Friday Notes (Last Day in PR)

Red dots indicate beaches I visited.

Woke up late in the treehouse. Made coffee and showered. Nothing like a cold outdoor shower in the jungle to chase the New Years Eve grogginess away! Relaxed and enjoyed my coffee and the view of Rincon from the treehouse.

Packed up and headed out. Visited:
• Domes Beach & the BONUS reactor site.
• Marias Beach and the surf shop for some t-shirts

Said goodbye to Rincon and drove 45 mins to Aquadilla. Checked in at the Marriott Courtyard then went exploring various beaches (all were stunningly beautiful and virtually empty):
• Surfers Beach
• Isabella
• Crashboat
• Wilderness

Back to the hotel for a nap, then headed into Aquadilla. Found a plaza filled with people dancing to a DJ playing traditional music. Ate an empanada and drank cold beer at a cafe/bar on the plaza. It was a great last night in Puerto Rico!

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Sent from my smart phone

Exploring Aquadilla, Puerto Rico

I enjoyed Aquadilla because it is a more traditional Puerto Rican town than Rincon. 

On my last night I stayed at the Marriott Courtyard near the airport.  I planned to eat in the hotel, but decided at the last  minute that it was just too sterile; I can eat at a Marriott anytime.  Instead I headed into town.  I found a plaza on the beach with a DJ playing traditional music and people dancing.  The plaza was lined with small open air bars that served light food – perfect!  I planted my self at one and enjoyed a cold beer and an empanada de carne (beef empanada – a deep fried pastry filled with ground beef).

Around Rincon and Aquadilla the hills come right up to the coast.  As a result, roads down to the beaches are steep and winding.  At every one there’s a sign entering and exiting the Tsunami danger zone.  The idea is to run like hell to get above the sign when there’s a Tsunami alert!

I spent the afternoon driving around checking out the beaches around Aquadilla.  For the most part they are rocky with patches of sand, empty, and beautiful!  Here are some photos:



Crashboat Beach













Wilderness Beach













Surfers Beach (5 minutes from Aquadilla Airport and near the Surf Zone surf shop)

Making My Escape

It was only two days ago that the Nigerian terrorist idiot lit his own crotch on fire in an attempt to kill a plane load of Christmas day travelers.  I knew the TSA was still reacting to the event, so I gave myself extra time this morning.  It turned out to be unnecessary.  I arrived at the airport at 4:15 AM for my 6:00 AM flight, and was at the gate by 4:45 despite there being only two open security lanes.

I had not been in Terminal 7 of JFK since Jetblue finished their remodeling and I must say it is very nice.  The seats are comfortable, there are several places to eat including multiple coffee kiosks (a must at 5:00 AM), and free wifi.  They also have several rows of computer workstations throughout the terminal where you can plug in and charge up. 


The flight to Aquadilla from JFK is an easy 3 hours and 15 minutes.  I was able top sleep for about an hour and we landed at 10:20 Puerto Rico time (one hour ahead of EST).  The Aquadilla airport is small, clean, and simple.  There were no crowds and parking and rental cars are a few steps way.  

I had arranged for a  car through Popular Auto Rental Car (info on the side bar).  They were closed today but their man Ramon Vega gave me his personal cell phone and told me to call when I landed.  He was at home when I called and he drove over and delivered the car to me under a big tree in front of the airport. 


Ramon said they are closed when I leave too, but no problem – I can lock the keys in the car leave it in the bowling alley parking lot across the street from the airport.  He’ll stop by later in the day to pick it up.  Talk about low key! The car is a brand new Ford (Fusion, I think).

Although I updated my Garmin maps before the trip, my GPS was not a lot of help.  It got me going in the general direction but I needed to refer to printed maps to get me the last few miles.  The GPS took me to side streets rather than main highways, and to roads that have obviously been closed for years.  It was not really a problem because I was in no hurry and used it as an excuse to explore.

Rincon is about 25 miles from the Aquadilla airport.