#never stop exploring

[alexmurison]

[connorphilpphotography]

biggest waves

[pkphotoblr]

[nicolesanabriaart]

Ireland 🇮🇪

[loh-fi-fotography]

Blessed with this incredible sunset after a long day of hiking 🌄

📍: Two Medicine Lake, Glacier NP, MT, USA

📸: Canon RP

© Mitchell Loh, 2023

[memoriaeternae]

✨ El Yunque National Rainforest

[runs-4-pinkcupcakes]

Midnight. Moon somewhere over an East Coast Beach. USA. May 2023. I missed you. 💋

📸: runs-4-pinkcupcakes

[melcarrphoto]

October 🎃🍂🕯️

[scribblesage]

Exploring the intersection of curiosity and genius ; relationship between these two as well as the mechanism of unlocking our own potential

Insta: _scribblesage_

[alexmurison]

For a brief moment the clouds lifted and the setting sun shone golden light upon Rhinog Fach

[virtualkart]

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[pkphotoblr]

[travull]

Bee in The Sweet White Flowers

[knippy]

golden gate canyon state park, colorado

june 2022

[memoriaeternae]

[rows-of-lilacs]

San Juan, Puerto Rico

[Written 2.13.23; transferred from our old blog]

¡Hola! It’s been below zero in Minnesota lately, so it was the perfect time of year to visit beautiful, sunny, warm Puerto Rico. We took a direct flight from MSP into SJU and spent a long weekend (Thursday through Tuesday) exploring San Juan. It was a fantastic getaway, and we are so excited to share the highlights with you!

We rented a casita through Airbnb that was small but perfect for the two of us. Our host, Sylvette, truly went above and beyond! Weeks before we arrived, she had asked what types of things we enjoy and sent a customized itinerary for us to consider. When we got there, she kindly drove us to some of her favorite spots to help us get acquainted with the area. Sylvette was so warm and kind, and we quickly discovered that would be a common theme of the people we met on the island.

La gente (the people)

This is a generalization that of course does not apply to every single person, but virtually everyone we spoke to in Puerto Rico was welcoming and friendly. We frequently ended up chatting with strangers who would ask about our visit and share something special about the island with us. For example, February 2 is Día de la Candelaria. While we were walking on the beach that day, we came across a trio who were lighting incense and blowing into a beautiful conch shell to honor the holiday. As we walked past, they greeted us and invited us to join them. They told us about the holiday and the special ways their family has celebrated it for decades. They also helped us find our way, as we were a little lost!

Another thing we noticed is that people were patient and friendly when we spoke Spanish with them. Neither of us is a fluent speaker, but folks would hold conversations with us and openly switch to English once we’d shyly announce that we didn’t know the next word or phrase we needed. We’ve been to other countries where native speakers aren’t quite as patient with non-natives, so we were especially grateful for the chance to practice our Spanish. I’m proud to say I can now order an iced vanilla latte with oat milk, no problem!

Los animales (the animals)

We were just as taken with the animals as we were the people. (Actually, we were probably more excited about the animals, but if you know us that won’t surprise you at all). The first thing we noticed upon arriving at our neighborhood was CHICKENS! Everywhere. Hens, chicks, and roosters strutting all around the block. Perhaps some of them were pets, but with how many there were wandering around, I would expect that many of them were wild, just like if you saw a flock of crows hanging out by your house. Even when we left our residential neighborhood, we would come across chickens every now and then. It was a delight seeing all the adorable baby chicks following their mothers closely.

We were also pleasantly surprised by how many lizards we saw! Small ones that blended into their surroundings, medium sized ones with striped tails, large iguanas that you couldn’t miss. We saw them everywhere, often noticing them as they scurried away, scared off by our movement. Our favorites were probably the iguanas, and specifically the iguanas who hung out at the local graveyard. We saw these guys multiple times, and we were always struck by how they looked like the guardians of the graves.

Other animals that deserve an honorable mention: the manatees that live in the estuary (that we searched for nearly every day but did not happen to see); the many cats we admired; the rays that we were able to see from a walking bridge; and the colorful parrots we watched fight over a favored spot in a palm tree.

La comida (the food)

Per usual, we spent most of our vacation wandering around (on average, 10 miles per day) seeing what caught our eye. All this walking led to a deep need for some nourishing food. I don’t think we ended up having a single bad meal in PR. In fact, most of the meals were extraordinary. Some of our favorites included tacos y mofongo at Lote 23, the best guacamole of our lives at Xolo, and an incredible meal from Tomate, which was just a short walk from our casita. Sam enjoyed the fresh seafood, and Sarah loved how easy it was to find vegetarian & vegan options. We also enjoyed excellent coffees from coffee shops like 787 Coffee, Café con Cé, and Dulcesalado. There might be a law in PR that prohibits bad coffee, because daaaang these were good.

El arte (the art)

Something else we loved about San Juan were the colorful murals everywhere! On buildings, in shops – these works of art add so much beauty to the city. Here are some of the murals that caught our eye:

La naturaleza (the nature)

While everything we just talked about was wonderful, nothing can top of the beautiful nature of Puerto Rico. The beaches, the mountains, the rain forest: it’s just heavenly. We loved walking up and down the beaches, jumping into the water when we got too hot. We had a wonderful time kayaking around the estuary, checking nonstop for any signs of manatees. And one of the highlights of our trip was an excursion into the rain forest, where we splashed through muddy trails, jumped off cliffs, and slid down a natural water slide. It was so much fun!

Hasta luego (see you later)

Overall, San Juan makes for a perfect winter getaway. Logistic wise, it’s great: it doesn’t require a passport (since it’s a U.S. territory); you can take a direct flight and not have to waste time on layovers; you can use your U.S. data plan and currency; and you will get by easily if you only speak English. In terms of escaping winter, it’s fantastic: it’s warm without being oppressively hot, the ocean temps are perfect, and your body will savor the much needed vitamin D. However, it’s important to note that PR isn’t necessarily a budget destination. We don’t often see flight deals to San Juan, and because it’s an island, things are higher priced. You probably could make it work on a smaller budget, but you could definitely stretch your buck further somewhere else. All in all, we have cero arrepentimientos (zero regrets) about this trip, and if you decide to go to, we’re certain you’ll have a maravilloso (marvelous) time.

As for our next adventure? Only time will tell. Stay warm, friends. -Sam & Sarah

Full blog post can be found here: https://newplacelikehome.wordpress.com/2023/02/13/san-juan-puerto-rico/