Islands and Injuries

* Spoiler alert: If you don't like pics of flesh wounds, proceed with caution. *

I haven't blogged in a while, because Fed and I have been Island hopping for the last few days. So here's a slightly long synopsis of our last few days...

Wednesday we drove to Fajardo to catch the ferry to Vieques. Vieques is a smal island about 4mi wide and 10mi long off the East coast of Puerto Rico. It has some beautiful beaches, and is home to the supposedly brightest bioluminescent bay in the world. Fajardo has some crime, and leaving your car parked in Fajardo is always a slight risk, but we have insurance, and what else could we do? =) After about an hour or so ferry ride, we took a 15 minute ride in a publico (like a cab), except this guy was driving pretty crazy. The roads in Puerto Rico are terrible, with potholes all over the place, so this guy was bobbing and weaving through the street. Pretty crazy, but he got us to Esperanza, a small town on the south coast. We checked into our guesthouse in the afternoon, and strolled down the beach-front street. Beautiful view, but not much going on. We had dinner on the street, and stopped at the beach for a little while. Then we got ready for the bio bay, where the water glows from microorganisms in the water. There are only like 9 in the world, Puerto Rico has a few, but the one in Mosquito Bay in Vieques is supposed to be the brightest. We got picked up by our tour guide around sunset, and met up with about 15 other people. We opted for the kayak tour, which was awesome. There's no way to really explain how cool it was. You have to experience it! The most interesting thing for me was that the water doesn't just glow; you see the individual glowing particles in the water, like glitter. It was amazing. We also met a cool chick named Alessandra from Boston (almost everyone we've met is from NY or Boston), who we got to talk to during the truck ride back from the bio bay.

The next day we decided to rent scooters (aka mopeds), drive around the island a little, and beach hop. Riding scooters was pretty fun. For a while. Like I've said before, the roads in Puerto Rico are terrible. While I was riding, I hit some bad patch of road that had some sand, and...I crashed. I cut up my right knee and left foot pretty good, as well as a little on my hands. I got up and felt a little light headed, so I knelt down, and passed out for a second. Luckily there were some other tourists behind us who brought us to their house where a (pretty hungover) EMT cleaned out my wounds with rubbing alcohol (painful, yes). After that, Fed and I got back to our hotel, and Fed cleaned out my wounds pretty thoroughly with q-tips and hydrogen peroxide (very painful). Then he superglued some of the deeper cuts closed. Guerilla military medical tactics, maybe, but it worked. A little while later, he cleaned the wounds out again with iodine (also painful, especially considering I still hadn't taken any pain meds yet). I laid down for a little to recover before one of the ladies at our guest house drove us to the hospital. Here's how things looked; luckily my phone's camera sucks so you can't see all the gruesome details. =P

My right knee, though this picture makes it look like nbd.

And my left foot. Gonna get me some decent battle scars.

Note: If any medical schools are reading this, I would be happy to explain how Fed would make an excellent physician--one you would be proud to accept to your school asap. He took great care of me, and I would have been so much worse off if he hadn't been around to do so much all the time to make things easier and better for me.

At the hospital, the doctor cleaned out my wounds again (still painful) while he just whistled away (which is a dick thing to do while hurting someone). lol Then he gave me a tetanus shot (the reason we went to the hospital in the first place), an antibiotic shot, and - at the very end of all this - some pain medication. Priorities, doc, come on! =) That pain medication actually worked pretty well, cuz I was able to limp to get dinner when we got back to Esperanza.

The next day we had planned to go to Culebra, another island off the east coast that's supposed to have some of the best beaches in the world. Unfortunately, there is no ferry from Vieques to Culebra, so we had to get one from Vieques to Fajardo, and then from Fajardo to Vieques. =\ We took a publico at 10am from our guest house to catch the 11am ferry, which turned out to be the 12:30ish ferry. =P From Fajarado we drove to Walgreens to get an antibiotic prescription filled, and when we got back to the dock around 4, they told us to come back at 6 for the ferry to Culebra. We got back at 5:30 just to be safe, but we would find out that ferry was a small one for locals only. They told us we had to wait until midnight when a cargo ferry would come, and likely bring passengers back; they'd just have to ask the captain. Apparently the captain doesn't have a cell phone, or anything, because we were supposed to wait until he docked before we'd have a definitive answer on whether we'd get a ride. Also, we piad to park our car in a lot this time, instead of leaving it on the street, but we'd have to pay about $5 if we left for parking "one day" in the lot. So...we waited. For hours and hours, I sat--trying to keep my legs elevated to relieve the pain and swelling, and my butt from getting numb. lol

