Old San Juan was great…a perfect intro to Puerto Rico! We loved walking around the old town, lined with its blue cobblestone streets and brightly colored buildings. Like any city, the air is thick with excitement, movement and the promise of undiscovered opportunities. Young and old, residents and visitors all mingle together while life moves on at a hustling pace.

Alternatively, life on the tiny island of Vieques, just off the south eastern coast of Puerto Rico, is more languid, but in the best kick-off-your-flipflops-and-have-a-mojito kind of way.

Before the US Navy landed on the island in 1941 to build Camp Garcia, sugar production was the main source of income for the island people. But, the Navy took over nearly two-thirds of the total land from the island’s residents, including most of the land used for farming. Initially, the Navy brought new jobs, mainly in construction of the base. When the sugar was gone and construction complete, many of the island’s residents left. The Puerto Rican government tried between 1945 and the 1960s to re-establish an agricultural economy, but its efforts failed.

In the 10 years that followed, the economy shifted to manufacturing, with the opening of a General Electric plant being the most consistent source of employment. The plant is still in operation.

In May 2003, after more than 60 years of military operations, the US Navy closed Camp Garcia on Vieques after years of struggle over the target practice activies on the base. The final straw came in 1999, when a Navy jet missed its target and dropped two 500-pound bombs close to a Navy observation post, killing a civilian security guard and wounding others.

A few of the Navy’s old ships, rusted and abandoned can still be found in the waters around Vieques and although access to some of the former base is still restricted, visitors can see what’s left of the old bunkers.

The population of Vieques has not changed much through the decades and still remains close to 10,000. However, unemployement runs high. Tourism has gained a foothold on the island, with small hotels and restaurants popping up in Isabella Segunda, the capital located on the north side of the island, and in Esperanza, the island’s southern beach community.

The W Hotels is in the process of completing a mega resort on the island. Its completion will likely bring more tourists with money to spend.

Right now, most of the restaurants and hotels in the small village of Esperanza, where we stayed, were small, unpretentious guest houses owned by expats who’d come on holiday and never left, tempted by the warm aqua-colored water, cool breezes, and the tranquillo lifestyle.

We spent 6 nights in Esperanza, filling our days primarily with card playing, snorkeling, beach glass hunting, reading, and swimming….oh and the occasional Medalla or two (that’s the local beer). We met some really lovely people while there, including Kim & Stefan, a Scituate couple who call Vieques their home away from home. Kim has spent the past 20+ years coming to Vieques for her annual vacation. She knows the island and many of the its inhabitants well. Kim & Stefan were kind enough to take us under their wings and show us some of their favorite spots. We had a blast and expect to see them again.

We also met Ura, aka Michael, a junior in high school, with his boyish good looks, an infectious personality and, we discovered, a soft spot for balding English guys who can do really funny Russian accents. We spent an afternoon with him, talking and playing Rummy 500, while practicing our Spanish and learning a little about life growing up on Vieques.

We hitchhiked one night to and from a local cultural festival, which was held at an old fort in the town of Islabella Segunda. Eli, a young local guy in a suped-up sports car, picked us up and happily drove out of his way before heading to work at the GE plant to take us safely to the festival. And, later that night, a family of 4 picked us up and drove us back to Esperanza. Everyone we met on Vieques was lovely, which speaks volumes of the character of the people of Vieques, given the US Navy’s mistreatment of them and their beautiful island.

Here are some snapshots from our brief, but thoroughly enjoyable visit taken with our little Canon point & shoot camera. Enjoy!

On the ferry ride to Vieques from San Juan we spotted this sunken fishing boat resting on a sandbar (or reef, not sure which)…

Me showing off a giant starfish Andy found while snorkeling.

A shell resting on the shore at Secret Beach, which as we discovered on our second visit, isn’t so secret. But, man, is is BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Kim & Stefan led us on an early morning hike to visit one of their favorite spots on the island, an old abandoned light house, where we watched the sunrise. Ahhhh, vacation bliss!!!

Andy grabbed this fun shot of all of us in Stefan’s sunglasses….

The view from El Malecon, the boardwalk that lines the main street in Vieques….not too shabby, eh?

A view of the other end of the Malecon…

This photo just epitomizes the speed of life on the island. This old guy parked his plastic chair in this spot every day and spent most of the day there watching the world walk by…sweet, eh?

Colorful umbrellas kept iguana poop from hitting us while enjoying breakfast at our favorite (okay, the ONLY) breakfast spot in Esperanza. We spent most mornings lounging here for a couple of hours playing cards and munching on eggs & bacon or pancakes. One morning I narrowly escaped being hit by a defficating iguana hanging out in the trees above…and fyi, their poop isn’t small!

