The Crepeau Family: June 2015

So one thing I love about Phil is his passion for travel. We both get so excited about the idea of visiting new places, eating new food, and experiencing a different culture. Phil and I agreed that this year's trip needed to be a big one, since he was graduating from college and starting med school in the fall.

We considered a lot of options: Aruba, Jamaica, Mexico, Hawaii. But when we saw some cheap flights to Puerto Rico, we couldn't resist. Let me tell you, PR did not disappoint.

The only problem with traveling for me is packing. Packing is always a huge ordeal for me. I pack almost twice as many outfits as I need to, but I never know what mood I'm going to be in. PR was no exception. You'd think that packing for a beach trip would be simple right?

So. Many. Dresses.

We had a red eye flight, and Phil passed out as soon as we took off. I couldn't sleep to save my life. I was super stressed about my big work trip to India (more on that later), but staying awake did mean that I got to see this:

Sun Rising

We were both exhausted by the time we landed in PR, but so excited! We had a momentary freak out when we couldn't find our car rental place (Hannah: "What if it's not even a real place and we got ripped off?" Phil: "....."). Luckily we asked around and finally found the van to take us there.

Renting a car ended up being one of the best parts of the trip because we could see everything on the island! Our little apartment rental (Three cheers for VRBO by the way) was in Luquillo, so we got to drive for about an hour before we dropped off our stuff. Man was it gorgeous!

Flowers Blooming Along the Freeway

Since Phil and I were both so exhausted, we decided to stay close to the apartment that first day. The beach, Playa Azul, ended up being such a fun spot!

Winning in PR

Welcome to Luquillo!

Too bad I didn't enjoy it for very long before this happened:

Photo Cred: Phil Crepeau

After getting a nice nap, Phil and I washed up and set out to see the town... And by that I mean, we searched for food. About five minutes from our apartment were "Los Kioskos de Luqillo", little food kiosks one right after another that sold the most amazing authentic Puerto Rican food. We ended up with a winner the first night. I ate ceviche that blew my mind. We also loved the tostones (fried plantains).

Tostones!

Ceviche!

We went home with full bellies and happy faces.

The next day was awesome too! We took a short drive out to Seven Seas Beach. You have to love when the most stressful part of your day is playing Phase 10. We sat just a few feet down from a darling native family and Phil and I loved watching them all day. I'm completely enamored by Latin American culture. They really know how to live.

Gorgeous

Beach Reading is the Best!

PR Selfie

Phil's Classic Jumping Shot

Phase 10 and Coconut Cookies

Babe

Puerto Rico!

Day three was awesome as well! We wanted to alternate beach and exploring days, so we went out to La Cueva del Indio in Arecibo. It was quite a drive, but I loved seeing so much of the country.

Blue Home, Tucked into the Trees

Canopies of Trees

Selfies, Pre-Hike

Darling Shack by the Beach

After our picturesque drive, we finally arrived. We got very confusing trail directions from a native woman that took our money (parking fee?) and then we were off. Even the entry to the trail was classic.

Goats Anyone?

Ancient PR Legend about Drowning Europeans...

The lava rock made the hike boiling hot, but the view could not be beat.

Good Thing I'm Not Afraid of Heights

Cutie

Enjoying the Breeze

Pensive and Sexy

View After Climbing Down the Homemade Ladder

Water Flows from Underneath the Rock

Inside the Cave

Supposedly Authentic Carvings

The entire surrounding area was breathtaking as well. We saw a crab and a sea turtle, but the sea turtle disappeared in the water before I could snap a picture.

Sebastian!

What?!

Hottie!!

After hiking around, we looped back to see Old San Juan. It sounds silly, but I actually loved how much driving we did. I loved seeing things like this:

Trotting Along Right Next to Our Car

And these darling homes. They reminded me a lot of homes in Brasil.

Our Future Beach House

Loud and Proud

We, of course, couldn't stop in without seeing El Morro (the giant fort used to protect the island).

Massive Fort Walls

Phil and the Cannon

Thick Walls and a Tiny Lookout Window

My Type of Lookout Window

Lookout Window/Balcony

Captain Crepeau

I Loved the Aging Walls

The Fort's Chapel

Old Buildings Make for Steep Staircases

My favorite part of San Juan was seeing the historic buildings and architecture. A lot of these old buildings are converted into apartments or shops now. It was too quaint and darling.

Bright Homes!

Elaborate Balconies

The Perfect Corner

Seriously? I Couldn't Get Enough

Old Meets... Older

Right?

We loved seeing all the little shops too. My mission was to find a vejigante mask for our house. These are traditional Puerto Rican masks used for Carnaval. Creepy but awesome! They also had every Catholic Saint imaginable and tons of hand carved nativities.

Vejigante Mask

I wanted to take all of it home with us.

And I'm Not Even Catholic

In a nutshell, we got to see how truly picturesque San Juan really is.

My Heart's Devotion

PR Art/Graffiti

On the way back home, we stopped at a cute outdoor market. I loved seeing "graviola" and mangoes. The market reminded me so much of Brasil. Our shopping attendant was an adorable, elderly man. He couldn't have been over five feet tall.

Creeper Shot. I Couldn't Resist!

Fruit by the Truckload!

Graviolas and Mangas

We also had an amazing dinner. Phil researched the best restaurants in the area and we found a great local place, Jose Enrique. We were a little (lot) under-dressed, but the food was amazing. Even if we could only afford two things on the menu.

Traditional Stew with Rice and Tostones

Grilled Chicken and a Heap of Arugula, Beans and Rice (and Phil :)

Our day of exploring had to be followed-up with a day of relaxation. We'd heard so much about the island of Culebra, a small island off the coast of Puerto Rico, so we decided to go for it. We had to get up at the crack of dawn to make the ferry (which doesn't actually leave until mid-morning, but the line is huge by about 7 AM).

Culebra Island is home to one of the most world renowned beaches, Flamenco Beach. My only regret was that everyone else knew about it too. Truly incredible.

Flamenco Beach

Natural Shade Umbrella

Hungry Philly

"The Help" Meets PR

We spent the entire day snorkeling, playing in the water, reading, and eating. A complete dream.

The only problem was my lack of diligent sunscreen application. I got a wicked sunburn, so we ended up staying inside the next day.

Sunday completely made up for our missed day though. The local branch of the LDS Church was two minutes away from our apartment, so we were so excited to go for sacrament meeting. I love seeing members in their small branches. They're such strong, diligent people. One women, who also taught Sunday School, gave an amazing talk about motherhood that moved me to tears. All the members were so welcoming, offering us advice about places to see and greeting us as one of their own. They even gave me a beautiful red rose for Mother's Day.

Truth Across the Earth

He Fit Right In!

We spent the rest of our Sabbath enjoying the beauty of God's creations. El Yunque Rain Forest was a few minutes down the road, and we'd heard about a short hike we could take to see the La Mina waterfall. It was definitely my kind of hike: Paved trail, downhill most of the way, shaded, perfect surroundings. So it was a win-win for both Phil and me.