This Blog Post is Puerto Rican
I’m almost tempted to keep these photos and post them on my other blog, because a good amount of them are almost too pretty for even my tastes. We shall see. Expect more cruise shots to end up there, when I can get my act together and post the dang things.
When you meander off the cruise ship at the end of the trip, there are a few strange things to contend with – first, the overwhelming despair of leaving the wonderland that was your floating hotel. Second, the sudden influx of local tour guides and peddlers who have something remarkable to offer you as you arrive on land. Now, unlike our travel companions, my mother, daughter and I had decided to save two plus hundred dollars on plane tickets (per person) by waiting to fly home until Monday.
Yeah, we know how to save a buck.
We were waved down by a local tour guide who offered the same tour the excursion desk on board had offered for less than half the price, AND offered to drop us off at our hotel afterward. We jumped at the chance.
Can you blame us? We disembarked during a torrential downpour. First sign of rain on the trip. Well, save for the freak sky dumpage on Dominica.
He drove around Old San Juan, brought us to the gorgeous capital building (responsible for the marble staircase pictured above. I mean wait, that staircase is in my Summer mansion. Yeah, that’s the ticket), and then brought us into the Don Q Tasting House for Dulcineas.
Now, I hear your thoughts here. What the hell is a Dulcinea, you wonder? (Not you pompous highly literate bastards who are thinking, why it’s obviously a reference to Don Quixote’s love interest. You know everything, there you happy?) Why, it is the name of the house drink of the Don Q Rum Factory.
Dulcinea = Pina Colada made with Grapefruit and Orange Juice.
It was ice cold delicious sex in my mouth. I could drink seventeen of them. Right now. In fact…maybe I will.
*here is where drunkenness took my ability to type for six hours*
I’m back!
After the tour, we settled into our hotel, shot down to Old San Juan for supper at the Hard Rock Cafe, meandered past the Sunday evening market stalls that turn Old San Juan into one big pedestrian market, and then walked along the water across the street from the hotel eating rainbow candied popcorn which I miraculously found at the local convenient store.
My childhood in a bag of crap.
The night was warm and the air was thick, but the views were spectacular as the sun was setting in San Juan.
Oddly, the entire city seemed to have been overrun with post cruise travelers (one of which recognized my daughter from the on board magic show that she had stolen out from under the magician himself). We enjoyed the last night of our vacation with not a little pang of reminiscence when we drove through Old San Juan that night at 10PM, catching a glimpse of our boat enjoying their evening sail away party as they departed.
Had I the choice, I could have happily climbed back on that ship for another week.
Instead I’ll have to settle for the oodles of side trips and travels I’ve taken since, and plan to take in the near future. Life is really fabulous, ladies and gentlemen.
If you don’t believe me, take a weekend somewhere at least two hours drive from your house. It renews you.
The last shot really is great. It looks like it might’ve been a handheld shot, too, which is simply nuts for a low light long exposure. Mind if I ask if you used a tripod or not?
Best
David
Hey David,
No tripod. Just took it several (dozen) times real quick in an attempt to get it right.
And my D90 does surprisingly well with low light. If only I could find a way to get control over my ‘shakes.’
You wouldn’t want me performing your surgery some days, that’s for sure.
Gorgeous.
Love it.
L33t!
I do declare.
boom chica wowow
I don’t know what to say about this!
Awesome?
When you meander off the cruise ship at the end of the trip, there are a few strange things to contend with – first, the overwhelming despair of leaving the wonderland that was your floating hotel.