Fortunately, we met a local family and their friends, who were really nice, spoke english, and were great to pass the time with. I got to talk to a girl named Elena for a while, who studies mechanical engineering at the University of Puerto Rico (which Fed and I actually drove through while staying in Rincon). She speaks english really well, and it was awesome to have a cool person to talk to while we waited forever. It definitely made passing the time much more enjoyable. Since we would arrive in Culebra after hours, she offered to host us if our camping situation didn't work out, which was super nice. The ferry finally arrived -- at 2AM! Ugh. And unfortunately, it was a very old and slow cargo ferry, so it took THREE HOURS to get to Culebra. So a little after 5am, we finally arrived in Culebra. Fortunately, a bus came to take us to Flamenco beach, where we set up our tent while getting bit by mosquitoes. It was pretty dang hot in our tent, especially because we tried to start sleeping as the sun was coming up. I could only sleep on my back too cuz of my knee and foot. Needless to say, it was not our best night's sleep. We woke up around 10am, and I hobbled to the beach. Flamenco beach is possibly the most beautiful beach we've seen during our entire vacation, and I thought I'd try to see if the saltwater would feel good on the wounds. Sadly, it did not. I had been really uncomfortable and in a lot of pain, and so unfortunately, we decided to leave Culebra early so I could get back to Nancy's to recover.

I've been here now since last night, mostly resting and trying to recover. She thought it best to clean out my wounds a few times a day (always painful, when will people stop doing this to me?) Here is basically the highlight of my day so far, lol:

Yep, this is how I move around the house now. Yeah, I'm cool.

Tomorrow we're going to try to spend our last day in old San Juan to grab some trinkets, before we depart early Tu morning. Even though this injury has been rather debilitating the last few days, and we missed out on a few things we wanted to do, it's still been a great vacation. =)

A beautiful update before a few days off

Today, Nancy, Fed and I went on a catamaran trip out of Fajardo (NorthEast coast), which was awesome! We got to the docks at 9:30am, and boarded a powered sailing catamaran that would take us to a small island off the coast, and then a reef in some slightly deeper water. It was SO amazing. The water, and island, and everything is postcard beautiful, maybe even better. The water is humorously clear and warm; it's unreal. We had about a 45 min sail to a small island, where we snorkeled for an hour or so. Saw tons of fish, and enjoyed the incredible water and beautiful small island. As stunning as these pictures are, it's still so much better in person.

Fed and I enjoying our sail on a catamaran. 

Approaching our first stop.

Our view to the left prior to docking on the shore.

Our view to the right prior to docking on the shore.

Yep, here's where we were today. Where were you? ;)

The water was AMAZING!

After that we had lunch on the catamaran. From there we sailed a few minutes to a big reef, where there were TONS of fish. I mean schools of fish that would just swim all around you. And they gave us bread to feed the fish, which would cause a frenzy of tropical fish to surround you, and even eat right of our hands. It was so incredibly cool. It's hard to even blog about this, because I can't do it justice at all. But let me tell you, it was awesome.

After the exciting catamaran trip, we stopped at the Luquillo kioskos to eat at El Jefe Burger per Nancy's recommendation. Now we're packing up to leave for Vieques in the morning, assuming the ferry will be running tomorrow. =P

I'm not bringing my camera or laptop to Vieques, since we're camping and I don't want to take any chance of having those things stolen. So I probably won't be able to make any blog updates until we get from Culebra on Sunday. Be patient until then; I'll post as much and as soon as I can. =)

Irene keeps messing with our plans

So today we left early in the morning to head toward El Yunque - the beautiful pride and joy of Puerto Rico, an outstanding rainforest that's a finalist for the seven natural wonders of the world. We ended up taking a major detour, which led us through an hour drive through the outskirts of the rainforest. It was a nice drive, but it was not where we were supposed to go. Eventually we found our way back though, and we made it to the heart of El Yunque!

Aaaaaand it was closed. =( Irene had caused massive flooding, mudslides, and crashed trees on all the major hiking trails. All we could do was go to the information center, which had a gift shop, a couple exhibits, a cafe, and very short trail that took all of about 5 minutes to walk through. Granted, the tiny bit of the rainforest we did get to see was nice, but we couldn't help but leave just a tad disappointed. Especially considering that the trails aren't expected to be open until next week or later (after we leave). Note to self: when planning a vacation in the tropics during hurricane season, do the best stuff FIRST, not last. lol

Some of the tiny bit of El Yunque we got to see.