On our second visit to Not-So-Secret Beach, we stumbled across these turtle tracks leading to (tracks branching slightly to the right) and from (straight ahead) a nesting spot, under a mangrove bush on the beach….very cool!!! Sadly, we missed our little missus by minutes! Rats!

Andy decided to take a nap by the water and I couldn’t resist making a little sand sculpture out of him. The sand here was perfect for the drippy kind of sand castles I used to love to build as a kid. And, well, two is sometimes better than one. LOL!

An evening in Esperanza wouldn’t be complete without an icy cold Medalla enjoyed on the back deck at La Nasa, overlooking the Caribbean.

Andy waiting for La Nasa to open….

Here we are on the puddle-jumper heading back to San Juan. It was a really fun flight. Strangely, this is the only photo Andy & I have of us together in Puerto Rico….hysterically, he’s looking away, I look crazed and the curious guy behind us seems mildly amused. Priceless! The two guys behind him, Chris & Todd, a fun-looking couple from Chicago, were supposed to meet up with us later that night at the Nuyorican, but we ended up crashing early and never made it….bummer!

I’m not really sure what prompted this next photo, except Andy & I really enjoyed the flight and were being total goofballs. After our quick 20-minute flight, Andy decided he wanted a photo of me getting off the plane, looking like I’d just landed in my private jet. He, of course, lay down on the ground, as he so often does for photos, and here’s how I worked it…..Really? Sadly, I think I’m way more funny than I actually am!

Well, that’s it folks….that’s our Puerto Rican vacation. We hope you enjoyed a look into our holiday almost as much as we enjoyed ourselves! Thanks so much for visiting and for your continued support!!! And as always, keep spreading the love! xo Chris & Andy

The colors were so great in Old San Juan it was hard to not take lots of detail shots. So, here’s just a few more from our 3 days in old town. We hope you enjoy them!

Here’s the hotel we stayed at right in the heart of town…Da House (you can see photos of our room on the site….first room with an outdoor terrace & blue bedspread..although it was a white down comforter when we were there…very cozy). It was a cool place, with a real backpacker’s vibe, although way more chic….very much up our alley. And, starting on Wednesday nights through the weekend, San Juan’s night scene came alive downstairs at the Nuyorican Cafe, a local hot spot for salsa dancing and live music. Things didn’t get jumping until 10 or 11PM, and didn’t stop until nearly 3AM….Arriba!! Here’s the lobby at Da House. And sitting at reception is the very sweet & funny Eduardo. Hola amigo!

The hotel’s cool marble & wrought iron staircase….we were on the 4th floor and got a nice little work out each day, though probably not as much as the housekeeping staff.

There’s nothing terribly special about this next car, and honestly, Andy thought it was kind of a boring photo. But, I just love the light in the image and the contrast between the complimenting colors of the car and the building behind…it just felt very Miami to me. And, with the light, I thought the car looked so shiny…like it could be in an ad. The only thing I would change is to move the car more squarely in front of the pink house, so you don’t see the plywood covering their neighbor’s windows.

An itsy bitsy gecko cautiously watches us while perched on a peace lily.

More great Puerto Rico colors…And I love the contrast of the two signs in different languages. It is indicative of life on the island. Children are taught to speak English beginning in the first grade, so everyone we met, except the cab driver on our way to the airport, spoke perfect English. Kind of ironic that the only time we really got to practice our pitiful Spanish was leaving this lovely country.

A great way to start the morning….lounging on the terrace and watching the world walk by.

I wish we had a neighborhood on the Cape like this…Brightly colored buildings and blue cobblestone streets! Gorgeous!

A different perspective from the same corner…

Back at Pigeon Park, this young woman anticipated a less aggressive feeding experience. There was a lot of screaming involved.

Mornings were often started with a fresh brewed cup of deliciously smooth coffee from the hip Puerto Rico Cafe Cola’o, which had a vibe very similar to our favorite coffee connection here on the Cape, Coffee Obsession in Falmouth. Mmmmm! Puerto Rican coffee has a unique flavor and is one of the countries proud exports. Here’s a link to a cool article about Cafe Cola’o coffee lovers might find interesting.

Now this is a cool car….And I just love the door and wall colors behind.

A male gecko tries to attract the attention of a nearby female….”Hey there hot stuff get a load of my stretchy neck!”

And, tomorrow, for our final installment from our excellent Puerto Rican adventure, we will feature photos from our stay on the delightful island of Vieques. Thanks for visiting! And, if you like what you saw, let us know about it! Warmest wishes, Chris & Andy

The week before we left for Puerto Rico we got together with Kirsten & Dennis for their love session in Cotuit. We had a blast and through chatting, we discovered that Kirsten, an interior designer, had worked on a project at the upscale hotel & casino – Condado Plaza in Puerto Rico. But, she left the firm she had been working at to move to Spain with Dennis, so she never got to see the finished product.

