Puerto Rico - Day 1 - El Conquistador

Ever since our days is Japan I have been anticipating a return to Puerto Rico. This trip marks the third time that Steph and I have travelled to PR together, and I guarantee we'll return many more times in the coming years. Each time we go we have the privilege of staying at her grandmother's (abuela's) house in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Abuela is an amazing host and outstanding cook who enjoys nothing more than knowing she has added at least 10 lbs. to each person who's stayed with her. On this occasion she hosted not only Steph and I but also our best friends, Ashleigh and Tim. We rarely see them anymore since Steph and I are still in Central Florida and Ash and Tim are living in Manhattan and Brooklyn respectively. So the plan was for Steph and I to fly in midday Wednesday, pick up the rental car and drive to Abuela's house to get situated. Then that night we were to return to the airport to pick up Tim and Ashleigh who were getting in near midnight, and head back to the house for a good night's sleep. In case you haven't met some of the group, and need a visual of who's who, here's a picture taken on our last day of the trip.

I'm not sure if it's the temperate, tropical climate or the sounds of the coqui (a small tree frog native to the island), but I always sleep well in Puerto Rico. As the sun came up, we all had the opportunity to wake up to a crowing rooster. No, Abuela does not own livestock. However, her house sits on a small bluff and across the gully is another hilltop house with a variety of wildlife including a rooster and another chicken. By the time we were all up and reaching the kitchen, Abuela had already begun preparing scrambled eggs and hot ham & cheese sandwiches. I'm not a fan of eggs, so she always has plenty of other options for me when we visit. However, before eating anything I am required to both learn and recite the food's spanish name for Abuela. These idiosyncracies are what I enjoy most about staying with Abuela. After chatting a bit and finishing breakfast, we loaded into the car and headed out for our first excursion: to the El Conquistador resort in Fajardo, Puerto Rico.

El Conquistador is a cliffside resort that lies on a small peninsula on the northeastern tip of Puerto Rico. The resort faces the Caribbean Sea to the east and the El Yunque rainforest and Luquillo Beach to the west (pictured here from our balcony).

Perhaps the most amazing thing about El Conquistador is that all guests have access to Palomino, a private island located a few miles off the coast, and it's tiny counterpart, Palominito. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the Spanish language, the suffixes -ita or -ito mean 'small'. Therefore Palominito is a small version of Palomino. Upon arriving, we quickly parked the car, checked in, and made our way to the catamaran launch to Palomino. Following the 8 minute boat trip, we found a spot on the beach and set up camp. Steph and Ashleigh decided to stay on the beach and sun while Tim and I took off by foot to explore the island. This picture from the El Conquistador website shows the main beach of the island, and if you look to the upper left of the, you'll see the trail where Tim and I began our hike.

After about 90 minutes of hiking, we returned to the beach to find Steph and Ash intermitently laying out and cooling off in the ocean. Our chairs on the coast of Palomino were directly across from it's tiny counterpart, Palominito (pictured here).

We discussed the possibility of renting a kayak and paddling over to Palominito. My brother Aaron and I did this a couple of years ago and had a great time walking around the desolate little strip of land. With it's tightly knit group of palms, shrubs and a nearly footprint-free sandy beach, it's the kind of small island you imagine being shipwrecked on. After deciding not to rent a kayak, Tim stated he was going to swim over to the island. Steph and I, having both kayaked there ourselves, laughed and thought him foolish to even consider it. Oh, perhaps you will better understand why we didn't take him serious if I should show you a photo of Palominito in which we weren't using the 'zoom' on our camera.

Yes, it is a long swim. Steph and I, thinking that Tim was joking, didn't give his idea another thought. However, a few minutes later we glanced out at the sea, only to find Tim a good 100 meters from the coast. Ashleigh and Steph were yelling at him to stop attempting the impossible and return to the beach. However, he slowly, yet continually began to swin further and further away from us. I guess we never should've second-guessed his ability to swim or his determination, because he eventually made it to Palominito. After touring the speck of land for about 30 minutes, he returned to us only to be screamed at for worrying everyone. Once we calmed down though, I have to admit I was damn impressed. I would've drowned for sure! After another hour or so of sunning, the sky began to cloud and rain could be seen in the distance. We headed to a small cafe on the island and, following lunch and a few Medalla Lights, boarded the catamaran back to the mainland. Back in the room, we took turns cleaning up and preparing to hit the casino and go out in search of dinner. We settled in a small cafe near the main pool overlooking the ocean. Here's a picture of Steph and I at dinner.

And a shot of Ashleigh and Tim at dinner as well.

Of course, being in a casino means only one thing for Steph: roulette. She and Ashleigh parked themselves at a roulette table for a couple of hours and enjoyed a few beers while winning a decent sum of money. Tim and I, reluctant to gamble, went out in search of a Pac-Man machine. As Tim says, "Every time you put a quarter into a Pac-Man machine, you're a winner!!" Inspiring words, indeed! Unfortunately, we couldn't find Pac-Man, so after a couple rounds of Dance, Dance Revolution and Crazy Taxi, we settled in on a couple of 5-cent slot machines. We took a $5 bill that Steph gave me for games and turned it into $20. What can I say. . . I'm just happy I didn't lose money. Finally we decided to grab a drink in the martini bar upstairs prior to returning to the room.

They had a nice pool table and all the peanuts you can eat. No, seriously. . . all the peanuts you can eat. Just look at how intently Tim is observing the goblet of peanuts laid out before him.

Shortly thereafter, we returned to the room for a full night of sleep. The following morning we planned on setting up camp at the main pool and then, following lunch, we would take a hike through El Yunque rainforest.