A few months ago, feeling burnt out and tired, I started thinking of going on a trip. It had been about two years since I’ve traveled. And for someone who used to travel ALL the time, both for business and pleasure, that was a long time. I was determined to give myself a dream vacation. So I started saving and planning.
What I wanted was a quick trip, a warm getaway. A quick soul revitalization.
In the planning process, I asked a few of my dear friends/ family. My cousin found out she was pregnant with twins, so she opted out. My other friend had to work and a few had given me maybe as a response. I started to develop this attitude of “you’re welcome to come but in a few months I will be on a warm beach with or without someone.” I wasn’t going to let anything stop me from this vacation, if that meant a solo trip, then that’s what it’d be.
Because of a few different reasons, a global pandemic, and a job changes, to name a few, I hadn’t gone anywhere new in almost two years. I went to Florida with my now ex some time in 2021, but I’m not counting a fight in the Charlotte airport and two days with his family a true vacation. Then I spent some time healing, working, saving, healing some more, starting over. Before all this, traveling was practically an appendage. I was obsessed with traveling and I looked for new places to go and how I could get there with every opportunity. I studied abroad in college and lived at home to be able to do so.
And during college, I started working, and succeeding, with a knife company. I went to every conference, I outsold my goal for every incentive trip. For a few years, I used this job to fuel my dream of traveling. I was always working and always traveling. While those trips were always fun (it’s always nice to have a room and flight and food paid for) it wasn’t always exactly what I wanted. When I was around 25, I started craving more adventure and planning trips that involved hikes and waterfalls and smaller air bnbs but brighter memories. These included coffee tasting and ziplining in Costa Rica and experiencing a rich rain forest in Indonesia, walking through Machu Pichu in Peru and yoga retreats to Panama. So in planning this trip, I knew I needed something that was exactly what I wanted. A treat to myself, proof that I can still travel and do what I love even if I no longer work for a company that offers paid trips (have I mentioned how much I miss company trips?), even if I’m single, even if travel was suspended for so long. I knew I wanted to create something just for me, especially because I knew I might be going solo. It worked out that my best friend was able to go and bought her flight about two days after I did, but I still did the planning as far as where we were going to stay. I needed it to be safe, affordable and most importantly, FUN.
For months this gave me something to look forward to. I’d spend my lunch breaks researching the best beaches and things to do in the Island. I couldn’t wait to go on “our best friend honeymoon” as we kept excitedly talking about it.
And last week, already, everything I’d been planning and hoping for was my reality. For a full week I was with my best friend, enjoying warm sunshine, beautiful beaches and delicious foods. I was able to relax and decompress from months of adjusting to a new job, getting through a breakup and other stresses I’d experienced since my last trip, pre-covid and a million lifetimes ago. I was able to let loose a bit and have fun. My creativity was re-charged and I did some planning about what I want my life to continue to look like – a dream vacation, like this one to Puerto Rico, is now a must- have experience, at least twice a year. I’m already thinking of when I’ll be able to return to this beautiful Island in particular.
The landscape was beautiful. I was fortunate to have a window seat as we flew into the island and seeing that ocean, I knew I’d made the right choice.
Perhaps the most memorable part of Puerto Rico was the art. Everywhere you looked was either stunning landscape, mountains and serene beaches and water that was so blue it looked fake, or murals and hand painted flags on every corner. Even the buildings, especially in Old San Juan, were incredibly bright and breathtaking. The murals had me stopping every two seconds for pictures. What I loved about the murals was how intricate they were and they often featured the Puerto Rican Orgullo, pride in the island’s history and gente.
I loved how much pride people have in their island. The flag is everywhere, yes but if you ask anyone where they’re from and they’re Puerto Rican, they’ll tell you with their whole chest and a big smile. Then they’ll give you recommendations about what to do or where to go. We were able to check out a few of those recommendations and they all became highlights. Crash boat beach was referred to us many times, one hundred percent lived up to the hype. Ilana, who helped us with the car reservation said “Isabela is beautiful, check out the tunnel.” A quick google map search brought us to Guajataca, just a few minutes from our air bnb. Sure enough, we went to this beautiful old train tunnel over- looking crystal blue waters and even more murals painted onto the cliffside.
Beaches. I could write a whole novel on the beautiful beaches of this Island, but I will try to practice brevity here. Every single one was beautiful and picturesque. When I first started doing research, crash boat beach and Flamingo beach came up multiple times. We didn’t make it to Flamingo, but crash boat lived up to the hype. That may have been my favorite, great for swimming and relaxing in easy waves. Jobos Beach was also incredible, we sat next to a rock foundation that gifted us with a splash and waterfall with the occasional bigger wave. Jobos also had great restaurants and we enjoyed margaritas and of course fried plantains for lunch. When I had first started planning this trip, that was an image I had in my head and what I had been looking forward to most – sitting on a beautiful beach, blue water and blue skies above me, white sand on my toes, hot sun on my skin and a strong, salty margarita in my hand – one of my versions of heaven. Added to that was the fact that I was with my best friend, one of my most favorite people on the planet. It was worth the slight sunburn.
Food. Incredible. We ate fried plantains every day. Rice and beans – which I might normally skip back home. I’ve been a vegetarian for quite some time and traditionally, beans are cooked with pork fat. But, when I travel, I try to eat like the locals. That pork fat is in there for a reason, a very delicious reason. If you want to stick to your diet while visiting Puerto Rico, however, most restaurants list allergens and have many vegetarian and vegan options. Also, many people speak English so if you have questions, you can always ask. One of the best lunches I had was a dish of vegetables and rice in a coconut sauce at a restaurant I can not remember the name of for the life of me. I do remember that it was behind a store in the middle of old San juan. And I can’t forget about the drinks. Kai’s beach restaurant in Jobos made my dream of having the perfect margarita on the beach a reality. Puerto Rico is known for it’s rum, so I would have been doing a disservice if I didn’t try a few daqueries too. Can confirm, Puerto Rican Rum is delicious.
San Juan was definitely the spot if you wanted a more night-life city feel. Aguadilla and Rincon offered more beach-town, chill vibes. We didn’t make it to El Yunque national forest, because I didn’t realize we needed to have reservations, but next time I go, I will make that a priority. We stayed at Hotel Villa del sol in San Juan. The staff here was super friendly, hotel was cute and had a nice pool and a very friendly lobby cat. Conveniently, This was also where our car rental was located. From there we drove west to Isabela and stayed at an air bnb, yourisabelaresort. This airbnb was so cute, had a glamorous pool and the host, courtney was incredibly kind and helpful, offering great recommendations.
Like I said, I already can’t wait to go back.
Did everything go perfectly according to plan? No, of course not. A missed connection and layover at JFK airport wasn’t ideal. And a sunburn and blisters on my feet from walking around Old San Juan wasn’t on my vacation vision board, but I learned my lesson for next time. This trip was so close to perfect. It was exactly what I needed, when I needed it. It was a warm, fun reminder that everything is temporary and I am capable of realizing a dream that I have for myself. Three months ago, I was sitting in the cold, planning this trip and a week ago, I was living it. I highly recommend planning a dream vacation to Puerto Rico.
Erin A Clark 