Bienvenido a Puerto Rico

Although I haven't been on a trip with my family since high school, when they invited me to go to Puerto Rico, I couldn't resist a weekend with my adorable sibs. So that I could see a little bit more of the territory, I headed out a few days before them. As soon as I landed, I hopped in the rental car and headed South to Ponce. It was obvious from the begining that this was not going to be my typical South American travel experience. For starters, there was an actual freeway to Ponce, four lanes in each direction. That didn't stop me from seeing sights like this, though.



When I got to Ponce, I found an adorable colonial hotel, Hotel Belgica, near the town center.

View from my room.

It was HOT and HUMID. I took a quick nap before exploring the plaza.

Plaza Las Delicias

Parque de Bombas (The Firehouse)

Catedral Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe

That night I went down to the malecon (Paseo Tablado La Guancha) to explore. This too was a very different experience. Usually when I go to a place where there are a lot of spanish speakers, they are always excited that I speak Spanish and want to talk to me. Here, not so much. People just responded to me in English like it was too much of an imposition to attempt talking to me in Spanish. I did enjoy listening to their conversations, though. Everyone was talking in Spanglish, going back and forth between English and Spanish. The food was strange, but tasty. I enjoyed my first mofongo, basically mashed plantains with a meat filling, at Kiosk 15.