Wildlife everywhere, per usual.

My friend Fady going Tarzan-status on these jungle vines. 

Though not quite the peak of the rainforest, we still got a decent view.

Fed and I outside the visitor's center of El Yunque, and no further. lol

After our little tease of El Yunque, we stopped in Condado (a city right outside of San Juan, where we went for dinner two nights ago) and ate lunch at a place RIGHT on the water. It was pretty sweet sipping pina coladas to the crash of the ocean waves and a hint of salt water in the air. Tough life, I know, but we're getting used to it. =) We ate paella, which is a large rice dish always served for two, full of all kinds of sea food, as well as plantain fritters on the side. It was delicious, and extremely filling.

Sipping pina coladas with an ocean-front view.

Lunch: seafood paella, plantain fritters, and pina coladas. =)

We also bought a tent today, for when we camp on Vieques and Culebra. Excited about that. Tomorrow we'll be on the Spread Eagle II, a powered sailing catamaran that offers an all-day sailing/snorkeling/eating trip. It sounds like a really great time. Plus I'll continue to get more tan, and Fed will continue to get more brown. lol

A day to relax, and cook

After a busy day yesterday, we basically did nothing today. Woke up around 10:30am, and hung around the house until the afternoon. We did figure out our plan for the remainder of our trip, which was good, but no real exciting adventures.

The Pedersen's have been incredibly kind, accommodating, and generous to us. So last night at dinner (Gunnar insisted on treating us) we offered to make dinner the next day. We went to the store to get ingredients, and started cooking away. We made baked pork chops over semi-homemade stuffing over apple filling, accompanied by grilled potatoes, mixed vegetables, and sweet rolls. Not too shabby for two bachelors, eh? =) The Pedersen's seeemed to enjoy it, and we were happy to do it.

The Pedersen's enjoying a home-cooked meal from my friend Fady and I.

That was basically the highlight of today. lol Tomorrow we're going through El Yunque, the beautiful rainforest of Puerto Rico that's a finalist for one of the seven natural wonders of the world. It'll be interesting to see how it looks after Irene passed through a few days ago, but it should be fun to hike through either way. Expect pictures from the highest point on Puerto Rico manana!

So much fun yesterday!

(This post has lots of pictures, and a video, to make up for my lack of media in the last few days.)

Yesterday was a pretty incredible today. It started at 9am with Gunner knocking on our door (bad news), because he wanted to tell us we were going jet skiing (very good news). So we got ready, and headed to the water. We went to some little hidden cove place, which was actually really beautiful, and camped out right on the shore. The place we camped out at had a gorgeous view:

Our view from our cabana right along the coast.

We didn't waste too much time enjoying the scenery though before hopping on the jet ski. Gunner took Fed out first, then he took me out, and it was awesome. But then Fed and I went out by ourselves, which was even more awesome. I drove first (of course), and then Fed had a turn to drive. I've decided that jet skiing is the most awesome thing on the entire planet. I want a jet ski.

Fed jet skiing with Gunner.

Me jet skiing with Gunner.

Fed and I jet skiing. Me driving like a boss!

Fed and I jet skiing. Fed driving ok. ;)

After some bbq'd hot dogs, we went another round on the jet ski, only this time we drive alone. The water got a little choppy from the wind, and that combined with the freedom of riding alone, made it SO much fun. I can't even describe it, but what I can say is that it is impossible to not smile while riding a jet ski. =)

There was a sunken barge right off the shore (which you can see in the picture above), which we snorkeled around, and saw TONS of awesome sea life. Tons of colorful fish, these cool squid, sea urchins, prawns, this lobster/crab thing, and a humongous baracuda-like fish. Snorkeling might be second on the list of most awesome things on the planet.

We actually found tons of living creatures all over. Besides all the fish and stuff in the water, we found a giant starfish, some big crabs, and a few iguanas! They're pretty giant, and they would come right next to our tent to eat Pringles (who knew?). lol Overall, it was just a super fun day down at the coast with the Pedersens.

Fed with a giant starfish. ("Hurry up and take it, it's prickly!" lol)

Iguanas just all up in our business to eat our Pringles. Pretty cool.

