GO!

Blogging has been on my to do list for four years.
So here goes my first ever blog!

When your daughter invites you to visit her…. GO!
Especially if it’s the middle of winter in New Jersey and she lives near San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The first thing I did in preparation for my trip was to pull out the July/August issue  of Beachcombing Magazine, the Destination: Puerto Rico issue. Then I contacted some instagram beach combing friends to ask for beach suggestions. Now it was time to pack. I always pack light. I love my wraparound ripskirt It is so versatile, they go effortlessly from site-seeing, to the beach, to hiking the rainforest to dinner out. Oh, and don’t forget the sunscreen!

I flew into San Juan, and after dropping my bag at my daughter’s apartment, we headed to the beach. The next day, we ubered into town. Old San Juan was beautiful, with a wonderful pastel color palette and lots of little shops to go in and out of on the hilly blue cobblestone streets. I was told that the blue stones were used as ballast on ships from Spain and were left in San Juan when the ships were loaded with gold for the return trip.  After shopping, we picked up the best fish tacos and an octopus arepas at Cayo Caribe in Old San Juan and headed to the beach for lunch.

The beach across the street from the Capital Building was amazing. A beautiful view of the coast could be seen from the top of the cement steps leading down to the beach. There didn’t seem to be much of a tide and not much of a wrack line, but there was sea glass. We found dark green/black sea glass from old rum bottles, bits of sea pottery, and elusive reds and blues. 

If you walked in the water there was even more sea glass, though when the strong waves came in it was best to leave your feet right where they were so you didn’t loose your footing. The sea glass came and went quickly in the strong waves, testing your reaction time. Sea glassing this way is not as relaxing as my typical stroll on the beaches of Cape May, NJ, but it sure was fun!

You never know who you might meet on the beach. One day there was another person on the beach looking for sea glass, so I said hi and asked her if she had found anything good. Turns out she is one of my instagram followers, so nice to meet Anna from Ohio! Check out her finds @beachwanderarts. A special thanks to another instagram follower, Helen @hiwaves1 for suggesting Escambron Beach. We visited this beach on my last day and found some great colors and then walked the 20 minutes back to the Capital Beach.  Some how we ended up on this beach most days. 

The morning we sailed out in the San Juan bay on the Ohana II catamaran there was a nice warm breeze. As we sailed, a licensed US Coast Guard Master Captain, Francisco, pointed out the sites and gave us a little history of San Juan. It was great to be out on the water and see the city from a different prospective. The first mate offered drinks throughout the cruise. Did I mention my daughter works as the first mate on the morning cruises? Say hi if you go.

I love my wraparound ripskirt It is so versatile, they go effortlessly from site-seeing, to the beach, to hiking the rainforest to dinner out.

Another day we rented a car and headed to El Yungue, the only tropical rainforest in the US. It’s 29,000 acres and considered one of the smallest tropical rainforests. We hiked to some beautiful waterfalls and climbed the Yokahu Tower. At an elevation of 1,575 feet there are spectacular 360 degree views of the rainforest and the coastline.

When I travel I love going to museums. We went to the Museum of the Americas in Old San Juan. It was a very well curated mix of history, culture and art. I would highly recommend a visit. We were hoping to go to the Maritime Museum, but somehow ended up at the beach instead. That will have to wait for my next visit.