It was a dark and stormy night as we landed in San Juan. Having only carry-ons, we smugly passed the baggage claim and out into the tropical night, forty degrees warmer than the Grand Rapids airport we had departed from that morning. The aging San Juan airport impressed me by its rental car location across from the arrival doors. No game of “Is that my shuttle?” as bus after bus passes you by, stacking small disappointments atop one another.
Another bonus was that since Puerto Rico is part of the United States, our cell phones worked. This is a Godsend because navigating San Juan was terrible. Even with the almighty Google directing us it was still a challenge, but one Andrea conquered. The first stop of our vacation was two-story Walmart. Yes, excitement was in the air, for I had never been to a multi-level Wal Mart. And it had a parking ramp above it. Different brands, signs in Spanish, paying for plastic bags – little things that let you know you’re not home anymore. Our supplies in hand, we were back on the road the hotel that would be our home for our week in Puerto Rico. After missing the entrance ramp (but only once), we were off, taking the northern route along the ocean to avoid the freeway and the its tolls.
The Hyatt Hacienda del Mar is an hour east of San Juan. Through Andrea’s hotel point wizardry, we stayed for free – all we had to do was spend a lot of money on things to get the points to stay there. But as we were going to spend that money anyways, it ended up being a great deal. Our room came with a microwave, refigerator and dishes. These all came in handy because we made most of our own lunches during that week. The Hyatt wasn’t an all-inclusive so there were no unlimited trips to the buffet. As drinks were also not included, it was a make-your-own-Pina-Colado type week. There was an on-site restaurant, The Mahi Mahi Grill, which had a good selection of good choices. I particularly liked the fish sandwich and pulpulpo salad (octopus), but the lobster is something to be skipped. $55 and overcooked. Everything else I had was be better.
From out perch on the 7th floor we had an amazing view of the ocean. Every room faced the ocean, but higher was better.
Leaving the room through the front door (because leaving via the back door would lead to death), the view was spectacular as well, and being so high showed off the beautiful island interior.
The pool area was nice, if compact. Seats went quickly by the main pool and as we were rarely out of the room in time to snag them, the pool wasn’t an option. This didn’t make me sad. Most days we were at the beach because of views like this, a big improvement than Michigan in March:
A breakwater protected the bay, but fairly large waves would still roll in. A sparsely attended public beach was to the left of the resort, its low numbers of guest reflecting that there was no parking. To the right was empty beach ending in impassible rocks. The water was a little calmer in this area and the few snorkelers I saw were here. I hadn’t brought my gear. We did spot a few sea turtles as they raised their heads above the water. And there was the staircase to nowhere:
Next to the resort was a empty lot. What was probably a hotel is an rubble-strewn empty lot, damaged too severely to be repaired by Hurricane Maria in 2017. That storm killed almost 3,000 people on Puerto Rico and caused $91 billion in damage. The island still has not completely recovered. On runs through a nearby neighborhood, several homes were empty, damaged too greatly to be occupiable.
On our last night, we bought food from the Mahi Mahi Grill (the aforementioned terrible lobster) to enjoy sitting outside and eating one last time before returning to the usual cold and wet Michigan spring. As our trip had gone pretty smoothly, Puerto Rico gave us a small parting gift. While we packed our small suitcases, the power went out across the entire resort. Only for ten minutes, but I thought it was a nice Puerto Rico goodbye.
