Our adventures to the depths of Isla Verde, San Juan began Wednesday July 26th at 2pm. We were told that there were many fast food restaurants like Burger King, Taco Bell....etc across the bridge that sat right outside of the hotel. Well, we were thinking....Nah! Are you kidding me? We are here for the authentic stuff. As much as we loved different cultures we just have to have some good old Puerto Rican food. So after we got some directions to a restaurant or two that were more pleasing to us, we headed to the bridge.
The air was refreshing. The feeling of pure happiness and excitement of getting away from Kansas City and being in a foreign environment started to overwhelm me. Isla Verde was definitely a touristy area where tons of hotels and resorts stacked side by side along the beach. As we were walking along this busy road in Isla Verde, we were seeing many local businesses such as a cyber cafe, car rentals, souvenior shops, Walgreens, Burger King, clothing stores, condom world which seemed so random, a scooter rental place and many more........ I was excited and determined to rent a scooter but it was going to cost us 65/day. That was ridiculously over priced. Probably due to liability issues !
Anyway, after about 20 minutes of strolling around, not only were we growing hungry but I began to have a feeling that Isla Verde wasn't a place for a camera considering I was so excited to take my first shot with my digital c. Surprisingly there weren't many inspiring photographic opportunities. Although it felt like walking through a little spanish town in a big city in the states similar to going to a Chinatown in Chicago or NY....well minus the sounds of the ocean, little Coqui frogs (tree frogs), road infested with compact suzuki automobiles, scooters and Raggaeton music playing out of businesses and car stereos, it was Puerto Rico after all and I was certained that my patience would pay off.
"Whats for lunch we wondered." Destiny landed us our first meal of the best wrap I have ever had washed down with some tropical fruit refreshment at El Taquito Restaurant. It was a small modest joint with opened windows and outdoor patio seating area. We were enjoying the meal to a great view watching cars go by, puerto rican fashion and a man who was making ornaments made out of a wire as the base with a tiny young coconut, flower (bunga kertas) and some leaves to sell for 5 dollars. My friend took one home for 2 dollars.
By the time we finished the meal it was time to check in officially and really see what our motel room looked
like. We found out, not only the motel also owned the entire block, we were next to a Sushi restaurant. We have private access to the restaurant from within the motel plus we had a menu taped to one of the walls. Wow! how convenient. I began to wonder if they also owned the restaurant. However, we didn't dine there at all. We boycotted Western and Asian food for the rest of the trip. I was proud of us :) We neglected the beaches for the day and returned to the motel for a little nap before deciding what to do for the evening. I figured it was a great time to really study the maps and try to plan for the rest of the trip now that we have a tiny bit of what it is like getting around in Isla Verde. We thought perhaps it wasn't a bad idea to see how much a rental car cost so we 
can make our trip to theNational Rain Forest in El Yunque the next day. I heard a little about their infamous waterfalls in the forest. (Stay tuned for more details)
Oh by the way the redhead here in front of the mirror in the motel room is my friend Jessica. She is the best traveling companion one could ever dream of. Thats because Karma follows her wherever she goes. A great salsera as well. The funniest thing about our motel was our shower. Water came out in one stream. I guess it was an idea of a cheap massaging shower head. Not!!!!!
During that evening, we decided to walk to El San Juan and Casino hotel where the Salsa Congress was held and to see where we will be enjoying some social dancing during that weekend. On the way there, we heard nothing but little chirps of Ko-Kee!!! in every corner of the streets. My puerto rican friends boasts of these tree frogs (Coqui) who only manages to survive in the island. People tried relocating them but they eventually die. This rumor intrigued me for months and it was great to finally hear them. Although I never ran into a single frog the entire trip but I had fake little wooden
souveniors to remind me what they looked like.On the way home from the hotel, it started to pour outside. We didn't even think twice about waiting for the rain to stop. Plus the walk was only 1 mile. We were actually walking in the warm rain of Puerto Rico and enjoying the city to the fullest, how cool was that!!! I personally enjoy walking in the rain but never would've thought that it would be in a Caribbean island. At the end of the walk, we couldn't have thought of a better way to end our first day in PR. It rained off and on throughout the trip but not enough to ruin the trip.
NEXT: TRIP TO EL YUNQUE (NATIONAL RAIN FOREST)
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