Yo Necessito Mi Café Con Leche En La Manana

NOTE: To view the pictures that go with this entry, check out the version of this blog on PTownMa.info.

The season has really ended, the boys retreated back to their respective homes and I took off on vacation. Last week, Brian and I went to Puerto Rico for a fun filled retreat. I have never been to the sunny island or “la isla bonita” as most license plates read. I’ll recap for you the trip along with some pictures. But first let’s talk Provincetown.

While I was away, The Grand Union was sold to Stop and Shop. This is huge…what will we do without the GU? Most folks are happy about the purchase. The store will be closed December 5-7th for the change. Right now, there are great deals on pretty much everything as they attempt to clear house. The pharmacy will remain open. There is even talk of remodeling…my friend Rich wants the store to expand into a neighboring vacant retail space…and in true Reagan fashion he wants to yell “Mr. Manager, tear down this wall” to the undulating cheers of townies.

George’s Pizza…the only pizza joint left open for the off-season, was forced to close its doors after being seized for non payment of taxes. Shoot…looks like frozen pizza for the winter.

Finally, our $500,000 hook and ladder truck was flipped on Route 6 by a 21 year old volunteer firefighter. He was not on his way to an emergency and had his girlfriend in the truck with him. The truck rolled a few times. Wow!!!!! Thank God they are OK.

Now back to vacation. Brian called me about one month ago and wanted to go on a trip. I recommended the old stand by, Fort Lauderdale, would make a great vacation…but he wanted to go somewhere different. I gave him a few days to come up with an alternative and he called a few days later, very excited, saying our destination would be Puerto Rico. I laughed to myself at some subtle irony that lay in his choice of place and dates of travel…but I agreed and we made the plans.

We stayed at The Caribe Hilton in San Juan. This is a great hotel compound and our room had quite the view. Our first day there we relaxed on hammocks suspended between two palm trees on the beach. I crashed and literally fell asleep.

The next day we were up early and treated ourselves to room service breakfast on the balcony which overlooks a historic fort and the ocean (great coffee in Puerto Rico btw…and I grew addicted to café con leche). Then we went to the beach, jumped on this oddly huge trampoline that was floating in the ocean…. We had so much fun that we attracted tons of little girls who climbed on the trampoline and shrieked in delight…it was our cue to leave.

We flew to Vieques later that day for an overnight. We had a smooth flight and saw awesome views of Puerto Rico from the air. That night we swam in the Bioluminescent Bay with microorganisms that glowed in the dark...this was truly an amazing experience.

The next day we swam at Sun Bay Beach.. postcard beautiful… and we were the only ones there!

We flew back to San Juan and toured El Morro in Old San Juan. This structure is a fantastic fort built in the 1500’s that was once used by the Spanish to guard San Juan. It was here that I met a cute Puerto Rican man working in the gift shop/book store. We exchanged quite a few glances as he was just too darn cute…but I left.

We walked through Old San Juan and Brian took tons of pictures. We had café con leche at a plaza de Armas… and then, in Walgreens, while getting sun glasses, I ran into the cute Latino boy from the bookstore. I had to say hi…his name is Julio.

Brian and I had dinner at Café Berlin at the suggestion of my friend George. It was absolutely delicious and the service was impeccable. I tried speaking Spanish most of the trip and that got us great service and smiles everywhere we went… possibly because they were laughing at my attempt. But overall I think it was appreciated.

The next day we drove to Ponce in south Puerto Rico. It is a historic city. Brian went crazy with the photographs. Then we drove to the west coast to the Playa Crashboat and Aquidillo. Puerto Rico is a beautiful island and we saw our share this day.

That night we met up with Julio at a restaurant called Baru in old San Juan. The bar tender, Demaris, was really nice and she gave us free drinks, great food created lots of fun. We toured Old San Juan with our own personal guide. Blend and The Pink Umbrella seemed to be the hot spots.

The next day was deemed a do nothing day. After an hour long tennis match, Brian and I worked out at the gym and got massages at the hotel spa by a very attractive Puerto Rican man. Awesome massage… We relaxed in the hammocks again and then went to The Atlantic Beach House in the Condado for tea dance. It was pretty lame to be honest but we did meet two New Yorkers who were lots of fun. Hopefully, we’ll see more of them. That evening we went to Fort San Cristobal in Old San Juan for a historic light and shadow show…Julio got us in for free. Afterwards, we ate at Café Puerto Rico… the food was good but we were rushed so I can’t really comment favorably on the place at this point. On the way to Julio’s apartment we bumped into real estate guru Barbara Corcoran. I’m a big fan of her achievements and was really shocked at having run into her. 

Our last full day in Puerto Rico was spent at El Yunque Rain Forest. We walked the trails and swam under a waterfall. It was truly magical and awe inspiring.

Our last day there while we grieved the end of our fabulous trip, Brian, in a fit of thanksgiving, wrapped a towel on his head and sang “Ave Maria” from our balcony… it was mesmerizing and haunting…a nice way to say goodbye. 

We flew home Tuesday…back to reality. Mitt Romney, our former governor sat in front of us on the plane. That was strange. We were delayed for two hours on the runway before leaving…. We should have stayed and extended the vacation. I ultimately missed my connection to Cape Air in Boston, but Jet Blu put me up at the Hyatt until the next morning… one more night in a hotel and delaying my re-entry.

I’m definitely heading back to Puerto Rico. The place is a mix of extreme poverty and beauty. What a contrast. Everyone was friendly and I got to try and speak Spanish. In fact, most of the time, folks addressed me in Spanish and I didn’t do too badly responding. I’m going back. 

That’s it for this week. Play it safe and email me at mike.dubour@verizon.net if you have questions.