puerto rico

at some point last summer ken and i decided we should cash in some air miles and go to the carribean. we tossed around a few ideas, but pretty quickly settled on puerto rico. one of us had read a travel article about kayaking in the the bioluminescent bays, and the notion of no passport being needed was extremely appealing.

we flew into san juan and stayed in a hotel steps away from condado beach, a very pretty, but extremely urban stretch of sand. our second night in san juan, we found our way to ashford avenue, also in the condado neighborhood. the street is lined with restaurants, boutiques, and high end resorts, like the retro jewel, the la concha. we had fun exploring this strip, but it did feel a little vegas-y. 

old san juan reminded me very much of the french quarter in new orleans, except it was very, very clean and hilly. we spent a day wandering the cobble-stoned streets lined with colonial buildings. and we passed a good bit of time at the bar at the hotel el convento. sitting in the bar, drinking rum, i did feel transported back in time.

after being in san juan for three days, we hired a van to take us to fajardo, which is about 80 miles east of san juan. at fajardo we caught a passenger ferry to the island of vieques, which is about eight miles off the coast of the mainland. after the hustle and bustle of condado, i was looking forward to vieques, but i had no idea what a treat we were in for. the island, sometimes known as part of the spanish virgin islands, is only 21 miles long and four miles wide. the united states navy occupied large portions of the island from 1941 to 2003. when the navy left, the land it had occupied, including some gorgeous beaches, became a wildlife refuge. 

we rented a jeep upon arrival and made our way to our home for the next four days, the hix island house. i'm not sure if i've ever read such polarizing views of a hotel before, but i'm so glad we followed our instincts and decided to stay here. designed by canadian architect john hix, the property consists of several concrete structures with open windows. 

the interiors are very simple, but extremely lovely. our room had an open air shower and a kitchenette stocked with eggs, coffee, and fruit. and, each day we stayed there a loaf of freshly baked bread appeared like magic.

there is also a beautiful pool on the property.

i'm not sure i would like to spend any more time in san juan, but i would love to return to vieques. the pace is nice and slow, the beaches are gorgeous and secluded, the bioluminescent bay was just as amazing as i imagined it might be, and the hix house was such a wonderful place to come back to at the end of each day's explorations.