After getting home and unpacking from the beach, we all showered and got ready to head to Condado for dinner. Condado is a pretty cool little city, and the street we were on has some hopping night life. We ate at some nice italian restaurant, which was pretty delicious, and very filling. After dinner, we walked down the street a little, and ended up at a Hilton, which had a big room when you walk in with lights, and music, and people, and festivities. The room was really stylish and cool, and there were clowns, mimes, people on stilts, gold statue people, and other interesting forms of entertainment. It was pretty entertaining to watch, and be a part of:

Me dancing with a masquerade stilt lady. (Also I apparently have white pupils and two chins, lol)

There was also a sick DJ in an awesome suit. His headphones were actually like a space helmet that plugged in on back of his head. He had like a stormtrooper suit, with a neon LED light vest, and glowsticks around his ankles. He looked like a boss. He was a pretty good DJ, and we would dance along with his mix. He was so much fun to watch. You couldn't watch him and not just smile a little to yourself. Check out just a little taste of what he had to offer:

So basically we just hung out in the lobby of the Hilton all night, listening to live DJ music, and watching the ridiculous circus all around us. It was pretty bizarre, and definitely super awesome. You had to be there.

So yesterday was for sure one of the highlight days of our trip thus far. Today we'll probably lay low, and plan out how to venture to the East coast tomorrow. We're hoping we can get a ferry to Culebra or Vieques tomorrow, in which case we'll be living on those islands for the next few days. =)

More deep fried food!

So today, Fed and I ventured out to the East coast. We had planned on being there already, and heading to the islands of Vieques and Culebra, but hurrican Irene has set our plans back a bit. So we went exploring there to see the condition of the East coast, and if ferrys are still running trips out to the island.

Driving, as usual, is crazy. Especially now that power loss has turned off many street lights. In the states, we know that when a street light is down, you behave as if it's a stop sign. In Puerto Rico, when a street light is down, you behave as if a shark with a sawed off shotgun is hot on your tail. Basically it's a mad free-for-all of who can weave through the traffic first.

Our first stop was Luquillo beach, which is known to have kioskos - little food shacks right on the beach. And it's true. Though we didn't get food at first. We stopped at the beach right behind this long line of kioskos. Even though it was a little overcast, it had been almost a week since we had been in the ocean, so swimming was long overdue. The water was actually pretty nice, and the sun came out just as we got out and laid on the sand for a bit.

From there we continued our expedition toward Fajardo, where ferrys usually depart to Vieques and Culebra. We never really found any ferries, but we did find some closed roads and a Navy base. So hopefully when we actually need to get a ferry, we'll have better luck finding one. lol

After our fruitless search for ferrys, we went back to Luquillo for lunch. We basically tried something from almost every kiosko. And did I mention that EVERYTHING is fried? =) We started off with like a lunch version of banana split: a fried plantain, split and filled with ground beef and cheese. Also we tried a poinono, which is another way to fill fried plantains with ground beef and cheese. We also tried something like a crab corndog (but with way more greasy fried outside). I also tried a crab sandwich thing, but of course the outside bread thing was fried. A pina colado helped wash down the grease. =)

Left: Poinono, ground beef stuffed inside sweet plantain, then fried. Right: ground beef in sweet plantain, then fried. lol

Fed and I outside the Luquillo Kioskos, though this picture doesn't really do it justice. At all.

After our excursion, we headed back to the Pedersen's house, where we had great pasta leftovers, and another pina colada which Gunner made for us. I know, tough life. =)

P.s. Frogs, aka coqui ("coe-kee") are really popular here in Puerto Rico. They "chirp" really loudly at night, and I finally found one last night!

A little coqui I found in the Pedersen's front yard. Nbd. =)

Chilling at Ft. Buchanon

So we've been having a great time at the Pedersen's house. Yesterday we went to the Bacardi distillery a couple miles away, which was actually pretty interesting. Then we came home to a wonderful home-cooked italian meal. It's amazing having such great hospitality.

Today we slept in a bit again, had some breakfast, and went shopping! =) We started at the largest mall in the Caribbean, which is a confusing labyrinth of stores, paths and escalators. It's a pretty cool mall, but it's a doozy to get around. I don't think we saw the whole thing, but we were able to wander around for a good hour and a half or so. Then we went to a outlet mall, which was mediocre.

For dinner, we went to a country club type place on base, where we got bbq'd ribs and pina coladas. =) We're chilling at home now, which is great. Tomorrow, Fed and I might venture East coast to see how things look, and try to figure out when we can head out there to visit the NE and the other islands off the East coast. Sat we're supposed to finally see some sunshine, so I can break out the ol' camera and take some more pictures. =)