A Berry Berry Boriqua Birthday

the midst of my manic home renovation projects, a ridiculously sweet opportunity fell square into my lap, wholly unbidden.  How would I like to go to San Juan, Puerto Rico for a couple of days?  Oh, and it would be during the weekend before my birthday.  How's about I bring along some friends?  For free.  Yup, this happened. Times like this, you have to realize that life does not suck.

Although Puerto Rico is a scant two hour flight from Miami, I had previously never had a chance to fully explore this Caribbean island.  Joined by four of the funnest people you could ever travel with, Ivon, Jorge, Lily and Israel, I was able to right this egregious wrong.

And not a moment too soon.  Old San Juan is a seriously great place to while away one's day.  Between its tropical climate, joy-inspiring colorful colonial architecture and the ready availability of cold Medalla beers at every turn, it was as we had been plopped down in the middle of our own mini-paradise.  A paradise that has some pigeons with dire gastro-intestinal issues, but I digress... (and no, it is not good luck to get crapped on by a mofongo-fed paloma, so don't even try to tell me that).

Day one was our old San Juan day, devoted to nothing more than soaking up the atmosphere and strolling from one picturesque street to another.  I say strolling, and not perhaps walking or even trotting, because in the time it took us to get from one side of the really-not-so-large neighborhood to the other, the fort which we had been intent on visiting had managed to close down.  It remains a mystery to me where the time went.  Well, not really...

So, ok, none of us were exactly rushing to get to the fort...

But there were just so many photo stops ...

And this picture may have been taken from the inside of a bar...

And then there was the wedding.  We had no choice but to stop and wait for the bride to exit the limo.

Did I mention there were a lot of cats to play with along the way?  Well, there were.

Huh?  Cerrado?!  What do you mean the fort is cerrado?

Our attention to time did improve the following day.  We were up early and ready to visit the only tropical rainforest in the entire US National Park system, El Yunque.  We had a cooler full of Medallas (because nature is better with cold beer), lunch, sunscreen and a dubious map.  Since my new snazzy phone has a navigation app, I figured we could do without the map.  I simply told the phone to take us to El Yunque and dutifully listened as it took up one winding road after another.  I did find it odd that there would be no signs pointing to one of the island's chief tourist attractions but the concern over the smell of the engine overheating from the steep climb slightly trumped that initial thought.

Eventually, we got there.  Not El Yunque, mind you, but a barricade.  One that had obviously been in place for many, many years.  It blocked off the road that once upon a time had led to the park.

We made the best of it and got out to stretch our legs and let the car cool off.  It was also a good time to chat with the nice family who had also gone astray and was now scooping buckets of water to pour into their own overheating vehicle.  I guess the lesson here is: the Windows phone gps is a lying hussy and you should probably get a decent map if you have the chance.

Around noon, we did eventually make it to the rainforest, one that I have to say is unlike any other I have been to.  At the entrance, there is an information center where you pick up a map highlighting all of the "must-sees" within the forest, but instead of a series of hiking trails, it is more like a drive-thru park.  You drive, get to the first waterfall, park, take a picture and get back into the car to drive to the next spot.

You drive to the watch tower, park, climb the tower, back in the car...

It wasn't until the second waterfall that we actually had more of a traditional type rain forest exploration, but it was still easy peasy.  Getting from the parking lot to La Mina falls entailed a 40 minute hike on a well maintained path, one that was easily doable in flip flops and carting a Medalla or two.  Truly, this is my kind of park.

Having had our fill of nature, we headed to a great funky beach area, Los Piñones to celebrate my birthday, albeit a week early.  We went to the very festive Balcon del Zumbador and my friends saw to it that each and every member of the band, Cachete Maldonado, was aware that it was my day (although it wasn't but why quibble over details).  I was serenaded by everyone from the band to the patrons to a somewhat squirelly drag queen, as the evening progressed.  It was a perfect pre-birthday celebration.

So, imagine my surprise when, after a few days back in Miami, I learned that I was scheduled to return to San Juan.  I would be there for my actual birthday.  As much as I wanted to return to El Zumbador for the actual party, I knew there was no way that those people were going to believe that "no, really, today is my real birthday...the last one...the one last week..that was just a practice run."  They were going to think I was some grifter running some clever b'day scam.

I'd have to find a plan B.  This is where my friends and co-workers took the (very literal) cake.  While I was working, they planned a surprise party for me.  I thought I was going to a girlfriend's room for drinks and over a dozen people were lying in wait.  It was as kind as it was unexpected.

To close out the weekend, my friend Matt and I, decided to go watch San Juan's pride parade.  But after such an action-packed week, that seemed a bit too sedentary.  So, instead Matt and I decided to march in the Pride parade.

Closing out an awesome week with a birthday cake, a parade and yet more drag queens.  Yup, life does not suck, indeed.