Day 11-15?: Tropical storm craziness

It's been a few days now since I've blogged because hurricane Irene has been messing with our plans a bit. After our friends left Ponce, Fed and I had a few days to hang out in the town, which was pretty cool. We tried these delicious huge burritos that some guy in a little metal cart was making. They were delicious.

Giant, delicious burritos from a cart outside our hotel in Ponce.

Our last night there, we stumbled onto a big reggae concert in a closed-off street of the downtown area. We heard there was a hurricane warning, and that the south might get it extra hard, so we headed North to San Juan again on our way to the NorthEast.

Fed and I in the streets of Ponce for a big reggae concert.

We had trouble finding available hotels and hostels, but we ended up finding room in a hostel in Old San Juan that Sharon was staying at. So we stayed there the night through the hurricane, which was pretty crazy! Crazy winds, and tons of rain. We lost power pretty quickly. Even though the center of the storm passed, the rain and the winds stayed for a few days, and with the rain/winds/floods/mudslides/broken trees/etc., we decided to stay put for another day. So we lived in a powerless hostel in Old San Juan for a few days, which was certainly an interesting experience. We met a girl names bridget in our hostel, who hung out with us a bit, and so the four of us just tried to stay busy and have fun. The hostel was pretty nice (minus the power loss), and the view outside our common area was pretty awesome.

The view from our hostel in Old San Juan after the storm.

Yesterday, we brought Sharon to the airport in the afternoon, after her flight was delayed, and hung out in the airport for a little while until she checked in. It's been really fun hanging out with her for the last week or so, but now it's down to just my friend Fady and I again.

Sharon, Me, and Fed playing a ridiculous card game in the airport. lol

Last night, we stayed with Nancy and Gunner Pederson; Nancy is a good friend of my Mom's. They graciously offered their house to us on base in Fort Buchanon, which is great. We have electricity, food, TV, internet, a warm bed, Wii - it's awesome. =) We're waiting until the NE clears up a bit, so we can go to Fajardo, Luquillo, Vieques, Culebra, El Yunque, etc., so we'll probably stay here a few more days.

Today we woke up real late, had breakfast, and have been hanging out around the house enjoying the cool inside air, warm water, working lights, cable television, and internet access. =) Also, I ate a fresh coconut from a tree in Nancy's front yard which I had to open with a hammer! I realized that for sure noone could survive on a coconuts, because the calories you get from a coconut are dwarfed by the calories it takes to obtain, open, and consume said coconut. That being said, the water inside, and the meat of the coconut are a tasty treat to enjoy inside an air conditioned home once you've gone through all the work.

Trying to crack open a coconut with a hammer. Also flashing my lower back.

Enjoying the fruit of my labor. (Get it, fruit of my labor? Cuz it's a coconut...haha)

Who knows what will happen next; Irene certainly shook up our plans. lol So stay tuned...