Puerto Rico was amazing! We really enjoyed meeting Yari's family, even if we couldn't communicate well with everybody. But they still made us feel like family... and oh, the food! We arrived on Sat. afternoon and after nearly losing my ID at the airport, we safely made it the condo about an hour East of San Juan in Rio Grande. After we got our bags inside and checked the place out we ventured out to la farmacia to pick up some groceries. Almost everything was in Spanish! We very slowly walked down all the aisles trying to figure out what we needed. Mostly successful, we returned home with several bags of groceries and one carton of orange juice drink -- not the same as orange juice.
Most of the family got in late Sat. night. Braden finally conked out about 10 minutes before grandma and granddad, Uncle Daron and the then soon-to-be Titi Yari, Aunt Erin and Uncle Jason, and Aunt Joy got back to the condo. On Sunday, we drove south to Arroyo to meet Yari's family and friends. They rented a small beach house and cooked dinner for us. The food was fantastic (my vote for the best we ate while we were there) and later we got to listen to them sing familiar praise songs... only en Espanol (don't know how to get the tilde yet over the n). We watched the Super Bowl in the evening and ate Pizza. We're still Americans, after all.
On Monday we drove into downtown San Juan to get fitted for our tuxes at Leonardo's. After that, we headed into Old San Jaun for lunch and a visit to El Morro. We sat down at a nice outdoor patio and ordered drinks. But after we looked at the menu for a few minutes decided it was way too expensive. So, out our $60 for drinks (mostly thanks to Ali & Joy ordering sangria), we headed to a more affordable restaurant around the corner. The food was still very good and much cheaper. So it was off to El Morro we went. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the city walls and the outside of the fort. Truly spectacular. On our way back to the car, the ladies found a bead shop that made custom jewelry. Two hours later, we made it back to the cars and headed home. Uncle Doug and Aunt Becky also made it into town Monday afternoon.On Tuesday, we drove about 15 minutes from the condo to the rain forest. Yes, our condo was 5 minutes from the beach and 15 from the rain forest. We hiked down to a waterfall (along with 50 other tourists) and just hung out for a bit. On the drive back down the mountain we stopped at the observation tower and climbed to the top. Several of the photographers in the group got all giddy while taking pictures of the family holding the moon in their hands.
Wed. was a free day. Alison, Braden, and I took the ferry out to Isla Culebra to go to playa flamenco. We had heard it was one of the best beaches in the world and it did not disappoint. There weren't many people, the water was crystal clear, and the weather was perfect. Had we known of Braden's aversion to the ocean we would have left him with grandma, but we still made the best of it. Alison and I took turns watching Braden while the other did some snorkeling. And Braden did enjoy playing in the sand. Ali dug a moat all around him and tried to fill it with water. He had a blast watching us run up and down the beach with his bucket, adding water to the moat only to watch it drain out before we could get back with the next bucket. On the ferry ride back to Fajardo we saw a couple of whales, well their fins anyways. All in all a very fun day.
Thursday was the family trip to the caves and the Arecibo Observatory. The caves were cool but I don't think it would have been worth the 5 hour round trip drive without seeing the observatory too. I had seen pictures of Arecibo before but I'm not sure they quite prepared me for seeing it in person. But I am a nerd. Upon entering the gift shop on the way out, Braden saw a book he wanted, grabbed it, and went straight to granddad. Any guesses how that turned out for him?On Friday we went back to the tux shop to pick up the tuxes. The guys and ladies split up and the ladies went back to the bead shop to have more jewelry made. After getting the tuxes, the guys met up with Doug and Becky back at El Morro and we actually went inside. I'd say it was even more amazing on the inside.
The guys got back to the condo first on Friday afternoon and Dad, Jason, and I went exploring around the area. It was an interesting mix of nice vacation homes, empty lots, trailers, and shacks. Alison was driving our rental car with the rest of the ladies (and Braden) and got rear-ended on the way home while stuck in traffic from an earlier accident. An officer stopped but did not speak English and quickly left. There was minor damage to the rear bumper and they were able to get her information (although no insurance card).
It took the ladies 3 hours to get home from Old San Juan. We tried to forget about the car and just enjoy our dinner at Antojito's, just down the hill from the condo. It was good, but not as good as Sunday's meal. After we returned home I started calling the rental car company and my insurance company to report the accident. Hertz wouldn't even talk to me without a police report number. So Sat. morning (the wedding was at 4pm) Ali and I headed to the local police station to fill out a report. Naturally, the officer at the desk did not speak English. She got another officer on her cell phone that did speak English and we were told they wouldn't file a report until the lady that hit us also showed up. I asked the officer to call the lady and fortunately she was nice enough to come down to the station. An english speaking officer finally showed up and began writing the report. The lady was very cooperative and nice until we mentioned that Aunt Joy and mom had some soreness in their necks. Wow, I've never seen someone's demeanor change so quickly. Joy had a previous injury from another car accident so she probably just aggravated it. Mom's soreness seemed to be temporary. So after a couple of hours at a Puerto Rican police station we left with the all important report number.
The wedding was at a Hacienda about 20 minutes from the condo. It was gorgeous. We heard that the owners were Americans and raised horses there. There were also rumors that celebrities would rent the Hacienda and it had been used in movies before. I can believe it. The ceremony started outside. Yari looked amazing. Her father walked her down the aisle and the minister began the vows. Yari made it through hers and just as Daron was said "I do," the rain started. That's good luck, right? Everyone rushed "inside" (a covered pavillion, actually) to the backup area. The minister finished the ceremony under the covering.
Then the real fun began! The food was excellent, of course, and several family members made toasts. Erick's best man speech was... memorable. He made the speech in English first and then someone else read it in Spanish. I'm not sure the Spanish speakers (almost everyone there) got the humor, but the Westly clan thought it was great. I think Erin got it on video.
After dinner came the dancing. Man those latinos can dance. It's genetic... although Mike might still prove me wrong. Somewhere there is photographic evidence of Yari's cousin Yashira even getting me to "dance." I'm sure that was some kind of entertainment for them. The evening finished up with a professional Puerto Rican dance troupe doing a demonstration for everyone. What a way to finish the week.
We flew back to Texas Sunday morning. Braden did great on the plane in both directions. But the portable DVD player was well worth the money. We had a great time and can't say enough about Yajaira's family's hospitality and how they made us feel a part of their family. I can't wait to go back and it's truly a blessing to have them as part of our family now. If anyone from the Sierra-Sastre family finds our blog, muchas gracias! We love you all and will be praying for you! Please come visit us if you ever make it to Texas. You'll always have a place to stay and eat here!
- Jason, on behalf of all the Texas Westlys
"You're no Selahpup"
1 comment:
We are very happy because now we have a big family God Bless you to Thanks titi myria.
Post a Comment