Playa Shacks

We were able to get our breakfast for free due to some mixups here at the hotel (score!) so we went to the fancy restaurant here instead of being adventurous with a local spot. We don't regret it. Our $70 free breakfast was amazing. We sat outside by the pool and had lovely food with even better service. The coffee here is incredible. The woman making my waffle was a trained artist and put her craft into the food. It showed and I loved it. 

BEHOLD: The most beautiful waffle EVER

 Jackson enjoyed his and my mimosa- if we both drank the upgrades we get would especially lovely.

My cute breakfast date!

After breakfast we came up to the room and got beach ready. We wanted to explore the island a bit so we tore ourselves away from "our" beach and hit the road for one outside of the city.

This morning's view

We drove about two hours before finding an obscure local's beach that we'd read about online. The snorkeling was said to be fantastic. Before we got there, though, I needed to pee. We stopped at a gas station that looked entirely normal. Well, looks are deceiving. They had a toilet, yes. But when I asked for toilet paper and soap they looked at me like I was such a diva. UGHHH. I couldn't wait so I just went and hated life for the next hour or so until we got to the beach. Clearly this shop was run by men! I saw a little kid outside peeing into a bottle and again cursed my inability to be so efficient!

Playa Shacks 

A beautiful day for sun and surf

Jackson getting ready to snorkel

He's out there somewhere

I joined him for a bit and was able to snap this silly photo

We were not disappointed when we FINALLY got to the beach. It was just a gorgeous day and the beach was not crowded at all. I'm nearly 100% sure we were the only English speaking folks around, but why would people in an American territory speak English?! Hint: THERE IS NO ENGLISH HERE. NO ONE SPEAKS ENGLISH. NO SIGNS ARE IN ENGLISH. CLEARLY THE U.S. ISN'T MAKING A REAL EFFORT HERE. (End of rant.)

I strapped on my gear and joined Jackson for a bit. I'm not a great snorkeler for a couple of reasons:
1. I'm not a good swimmer. At all.
2. I'm terrified of sharks.
3. I'm also afraid of all other oceanic animals.
4. Hearing my own breathing is unsettling to me.
5. Sharks and other oceanic animals live where I am snorkeling. Again, unsettling.
6. Swimming seems like a helpful skill when snorkeling. Yet again, unsettling.

Anyway, I made it. I saw exactly one fish and one crab. Jackson swears he saw more when he went further from shore than I was willing to go. The whole not being able to swim well thing really cuts into how far out I'll go. Well, that and the sharks. Anyway, he is comfortable with swimming, being shark-bait and hearing his own breathing so he just snorkeled to his little heart's content.

After we Jackson snorkeled for a couple of hours we decided to make our way back to San Juan. We stopped for lunch at a McDonald's (we're cheap and we didn't want to miss much beach time) only to find that unlike France, no one at McDonald's here understood English. Sigh. That was a long trip. I eventually got my Happy Meal, but it had pickles because how on earth does one ask in Spanish for the pickles to be held?! We tried the drive thru but ended up having to go inside to try to figure things out. It was kind of comical. No worries, Jackson's meal was fine. Typical.

One interesting thing here is the lack of planning. There will be nice homes on hills looking over slums. There will be shopping centers that are brand new build into struggling areas. There are more fast food restaurants here than anywhere else we've ever been yet we've seen some locals and they are not the size of houses. Riddle me that one. Anyway, Jackson made fun of me for hours because I looked at him during our drive and said, "this place is nice and all, but imagine what the mayor of Carmel could make of it!" He's certain I missed my true calling in political campaigning now. ;)

A cool looking random house we passed- no worries
it looked over some slums

We got back to "our" beach just in time to catch some evening rays and play in the waves a bit more. We noticed a drunk man passed out on the beach and checked to make sure he was breathing. He was so we went to get cleaned up for the night.

Sunset view

Relaxed Jackson at a beach dinner

Selfie.

We went to our free cocktail hour (Jackson scored a record 3 drinks hence looking so relaxed) and then made our way to the beach cafe for another pizza. We had a same lovely waiter and again noticed the drunk man. He was still there! Some guys from the hotel dumped cold water on him to try to wake him up and he did not even respond. He eventually stood up, stumbled into something and fell back down. I mean that guy was just obliterated. I've never seen anything like it. He couldn't have been more than 25 years old, either. Clearly he's got a problem. The last we saw him he had made his way towards the water. We certainly hope he doesn't get in and drown. The hotel workers on the beach promise to keep an eye on him.

The night view*
*I'm just a little obsessed with the view

We're likely calling it an early night again. We've got an exciting day of exploring the island again tomorrow. This time we'll be hiking which is way more my style. ;):)