Dopo un paio di giorni a Salt Lake, sono andata a Puerto Rico. Una famiglia di cui tenevo i bambini c'andava e mi hanno invitato. E' un posto stupendo e sto facendo dei piani per tornarci il prima possibile!
Get ready for picture overload!
Preparatevi per tantissime foto!
Upon arriving in San Juan, we headed to Castillo San Felipe del Moro and Castillo San Cristobal. There, we walked around the old forts/castles and saw breathtaking views of the coastline.
Quando sono arrivata a San Juan, siamo andati a vedere dei castelli. Abbiamo caminato per vedere tutto e c'erano delle viste spettacolari della costa.
Jack (12), Ben (10), Me
I've known them since Jack was 3!
SUCH a gorgeous coastline
And then there was a purple stuffed monkey in the window
Beautiful houses
Colored houses with these blue tiled streets
San Juan reminded me so much of Italy
I could have stayed forever
After our sightseeing, we headed to the condo. Our condo was located on the south east part of the island. We had private access to a beach that was deserted the majority of the time. It was heavenly.
Dopo che abbiamo visto i castelli, siamo andati a l'appartamento. Eravamo nella parte sud est dell'isola. C'era una spiaggia privata dove non c'era nessuno. Era perfetto.
Boogie Boarding!
We headed to these food kiosks one evening to get some food. They all had fried plantains and fried fish. The food was so good and the pina coladas were the perfect drink!
C'erano questi kioski che avevano delle banane fritte (non proprio banane, pero' simile). Tutto era molto buono da mangiare e bere!
We headed to El Yunque Rain Forest since it was across the main road from where we were staying. It was gorgeous. We hiked through the forest to a main waterfall (that I swam in!) and then back. There wasn't too much to see, but it was still a lovely walk.
Siamo andati a El Yunque Rain Forest visto che era attraverso la strada dove eravamo. Era molto bello e rilassante. Siamo andati alla cascata (dove io ho nuotato!) e poi siamo tornati indietro. Non c'era molto da vedere pero' era una bella caminata.
Back to our private beach...
Poi, siamo tornati nella nostra spiaggia privata...
I found so many sand dollars!
There are two islands off of Puerto Rico - Vieques and Culebra. Vieques is larger, but Culebra has the more famous beaches. The only way to reach them is via a ferry that only goes over twice a day. We headed to Culebra and were not disappointed. The ferry ride wasn't the greatest because it was so choppy, but Culebra is one of the most beautiful places I have been. It was gorgeous.
Ci sono due isole vicino a Puerto Rico - Vieques e Culebra. Vieques e' piu' grande, pero' Culebra ha le spiaggie piu' belle. L'unico modo per arrivarci e con la navetta che ci va due volte al giorno. Noi siamo andati a Culebra. C'era il mare mosso nell'andata, allora il viaggio in la non era dei piu' piacevoli, pero' meritava! Culebra e' uno dei posti piu' belli che abbia mai visto.
At the ferry dock
The most famous beach is Playa Flamenco. It did not disappoint.
La spiaggia piu' famosa e' Playa Flamenco. Era proprio bella.
Turquoise waters!
Me and Amy!
Two goofs
It used to be a military post and there are old tanks on the beach.
It was pretty neat.
Before we headed to another beach, we ate some fried plantains and fried local fish. It was probably one of my top five fried fish I've ever eaten. It was divine.
Prima di andare nell'altra spiaggia, abbiamo mangiato del pesce locale. Era probabilmente una dei miei piatti preferiti. Era proprio buono!
We headed to Playa Tamarindo to do some snorkeling.
Siamo andati a Playa Tamarindo per un po' di boccaglio.
Me and Jack
Fish
Sea Urchin
TURTLE!!! We saw quite a few of them!
They swam super close to me! It was SO cool!
We rented a golf cart to get around the island, which was a fantastic decision.
Una sera abbiamo fatto il gieo di questa baia dove i batteri sono fosforescenti quando ci metti la mano. Era molto bello.
Jack is an AWESOME kayaker and he did a really great job teaching me
and being super patient. Thanks Jack! :)
Everyone was supposed to hang out for an after picture, but they all left.
Our group had about 25 people.
We headed towards Humacao to put our feet in the Caribbean Sea.
Siamo andati verso Humacao per mettere i piedi nel mare dei Caraibi.
Me and Ben
Me and Jack
On our way home, we were hungry, so we headed to La Estacion in Fajardo. The restaurant was so cool and the food was AMAZING!
Sulla via di casa, ci siamo fermati a mangiare. Questo era un posto raccommandato dal libro che avevamo. Era buonissimo!
I know it's blurry, but this is all I have!
This was one of the specials that we got...
A smoked red snapper. O.M.G. it was divine.
Five-pound lobster they had caught that day
Ok, this was my favorite thing. These are mofongos.
They are garlicky mashed plantains and we did the mahi mahi filling.
I could have eaten the whole thing and I'm still dreaming about it.
It was SO good!
The smoked red snapper. Also divine.
We chatted with the owner for a bit. He was awesome.
My last morning in Puerto Rico, I was determined to see the sunrise. I woke up and headed to the point to see that sun come up over the island. It did not disappoint.
Mi avevo promesso che una mattina, mi sarei svegliata presto per vedere l'alba. Mi sono svegliata e sono andata alla punta per vedere il sole venire su. Era proprio bello e meritevole.
The light it shone over the beach was stunning.
My last day, we hung out on our private beach. I was hanging out in a chair with the waves washing over my feet when I hear the boys running past me. I look up and they had spotted a HUGE turtle coming up onto the shore.
L'ultimo giorno li, siamo stati sulla spiaggia. Io era in una sdraio con le onde che mi venivano sui piedi quando i bambini sono passati di corsa. Ho alzato lo sguardo e ho visto una tartaruga ENORME che stava venendo su.
As we were watching, more and more people came up to watch this turtle lay its eggs.
In tanto che eravamo li, piu' gente e' venuta per vedere questa tartaruga lasciare le sue uova.
They dig this super deep hole for their eggs that takes a while.
This guy is from the park services. He explained to everyone what was going on.
We had to keep a distance from the turtle while she was digging the hole.
They put this red tape where the hole is so they can track the eggs and the littles
when they are born. Also, once the turtle heads out, they put up the posts
to protect the area.
Questo tizio e' uno del servizio nazionale. Ha detto a tutti quello che stava succedendo.
Noi dovevamo stare via dai piedi in tanto che la tartaruga stava facendo il buco.
Mettono un pezzo di nastro rosso dove c'e' il buco cosi' sanno dive sono le uova.
Poi, quando la tartaruga ritorna al mare, metto su dei piloni per proteggere
le uova.
You get a good glimpse of the eggs here. She laid between 100-125 eggs.
Once the turtle show was over, it was about time for me to get cleaned up and head to the airport. It was an amazing trip and I am truly looking forward to heading back to Puerto Rico soon!
Quando la tartaruga era in mare, era ora di prepararmi per tornare indietro. Era una vacanza stupenda e non vedo l'ora di tornare a Puerto Rico presto!
