Puerto Rico: Day 1

What a day. What a long day. What a long and very interesting day. We left our house at 7:30 this morning, and now just past 10:00, we are finally getting a chance to settle down and relax. The day began with our flight being delayed, but we surprisingly worked our way through the San Juan airport and to the rental car station quickly. We were on the road less then 5 minutes after the airport shuttle dropped off at the rental car counter. That is where things got interesting.

I have been concerned about driving in Puerto Rico for several weeks. I have been in enough taxis and buses on Caribbean islands to know the rules of the road around here. That being that there really are no rules. My concerns were quickly realized. I was cut off at least three times, and then had the driver who cut me off yell and honk at me. We got out of the San Juan area and seemed to be well on our way to our hotel. The we started going up hill.

We followed the directions that our GPS was shouting out, only to find ourselves in some mountain town so high up that our ears began to pop. We saw more stray dogs, chickens, and horses than people. The people that we did see had a look on their face like, "Who are these white folks, and what the heck are they doing here?". The ups and downs were quite steep, and those of you that know my wife and her fear of heights can imagine the stress and nervousness in the car. After driving up and down these winding mountain roads for about 30 minutes, we eventually found civilization again. With the help of two maps, a compass and a guide book, we eventually found our way to the hotel. M made the comment that she never "prayed so many times in a car ride....ever".

I am completely exhausted right now and have to sign off, but before I do here are some of my first impressions of Puerto Rico;

- The landscape is absolutely beautiful. The mountains are covered with lush vegetation. Every where you look you see green. The mountain tops reach into the clouds and I cannot wait to reach the top of them.

- There is no such thing as stop signs. They look like stop signs, but apparently they actually mean yield. There are yield signs too, but apparently they mean; close your eyes, pray and hope you don't get hit.

- The "two lane" roads that wind their way through the mountains are only wide enough for a car and a half, if you're lucky.

- I need to learn how to speak Spanish.

- Chickens have the right of way.


P.S. Obviously I have internet access, so I will hopefully be able to continue to post about our adventures, and hopefully some pictures.