San Juan, Puerto Rico: La Isla Verde & Old San Juan
Puerto Rico is such a beautiful island nation. I tagged along with my parents on this trip to San Juan and, unbeknownst to me, became the official translator and food orderer since I know a little bit more Spanish they do. We went to a local restaurant at one point where no one spoke any English so I had to use my terrible Spanish conversational skills to order us food and then follow up on our order. Anyways, I also met up with one of my good friends, Alexis, who also happened to be vacationing here with another friend at the same time! We went to a cute brunch spot and then met back up with my parents at the Plaza Las Américas, which is one of the biggest shopping malls in the Caribbean and the second largest in Latin America. You could find tons of stores that you would find in the States, as well as European brands and Latin American and Caribbean stores as well. It’s definitely a touristy place but ya girl wanted to shop! I had to translate again at the mall because one of the smoothie places we went to, the cashier didn’t speak much English. This trip definitely put the spark in my back to get back into Spanish class and work harder at being at least conversationally fluent in Spanish. Especially since I want to travel more in Latin America.
Another day we decided to go to Old San Juan, which is a historic area full of sites that go back to the 16th century. There’s also gorgeous colorful buildings, cobblestone streets, museums and great food and nightlife. It’s a big tourist hotspot but you can find your own groove off the beaten path in the area. My parents and I ended up eating at this restaurant called Barrachina, that serves traditional Puerto Rican dishes, plus some Spanish dishes as well. I had the best plate of Mofongo with shrimp. It’s a dish made with mashed fried green plantains and I LOVE anything with plantain.
But overall, this trip was mostly to relax. I hung out at the beach on Isla Verde with my mom but the wind was doing wayyyy too much and I got sand all in my hair and my mouth. So much for my zen moment. I didn’t take too many photos this trip because I wanted to be more in the moment, but I definitely wish I took more. Next time I’m bringing my travel camera and going HAM!
Check out the few photos I did capture here on my lil phone: