Puerto Rico--Fajardo

Since, in true Buckwalter travel fashion, we decided to cram in about a week's worth of site-seeing into three days, we didn't hang around the hotel very long Saturday morning. A couple has to eat, however, so we made a quick stop in downtown Ponce at a Krispy Kreme. Oh. My. Heavens. I had only eaten at a Krispy Kreme once when I was in South Carolina for my cousin Shane's wedding ages ago, so certainly in recent years, I could never really understand why so many gushed over their doughnuts. I remember now. I ordered the glaze kreme filled (is it "kreme" since it's not real cream?), and Steve chose a lemon filled. Both were fantastic, and it was probably a good thing that we ate them on the road so we didn't give in to the temptation of seconds (or thirds or fourths).

Steve decided to take the scenic route to Fajardo, so we could enjoy the views along the coast. When we stopped for gas along the way, I happened to notice a restaurant that could only have served Puerto Rican food. It was cement block. No frills. FINALLY! I knew they had to exist in Puerto Rico. It was similar in style to The Home Plate in Lancaster in that the food was displayed in a case, and we told the woman what we wanted--griot, or fried pork, for me and a chicken dish for Steve--and asked for sides of both tostones (banan pese) and slugs. Slugs isn't the official name, of course, but that's what I call them because they're sweet and slimy plantain. Steve was disappointed that they weren't more slug-like when they came out. I think you can guess which side was mine. Oh, everything was so, so good. Just as I'd envisioned. Success.

We continued on our way, and I was quite relieved when we began to see more Puerto Rican restaurants. Can you tell I was quite concerned about this after my experience in Ponce? We stopped at a beach along the way to take a few pictures. In the distance, we could see Punta Tuna Lighthouse in Maunabo, where we later stopped.

Punta Tuna Lighthouse

After we checked into The Passionfruit Bed and Breakfast in Fajardo, we headed off to the beach. Steve had been looking forward to going to Bio Bay to see the bioluminescence since Kevin raved about it from his trip back in August. Unfortunately, all the trips were sold out, so we weren't able to go. To say he was disappointed would be an understatement. Instead, we hung out on the beach for a couple hours.

We ate at Costa Mia Restaurant for more Puerto Rican food for dinner. We both had the creole chicken and shared a side of rice with beans with his and hers sides of plantain. I'm sure you can guess which plate was mine and which was Steve's.