On Wednesday, we packed up our belongings and headed to San Juan to ship our car (which is another REALLY long post- coming soon...)
During our drive, we remembered to take a picture of something we always laugh about- Hot 102, which is 107.3 on the west side of the island...
The backseat
Trunk
After we checked into our hotel we went to Condado beach to walk around for a bit. The "metro" area is so much more populated than the west side of the island. We spent some time touring the area near our hotel, and grabbed dinner.
Thursday we repacked everything, and found out our flight was delayed an hour. So, we drove to the Isla Verde area to take one more look at the beautiful beach area!
At the airport, everything went smoothly. The new wing of the airport was open, and everything was new and much bigger, so the lines were shorter.
Jake hadn't tried a sorullito before, so he snagged one from a little coffee shop while waiting. This one was filled with cheese, and he wasn't really a fan.
Then, we boarded the plane, scored exit row seats, and settled into our flight back to the US of A! :)
To commemorate our time in Puerto Rico and all the great moments spent on "our" beach, we did a mini photo shoot there a few weeks ago after work. Since, we're leaving we're going to post a few of our favorites! ;)
Tuesday was Jake's birthday- and the celebration started off at work. His coworkers bought him a cake, and then surprised him in the cafeteria with it. They sang the Happy Birthday song to him in Spanish, and then we enjoyed the cafe for a few minutes.
Tuesday was also our last day at work in Puerto Rico. We said a lot of goodbyes, and packed up our stuff.
After we got home from work we had our final walk through, and headed to the Eclipse for dinner. The Eclipse is in the Villa Montana Resort which is about 5 minutes away, and right on the water.
Pool area near the restaurant
View from the Eclipse
The food is delicious here! Everything we've had has been wonderful. We were happy that this was our last meal in the Isabela area! :)
Chicken pincho on tostones for an appetiser
Pork medallions with the best rice ever!
An extra side of rice, because it's that good!
Sunset
When we got home, Jake opened his presents (most of which were coupons for things he can buy in Florida) and we had the teeny tiny piece of birthday cake we bought from the cafeteria.
Happy Birthday!
Jake shares his birthday with the Night of San Juan. Tradition says to walk backward into the ocean and fall backward into the water at midnight. So, there were a lot of people out celebrating with blaring music, and car honking long into the night...
In between all of our packing and cleaning, we managed to squeeze a lot into our last weekend in Puerto Rico. It was a buen fin de semana!
Friday night there was a going away party for the people transferring positions within Jake's group. We had fun, and enjoyed good company and food. Thanks to everyone for helping us feel welcome here!
After lugging all of our boxes down the three flights of stairs and into the car (which is a sweaty workout!) we made a second trip to the San Antonio post office. During our last trip, the postal worker had given us a tip- to ask for a cart, and load everything right by the cargo area in the back. So, we did.
This post office has been wonderful during our move. Not many people (unless they get stuck behind us because of all the boxes we're shipping-sorry!), English is spoken, and the postal worker is really good at his job, and super helpful! There should only be one more trip here before we leave.
Load #2
Wheeled it right into the back room
Then, we stopped at the cemetery near us. We always drive by, and had wanted to stop, but didn't until now. The tombs were very close together and the cemetery was so different from the ones we usually see in the states.
We took the "scenic" road home, so we could stop and admire the views! A lot of people were out and about enjoying the beautiful weather!
When we got home, we headed down to the beach to snorkel, but the tide was SO low that we couldn't go. So, we trudged back home, returned out snorkel gear, and got our camera and beach bag. We spent time walking on the rock structure near our place, and saw hermit crabs everywhere!!
We saw one lonely hermit crab on the pavement on Friday night, and KC thought it was so cool that she took a video. Well, when we got to the rock structure, and the area near it- they were EVERYWHERE! So many hermit crabs all over the place! Here's a short video of one group of them.
Sunset near the rock structure
Jake swimming to cool down
On Sunday, we headed to Shacks Beach, which is about 10 minutes away. The view and weather were perfect, and the water has been so clear lately!
We went snorkeling for the last time in Puerto Rico. The water was extremely clear, and the "blue hole" was pretty amazing- lots of big fish, coral, and crabs to see! The waves and current were strong, but it was worth the extra effort!
We ended our Sunday at our beach where we soaked up the sun, sand and surf of Puerto Rico for one last time, and reminisced about some of our experiences here!
Chick-O-Sticks: They are apparently made in Texas, but I've never seen them in Minnesota. So, they're a new experience for us here in Puerto Rico. They taste a little like butterfingers without the chocolate.
Limbers: We were introduced to limbers from Jake's work group. It's like a Puerto Rican Icee. You pick the flavor, and then eat it while it thaws. Supposedly, Charles Lindberg flew to Puerto Rico and had one, and liked it so much they named them after him.
A funeral procession: When you see funeral processions here, they usually start with a truck that has a huge speaker in the back/on top of it playing loud music. Then, the hearse follows with a ton of flowers on top of it. You'll also see a police officer or two, and a long stream of mourners processing behind them.
Sangriiia pouches: These are everywhere in Puerto Rico. On the beach, at the gas stations, at parties- so we tried one... Ugh, we're not fans. It tastes like grape juice gone bad...
Horses: Just a typical mode of transportation. A couple times a week while driving we'll run into people riding horses on the road. This wouldn't be so weird, except the roads are so narrow, and windy that you feel bad passing the horses since they're so close.
