PR4 Day 2 - To the Islands!

After yesterday's hiking, we planned to take it easier today.  After sleeping in, we set out to find the peacock. He was super easy to find, but stubbornly refused to flaunt his plumage. We also checked in with the parrots, who didn't swear at all! The hotel must have replaced the (in)famous orator with a more family-friendly bird. Anyways, after checking out ("I hope you enjoyed your stay, Mr and Mrs Farrell" the hostess said, as Lis melted into a puddle of happiness) we grabbed a taxi to the port city of Fajardo.

Hoping to show Lis more of PR and recapture my old trip, I decided we should take the ferry to the islands. I think it worked. We saw the mountains/rainforests of El Yunque with their weird flowering trees as we drove past. Then we got to stand in line for tickets, before standing in line even longer waiting for our boat... I may have captured more of my last experience for Lis than I meant to. It was however nice to be forced to slow down and go at an island pace, where things get done when they get done.

Maybe even more than the events, I remember the transition moments.  Partly because we spent a lot of time walking, but also because those times where nothing was happening were the best times to soak up the milieu.  The distant trumpet of roosters, the fan-sized leaves on trees, the way a flock of cars were all aware of each other and could weave in & out without signals.

The ferry trip was largely uneventful, except for the whale sighting! Instantly, half the passengers swarmed the port windows, watching as the water frothed.  Luckily my vast experience with whales (namely, I'd seen one before), clued me in to the whale-shaped rock's very non-cetacean behavior, so I just watched the drama unfolding in the cabin (all crowded on the port side) as they gradually realized what they were seeing.  After a massive self-deprecating laugh, one of the passengers pointed to starboard and yelled, "Look!  Another one!"

It began drizzling as we arrived at Isabella Segundo (so perhaps it was fortunate there was no outdoor ferry seating) and we immediately jumped in a shared cab across the Island to Esperanza. On the way we stopped to drop a couple off at the W which looked gorgeous. We may have to do that next time. (Just checked the rates. We will not be doing that next time.) 

We dropped our bags off and wandered down to the boardwalk for a mid-afternoon meal.  We found an oceanfront bar and I was immediately stunned by the difference from my last visit. Far from being one step above a deserted island, Esperanza was full of people. And they were all white. Even as a white person, it was weird. We had a few drinks and a late meal, and waited out the rain.  This was another great chance to people-watch and debate the folly of their fashion choices.  Our bartender pressed on in good spirits, even with broken appliances and a missing employee. And as all good bartenders do, he convinced us to drink more than we planned (using pretty sound logic:  what else were we doing that day?)

After the rain, we walked through town trying to find open slots on the evening's bio-bay tour. There were none. They were all booked solid for the next several days.  We called some more, decided we'd do some research and find something tomorrow morning, and headed back to the house to call it an early evening, as it was apparent I'd started to come down with something.  While temperate air blew softly through the shutters we laid in bed, reading snippets of our books to each other until we fell asleep.