We were planning to spend a couple of days mainly touring Old San Juan, but we couldn’t let this opportunity to get some photos for Kirsten pass by, so we jumped on a publico (public bus) to check out the fruits of Kirsten’s labor. We were blown away. Kirsten said she had designed the lobby’s killer glass-lighted mosiac tile display, and several sitting areas and lounge on the first floor. It’s a very modern, stylized space and we just loved it….almost as much as we love Kirsten & Dennis! (no, not quite…but it’s very cool!)

Check it out….

Kirsten also designed this mural on the hotel’s exterior. It was designed to match the mosiac tile mural in the lobby (next photo). The design also carried through to other areas of the hotel, including the marble floor tile in one of the hotel’s function rooms (below).

The registration desk and the glass tile mosiac. There are lights behind the tiles that make the mosiac a true work of art…cool right? The registration desk itself is also lit from within and the color changes to match various colors in the mosiac. (Check out Where’s Waldo in the photo…sniper boy is at it again!)

I just happened to be wearing all white the day we visited Condado (to show off the paltry tan I had finally acquired after 2 years without having had a proper day at the beach….crazy considering we live 5 minutes from the beach). And, my all white ensemble really fit in well in the ultra modern space….oh so chic! Below is me trying to look aloof for the photo….I’m embarrassed to tell you how many times we tried this before I didn’t look completely ridiculous. I’m still not sure I pulled it off! lol

I’ll just hang out here by this wall while I wait for my mojito….total goofball! But, we had a blast doing our mini modeling session. I think the hotel manager thought we were un poco loco! He came up to us to ask if we needed any assistance and we explained why we were there. He mentioned that the hotel was having a party the following night for some swanky Puerto Rico magazine….I couldn’t tell if he was telling us about it in the hopes that we might come photograph it or what. Had we planned to still be there, we might have come back to rub shoulders with Puerto Rico’s fabulous people.

Part of the lobby

A cool bar off the lobby, although it wasn’t opened. This is where the hotel manager stopped us. I think he said this was where the party would be. Sounds like it’s not a public bar so much as it is available for private functions….but I’m not sure. Very cool looking though! And those glass windows on the right look out over the water, with seating outside.

The other end of the bar.

And finally, a cool little lounge area off the main lobby.

We had fun visiting the hotel….we only wish they had a rooftop bar to hang out at and soak in more of the uber cool vibe. Way to go Kirsten!!! Now, we can’t wait to see what you put together for your wedding…it will no doubt be a stylish soiree, peppered with fabulous personal touches and oozing with the love you & Dennis so obviously share with each other and with those closest to you! See you both again soon!!! Thanks for inspiring a fun vacation detour!

We’ll be posting a few more Old San Juan photos tomorow and our final installment on Monday will feature some shots from our stay on Vieques.

Here are some more photos from our recent vacation to Puerto Rico taken around El Castillo de San Cristobal, a fort built in stages by the Spaniards over nearly 200 years to protect against land-based attacks on the city of San Juan.

When it was finished in 1783, the fort covered about 27 acres of land, basically wrapping the city of San Juan. Entry to the city was sealed by San Cristobal’s double gates. In 1897, after nearly 100 years of relative peace in the area, part of the fort (about a third) was demolished to ease the flow of traffic in and out of the walled city.

Here’s an aerial view we shot from the 8-seater puddle jumper we took from Vieques on our way back to San Juan:

Just outside the fort wall is the Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery, the final resting placing of many of Puerto Rico’s most prominent natives and residents.

Andy grabbing a photo of me grabbing a photo of him! But, what I love about this photo is the light on the great yellow peeling wall.

And here’s the man…

This 2-foot long iguana (not including his tail) watches us wearily from the rocks surrounding the fort.

It was particularly windy at the fort, which seemed to attract lots of visitors and their kites. The trees on the back side of the fort were littered with lost kites and miles of kite string.

A visitor leaves the fort.

One of the many sentry boxes, or guerites, dotting the fort’s perimeter. These guerites provided soldiers with a view of ships entering the waters around San Juan.

A different view of the cemetery.

Some more sentry boxes.

Tomorrow, we’ll have some photos of the Condado Plaza in the Condado area of San Juan. The hotel’s lobby & much of the first floor was designed by one of our very talented brides, Kirsten, who is getting married later this summer in Cotuit. We photographed Kirsten’s love session with fiance, Dennis, right before we left for our trip. So, when we heard about the hotel she designed, we had to go see it. Stay tuned!