Mali surprised me on my birthday with tickets to Puerto Rico! We were off for a well-needed winter escape!


Mali standing on the beach near the house where we were staying. That is definitely SAND and not SNOW.



Here we are on the beach.



Big rock formation jutting out from Playa Jobos, about 1/2 mile east of our beach house.


Wait for it... wait for it...



YEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!



Dinner at Raíces in San Juan. We went here cause we saw Anthony Bourdain go here on his Puerto Rico episode. It was a little touristy, but a good
introduction to the national dish of mofongo - a bowl lined with mashed green plantains and stuffed with seafood.



Yum.



Some big Cristobal-related statue in San Juan.



I'm a fan of these candles.



Breakfast out on the deck - papaya and granola.



We were driving South to Maricao and spotted this truck selling smoked chicken (pollo al carbon) on the side of the highway. We went for it.



There is a different truck selling burgers, coffee, coconut water, flowers, mofongo, or BBQ about every 1/2 mile along the highways of Puerto Rico.
This guy's chicken and Tweety Bird graphics lured us in.



YUM.



1/2 a chicken, arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas) and a bottle of water for $7. Deal.



A beautiful view during the wild drive through the mountains en route to Maricao.



Hola Señor Gallo!



Here we are in Maricao, just in time for the annual coffee festival...



Plenty of people, music, arts & crafts, and of course food to keep us entertained in Maricao.



Puerto Rico is really into their Three Kings. We saw dozens of different artistic representations of them.



This guy was selling baked goods. GET OFF YOUR PHONE, BUDDY.



Puerto Rican fair food - marinated grilled chicken atop a bed of lettuce in a bowl made of fried plantain strips.



The super narrow and curvy "road" through the tropical mountaintops of Western Puerto Rico. Very dangerous but very fun.
Props to Mali for HANDLING these streets as I navigated.



Passing through a small city on the way back to Isabela.



We walked down the beach to Sonia Rican Restaurant - another spot we learned about through Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations."
Their mofongo was way better than Raíces' - turned upside down on a plate and doused with creole sauce. Good stuff!
The conch salad, seen on the right, left a bit to be desired.
In the center - Medalla Light, the official beer of Puerto Rico.



Close-up shot of the mofongo relleno do langosta (mofongo stuffed with lobster).


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