim-up
bar to go and find a real waterfall in El
Yunque, Puerto Rico’s amazing rain forest. For a family used to dry Colorado,
this felt like a journey into an Indiana Jones movie and was well worth the
trek.
TIPSTER:
If you’re heading out of San Juan, do as we did and go a bit later to avoid
traffic, and do pay the nominal toll fee to take Hwy 66 and miss 45 minutes
of stoplights.
After a half-hour stop at the very well done visitor’s center (El Yunque is
the only rain forest in the United States Forest Service system)—the only
thing we didn’t like was that the informational movie was narrated AND subtitled
in Spanish (probably an operator error that day)—and a stop to climb Yokahu
Tower (well worth it for the view) we drove up to mile marker 11.8/Palo Colorado
and parked to hike to La Mina Falls. (A friend recommends La Coca Falls too;
be warned it’s highly trafficked on weekends, especially.)
We walked down from the parking lot, which took us about 40 minutes, on slippery,
sloped cement and stone steps not recommended for children under 5. I ended
up taking the younger children out to Mile Marker 10.2, thinking it had to
be easier and my husband and older daughter climbed back up to get the car
and meet us there. I’d say the lower path from 10.2 is the way to go when
you’re traveling with older or younger generations, especially.
We
were happy to reach the falls, and it was pretty crowded when we arrived,
but many left while we were there (we’re sure it wasn’t because of us!) The
water was cool (probably about 75 degrees) and we spent about an hour there.
IF YOU GO: Take towels, snacks, water bottles, insect repellant
and sunscreen.
Upon the hotel concierge’s suggestion we went on from there to Luquillo, where
there is a string of kiosk restaurants on a beach, for “dunch” (lunch/dinner).
From the outside, they look trashy, but inside, and on the beach-side, they
are lovely and like many American restaurants with very laid-back service
and apparently one cook in the back (be prepared to RELAX). The concierge
recommended grilled lobster from Kiosk #1 or #2, but that was out of our price
range (about $45/person!) Instead, we opted for ribs, shrimp and rice (Paella)
done in an authentic Puerto Rican fashion (lots of cumin and fried plantains
on the side), and spent about $25/person.
About a mile east from these kiosks is an awesome palm-lined public beach
with excellent parking, but it takes some turns on the highway to get there.
We got into the lovely Caribbean water, bellies full, and stared up at the
fabulous jungle-covered hills of El Yunque, trying to absorb how far we were
from home.
We returned to the hotel to shower, and later, to swim and grab a pizza since
“dunch” hadn’t quite filled our bellies to last the night, and then watched
a movie together.
We would’ve loved a couple more days to explore beautiful Puerto Rico—especially
Old San Juan and the fort—but we were heading to another island paradise in
the West Indies (Nevis) the next day! To see that report, check back in August.
–the Bergrens