Puerto Rico/Virgin Islands Vacation Pics

From San Juan -> Vieques -> Virgin Gorda (UK Virgin Islands) -> Tortola (UK Virgin Islands) -> St. Thomas (US Virgin Islands) -> San Juan -> then a grueling 33 hour transatlantic greyhound bus-ride back home......Here are the pics, enjoy!

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Typical mix of sun and clouds, the beaches in San Juan was reminiscent of South Beach.

Then we drove towards Bacardi Rum Factory. It was very worth the trip since we were given free drinks! I have to admit that I have succumbed to the Reckless Asian Driver syndrome where I drove on the wrong side of the ride and crossed over a curb to reach the other side of the road. On hindsight....who really cares? We are tourists anyway! ;)

Streets of Old San Juan was reminiscent of Madrid and the Fortress was breathtaking....Also, who knew chiringas (kites) were popular in PR?

Locals suggested Baru then Marmalade for the nightlife. Quite frankly, the nightlife was a wee bit disappointing since the crowds were pretty isolated and spotty. Nevertheless, we weren't club-goers so I guess we missed out on that part-

Next, headed over to the rainforest near Fajardo. I was expecting a lil' more interaction; similar to Manoa falls, Oahu. There's minimal trails and most of the park is accessible by car.

Vieques

This was definitely one of my favorite parts of the trip. The little island off of PR has great local charm and the people are extremely down-to-earth. You'll walk outside a bar and locals will greet you like family; how awesome is that? Beaches such as Sombre Bay and Media Luna was similar to Lanikai, Oahu with the clear and pristine waters. While the nightlife is pretty much dead after 9pm, the strip on Esperanza is a good place for cheap food and beers.

Afterwards, we took the Bio-Bay tour to the mosquito infested Bioluminescent Bay harbored by tons of flagellated micro-organisms. I was pretty much "on a high" riding on that pick-up! We kayaked till sundown, dipped into the water and the bay glowed beautifully under the stars.

Since the nightlife was virtually non-existent, we resorted to packing a bunch of beers (Medallas and Coors.....who knew Coors was that popular?!?!?!?) and rum on the fridge as we drank till 2am playing some drinking card games.

Virgin Gorda (UK Virgin Islands)

Woke up wee early to catch the flight to Virgin Gorda and spent the rest of the day at "The Baths". "The Baths" consisted of numerous natural rock formations nestled on the clear beaches of Virgin Islands creating caves and crevices. Word of caution, beware of the cactuses! And yes, we met Morgan Freeman at a local restaurant. He was an awesome guy and poked fun of New Yorkers ;)

Tortola (UK Virgin Islands)

Took the ferry to a harbor island and nothing much goes around here. We basically used this island as a pit-stop to another ferry to St. Thomas (US Virgin Islands)






St. Thomas (US Virgin Islands)

If I had seen enough of Iguana Roadkill in Puerto Rico, damn there's so much more in St. Thomas! It is another touristy area with the same 5th Avenue shops....or shall I say Tourist traps? One good thing in this island is the $3.50 rum. We bought a couple to use it at night since everything is virtually dead after 8pm.

Oh and by the way, the guy above is a douchebag. He basically went all tourettes on me when I snapped a pic of him as he demanded $5. Then he blurted out some mumble jumble about National Geographic etc etc...He pretty much freaked us and the tourist out, hence we scurried to the next shop.

Back to San Juan, Puerto Rico

We flew back to San Juan that same day, then drank some margaritas, "salsa-ed" and gambled a bit at the Stellaris. Then we had more drinks on two other Ashford Avenue lounges before making a pit-stop playing billiards with the locals and for cheap drinks. We basically drank till 130, hence I had 2.5 hours to get ready for my flight back to NYC; which by the way was a nightmare since I opted for the transatlantic bus-ride - DOH! Well, to each of its own, there's always the highs and lows of the trip and the bus-ride was definitely a downer!

I'm pretty glad that my friends convinced me to go on the trip since i was this close in backing out despite booking everything 3-4 months in advance. Either way - vacation or no vacation, there is nothing I could do until the end of March, the scheduled date for surgery. Again, I'm confident and optimistic that everything will be a-ok and he'll be healthier than ever.

Aloha and Cheers,

Moz